Chapter 120

"She's also a Vanderbilt. My half-sister, and the daughter of my stepmother."

Mrs. Santiago's gaze sharpened as she studied Evelyn. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish by coming here to see my daughter?"

"I'm offering Penelope a chance at redemption," Evelyn replied smoothly, crossing her legs. "That is, if she's willing to show genuine remorse. Given how viral this scandal has gone, I imagine it'll keep trending for weeks. The world believes your daughter willingly debased herself, but I suspect you'd prefer them to think she was framed. Am I correct?"

Mrs. Santiago's fingers tightened around her teacup.

'Penelope's name is being dragged through the mud. How will she ever show her face in society again if this continues?'

'Better the public believes she was victimized than see her as some wanton party girl. At least sympathy could salvage her reputation.'

'There's a world of difference between being drugged and choosing to disgrace oneself. The incident can't be erased, but preserving her dignity matters more than anything.'

Just then, Evelyn's phone buzzed with notifications from Twitter and Instagram. She swiped open the alerts, lips curving when she saw Vivian's latest posts. Right on schedule, Vivian had thrown Penelope under the bus.

Though the scandal hadn't touched Vivian yet, her rapid response clearly showed the Santiagos' pressure was getting to the Vanderbilts.

"Mrs. Santiago, you'll want to see this." Evelyn handed over her phone.

The color drained from Mrs. Santiago's face as she read Vivian's posts. "That shameless witch dares to blame my daughter again?!"

Vivian had amassed a considerable following from her recent design successes, and her comment section overflowed with supportive fans.

"Don't distress yourself," Evelyn said, retrieving her phone. "Just wait for the moment when she slaps her own face."

Mrs. Santiago gripped the armrests. "Miss Vanderbilt, if you can truly help Penelope, I'll be eternally grateful. She's... not well. Please."

Evelyn's smile remained cool. "I keep my promises. But your daughter must sincerely repent. If she crosses me again..." She let the threat hang.

Mrs. Santiago understood perfectly.

'She's offering help today but warning there won't be mercy next time.'

Her daughter had been caught red-handed in this scheme—an unbearable humiliation. What could she do but agree? "I'll make certain Penelope learns her lesson."

Meanwhile, Vivian's posts had exploded across social media—thousands of likes, hundreds of shares, comments piling up by the minute.

Just as public opinion reached its peak condemning Penelope, something unexpected happened.

Confession videos from the detained suspects went viral. Within hours, #PenelopeSantiagoFramed trended globally with millions of hits.

The suspects clearly stated on camera: "Ms. Vivian Vanderbilt hired us to drug and frame Ms. Santiago. None of us were in our right minds that night."

@DiamondDiva: "What a monster!"

@JusticeSeeker: "Ruining someone's life like this? Disgusting!"