After locking herself inside the restroom for a long time and vomiting up everything she had barely managed to eat, Da-hye finally received a call from Jooho telling her not to stay away too long.

Unable to avoid it any longer, she rubbed at her reddened eyes and slowly dragged herself back up the stairs.

“But in the end, Mom still got Dad, didn’t she? That makes her the winner.”

Cruelly enough, those words continued echoing through Da-hye’s ears.

Every time she remembered them, nausea surged violently through her stomach again, forcing her to swallow back another gag.

Da-hye clenched herself together desperately, suppressing the rage and grief climbing painfully up her throat, but her body already felt as though it had reached its limit.

Step by exhausting step, she finally entered the ceremony hall filled with the loud chatter of guests.

“……”

Unlike her, who felt as though she might collapse at any second, the faces filling the banquet hall overflowed with excitement and anticipation.

Suddenly, a deep weariness toward life itself washed over her.

Then, directly before her stood the very two women who had shattered her moments earlier downstairs.

“Doesn’t it feel like even more people came this year?”

“I know, right? Since your father announced his retirement from teaching and his entrance into business, I guess every famous CEO decided to show up.”

Holding her cocktail glass leisurely, Jinhee slowly rotated her wrist and laughed softly.

Da-hye quietly walked up behind the two of them.

The hand gripping her phone trembled violently.

“But isn’t this the first time Vice President Han Seo-hoo has attended?”

“It is. This is practically a historic moment. You need to make a good impression on him today, understood?”

At that moment, the familiar name Han Seo-hoo pierced through Da-hye’s half-numb mind.

Instantly, her eyes shook as she stared at their backs.

“Of course. They say he’s basically the top figure in the business world right now. Ji-hoon was already saying he planned to properly introduce himself to Vice President Han today.”

“Exactly. Tell Team Leader Kang to make sure he leaves an impression on Vice President Han. People don’t call him a real power player for no reason.”

“I know…… Apparently  absolutely needs that man’s support if he wants to succeed from now on.”

As they spoke, the two women absentmindedly adjusted their clothes and hair, unable to take their eyes off Seo-hoo.

Then, suddenly, her phone vibrated in her right hand.

Da-hye quickly turned away and checked the screen.

[“You didn’t know? Your mother’s art center shut down three years ago. That was probably the last remaining property under her name.”]

It was a reply from the aunt she had been waiting for—Eunju.

Trying desperately to calm her pounding heart, Da-hye slowly read through the message.

[“Back then, your father said the art center had become too difficult to manage, so he tried to find someone to take it over. But in the end, he gave up and shut it down. And didn’t he also say he was planning to sell the building in Gangnam and use the money to buy you a new building as a gift for your return to Korea? Why? What’s going on, Da-hye?”]

The fact that the art center left under her mother’s name had already been disposed of. And the fact that her father had supposedly intended to sell it and buy her a building as a welcome-home gift.

Both were things she was hearing for the very first time.

Da-hye’s hands trembled violently.

The situation was turning out far worse than she had imagined.

[“Auntie, I can’t stay on the phone long right now. There’s something I need you to look into for me. I probably won’t be able to answer calls, so please reply by message.”]

Immediately after overhearing Hyejung and Jinhee’s filthy conversation, Da-hye had sent Eunju a message.

After Seungmi died suddenly in that accident, all of her assets had been managed by Jooho.

At the time, Da-hye had still been young, and everyone naturally believed that Jooho—as Seungmi’s husband and Da-hye’s father—would manage everything responsibly.

No one found it strange.

No one questioned it.

And understandably so.

By the time Seungmi had her accident, her formerly wealthy family had already fallen apart, scattering her relatives in all directions.

Shortly afterwards, her maternal grandfather, her greatest source of support, passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Because the events were so sudden, no one paid close attention to what happened to the assets left in Seungmi’s name after her death.

Nevertheless, everyone naturally assumed that Jooho would manage them properly and eventually return most of them to his daughter, Da-hye. After all, that had always been Seungmi’s deepest wish.

To Seungmi, Jooho had been a devoted and loving husband.

And to Da-hye, he was the best father in the world.

This is why nobody ever suspected that he might have selfish or impure intentions.

Because of this trust, when Jooho suddenly announced his plans to remarry Jinhee, nobody objected.

‘If that woman spent years plotting to drive Mom out and take her place… then she must’ve already known Mom’s family was headed for ruin. And if that’s true… then Dad… did he know about it too?’

The moment her thoughts reached that point, Da-hye suddenly remembered something Jooho had said to her years ago, after she became an adult.

“Da-hye. You remember the Gangnam officetel your mother left under your name, right?”

“Hm? Ah, yes. Why?”

“A very good property came up in Sejong. I was thinking we could sell the officetel and invest in that instead. What do you think?”

“Really? I don’t know anything about those things anyway……. Haha, just handle it however you think is best, Dad.”

“Alright. I understand. I’ll discuss it with a more qualified expert and contact you again later.”

One by one, Jooho had taken away the assets Seungmi left behind for Da-hye.

Part of it was because he needed far more funding than expected after retiring from teaching and entering the Oriental painting business.

“Haah……”

Da-hye pressed a hand against her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Because she knew nothing.

Because she had trusted her father completely, Da-hye had foolishly accepted every single one of his requests without question.

What were the chances of a father betraying his own daughter?

It was something she had never once imagined possible.

That was why all of this still felt unreal, like some elaborate lie fabricated to torment her.

‘Get a grip, Kyung Da-hye.’

At the very least, she needed to find out the truth.

How much of Seungmi’s fortune was left?

How much of it had actually been placed in her name?

She had to calculate everything carefully and demand answers before it was too late. She could not afford to stand there helplessly and lose everything, ending up cast out of Korea penniless.

Lowering her head, Da-hye bit down hard on her lip until it hurt, then slowly raised her chin again.

If only her maternal grandfather were still alive.

If only her mother’s family had never fallen into ruin.

Then resolving this nightmare would not have been so difficult.

But there was no one left in this world that Da-hye could truly rely on.

Even the aunt she still kept in contact with had divorced her husband long ago, leaving Korea with her children and never returning. Having spent most of her life working in management for Da-hye’s father’s company, she is now struggling to support her two children alone while running a small restaurant in Los Angeles.

Even opening that small restaurant had only been possible because her aunt had used the alimony she received after her divorce to fund it.

Da-hye knew her aunt’s circumstances better than anyone, and she couldn’t bring herself to ask for help. Even without this additional burden, her aunt was struggling to make ends meet and support her children.

By the time Da-hye slowly returned to her seat, Hyejung was already staring straight at her.

Through the haze clouding her vision from shock, Hyejung’s sharp, piercing gaze suddenly came into perfect focus.

In an instant, Da-hye’s dazed mind cleared.

Three seconds later, Ji-hoon walked over and stopped beside her.

“Where were you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Wearing his usual gentle smile, he leaned slightly toward her.

At that moment, Jinhee—who had been watching the two of them—quickly approached.

“Son-in-law Kang!”

Immediately, Ji-hoon’s gaze shifted from Da-hye toward Jinhee.

“Ah, Mother.”

Glancing briefly at Da-hye, Ji-hoon turned his body toward Jinhee instead.

“Son-in-law Kang, have you eaten anything? I’ve been so busy I only just remembered to check on you.”

From the outset, Jinhee had always addressed him as ‘Son-in-law Kang’.

At the time, Da-hye thought this was a bit excessive.

Now, however, she realized that Jinhee had spoken that way because she truly believed that he would become her daughter’s husband.

‘So this is how it always was right in front of me……. I wonder how entertaining it must’ve been for them.’

The three of them had been mocking her behind her back the whole time.

They were the people she had once considered to be her family. She had tried so hard to become part of their lives, loving them sincerely all the while and trying to be accepted by them. Yet all along, they had been plotting to ruin her life right behind her fiancé’s back.

This was what her sincerity had earned her.

The betrayal was so crushing that her teeth began to tremble uncontrollably.

No —

Even more terrifying than the betrayal itself was the realization that she had been deceived so completely, yet had never noticed. This horrifying truth made her entire body shake.

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh slipped from Da-hye’s lips.

“Ah, I already ate, Mother. Have you eaten? You’ve been so busy greeting people that it doesn’t look like you’ve had time.”

At Ji-hoon’s affectionate question, Jinhee lightly pushed Da-hye aside and linked arms with him.

“Yes, I ate already. But honestly, Son-in-law Kang, you seem to get more handsome every time I see you.”

At her teasing remark, Ji-hoon laughed softly and rubbed his cheek.

“Haha, you flatter me. You’re the one looking younger and younger, Mother.”

Watching the two of them chat so warmly together twisted her stomach.

Despite her throat still burning from vomiting earlier, Da-hye found herself reaching for another glass of wine.

There was no way she could continue watching their disgusting charade while sober.

With a vacant expression, she gripped the wine glass tightly.

“And what are you planning to do if you get drunk like that?”

A dark shadow suddenly fell over Da-hye’s pale face.

“If you keep drinking alone like that, you’ll get drunk. At least clink glasses with someone.”

“Ah……!”

Seo-hoo appeared seemingly out of nowhere, smiling brightly as he raised his wine glass to her.

At the same time, Ji-hoon and Jinhee’s laughter beside her suddenly stopped.