A fake invitation? Seriously? And her dress was a cheap knockoff? Every word stoked people's curiosity—all these rumors piling up instantly grabbed every guest's attention. Several female guests couldn't help stealing quick glances at Chloe's gown—eyes darting over the fabric and cut whenever they got the chance. The dress was absolutely beautiful, and the woman in it? Even more so. What a total bummer if it really turned out to be fake. "Who is she, anyway?" "She's drop-dead gorgeous. Is she from some big shot family?" "That dress is stunning! What brand is it? Why're they saying it's counterfeit?" "A red invitation? I've never heard of Mr. Slade's party having those." "Why's ours silver?"The whispers grew louder and louder, spreading through the crowd until every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on Chloe. Jennifer watched it all play out with a smirk tugging at her lips. A flash of pure satisfaction flickered in her eyes. Perfect. She'd totally flipped everyone's attention onto Chloe—and now the whole party was talking about nothing but her. Chloe sipped the last of her cocktail smoothly, set the empty glass on a passing waiter's silver tray, and turned to weave her way through the crowd. "Chloe, wait!" Jennifer called out, her voice soft but sharp enough to cut through the party chatter. Her face wore a sweet, innocent smile—like she was just striking up a friendly chat. "Everyone's been wondering which designer made your dress. And why's your invitation red? No one else has one like that." Chloe stopped, her eyes darkening a little. She turned back, met Jennifer's unfriendly stare, and a faint smile tugged at her lips. "Why should I tell you? Who do you think you are, asking me that?""Chloe, I'm just trying to help you," Jennifer said, putting on a poor-me face. "Arthur's tied up talking business with big shots right now. The main event hasn't started yet—there's still time to fix this. But once the party gets going, it'll be too late. "I can ask Arthur to help." She raised her voice on purpose. "That way, you can stay with no trouble. But if the hosts catch wind that someone snuck in with a fake invite—rocking fake clothes and posing as a wealthy socialite—they'll fly off the handle. What if they kick you out, Chloe?" The guests around them grew more and more annoyed. They'd all gotten their invites straight from the Mistveil Manor, and everyone knew how hard they were to get. Someone crashing the party with a fake? That was totally unacceptable. People like that didn't belong here. "Call security to kick her out!" "The estate checks everything so carefully. How'd a fake invite slip through?" "They need to look into this properly!"Complaints poured in one after another. Jennifer looked at Chloe's blank face, then stepped closer and whispered—only loud enough for Chloe to hear, "So what if you married Arthur first? Winning takes real smarts." Jennifer smirked. "Arthur's mine now. You'll never get him back." Chloe just laughed, not the least bit bothered by Jennifer's bold challenge. She replied coolly, "Everything you steal comes with a cost." "A cost?" Jennifer raised an eyebrow, stepping back gracefully. "We'll see who pays it first." Right after Jennifer spoke, hurried footsteps echoed through the hall. Uniformed staff filed in, led by a man in a black suit. "We got a report that someone might've used a fake invitation to get into tonight's event," the man announced loudly as he walked in. Jennifer glanced at Chloe, her eyes lighting up with triumph. She grabbed Madilyn's arm. Madilyn took her hand, and the two exchanged a knowing look—like they were real family. Guests started pointing at Chloe, accusing her of having a fake invite. The man in the suit and his team walked straight toward her. "Miss, could I see your invitation?" he said, pulling out a list of all invited guests. "We need to check your info." Chloe shot Jennifer a quick glance, then handed over her red invitation smoothly. The man in the suit paused when he saw the red invitation. He took it carefully, opened it, checked the name inside, and started comparing it to his list. The whole hall went dead silent as he worked. Everyone waited for the result. No one said a word. Finally, after about a minute, the man looked up at Chloe, his face serious. "I'm sorry, miss. Your name isn't on today's guest list."