I Kicked the Scum & Seized My Family Fortune

Chapter 4

Noah's voice suddenly rose, "How dare you break off your engagement with Brad without any reason and lay your hands on him! Not only that, you cruelly burned Jasmine with a hair straightener, leaving her with severe injuries that nearly ruined her face!"

I let out a cold laugh, my voice carrying even more authority than his.

"I ended my engagement because Brad, the son of a mistress, isn't worthy of standing beside me. I hit him because he asked for it. As for Jasmine..."

I deliberately paused, my icy gaze sweeping over Jasmine with complete disdain.

"She tried to burn me with the hair straightener first. I simply returned the favor. I did nothing wrong!"

Jasmine's eyes widened in disbelief. She hurriedly shook her head and defended herself.

"No, that's not true! I didn't do anything! Melody, I know you dislike me, but you can't accuse me of something I never did!"

Noah gently stroked Jasmine's hair. His eyes were filled with tenderness as he reassured her.

"Don't be scared, Jasmine. I believe you. You're the kindest and most innocent angel."

Then Noah looked back at me. His expression turned cold, and his voice was filled with disgust.

"You're nothing but a liar! Melody, when are you going to understand that this is MeridiaEmpire City? This is a civilized and developed society. It isn't that barbaric town you came from where people use their fists whenever they don't get their way."

Brad glanced at Jasmine, who was leaning weakly against Noah's embrace. A hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, but it vanished almost immediately.

He turned to me with a look of disappointment.

"Melody, you've gone too far this time. No matter what happened, you shouldn't have hurt Jas. Just apologize like Noah said. I'll talk to him and make sure he doesn't punish you too harshly."

I curled my lips into a mocking smile.

"The ones who should be apologizing are you."

Seeing that I refused to compromise, Noah and Brad exchanged a look. Brad stepped aside with Jasmine, shielding her behind him. Noah rolled up his sleeves and walked toward me.

It had been exactly the same in my previous life.

Whenever I tried to fight back, Noah would use violence to force me into submission. Afterward, Brad would manipulate me, telling me Noah was only acting that way because he was trying to fulfill his duty as my older brother.

I once believed that if I was obedient enough, improved my manners, and achieved enough accomplishments, Noah would eventually accept me as his sister.

But even after I became the accomplished heiress everyone admired, Noah only grew more dissatisfied with me. Instead, he spoiled Jasmine endlessly, constantly feeling sorry for her and trying to make up for everything she had endured.

That was when I finally understood.

Noah truly was someone who adored his sister.

But the sister he cherished was never me.

I stared coldly at Noah as he approached and repeated each word clearly.

"I said, you are the ones who should apologize."

The moment I finished speaking, I clapped my hands.

Six tall and powerful bodyguards immediately stepped out from their hiding places and restrained the three of them.

The sudden change left them completely unprepared. When they realized they couldn't break free, panic appeared on their faces.

Especially Jasmine. Her eyes were filled with fury and fear.

Noah's face flushed with anger as he shouted.

"Melody, you wouldn't dare!"

Seeing his arrogant expression, I suddenly remembered my previous life. At the award ceremony, he had twisted the truth and accused me of sexually harassing him.

The reality was that he had feelings for Jasmine that went beyond what a brother should have. He had begged me to keep it a secret, promising that he would return my position as his "biological sister."

But in the end, he destroyed my entire life.

I ignored Noah and calmly ordered the bodyguards.

"Break their legs."

Jasmine screamed in terror and instinctively tried to retreat.

"No!"

Noah and Brad still believed I wouldn't actually go through with it. They glared at me furiously, holding onto the last bit of confidence they had.

The next second, the bodyguards kicked the backs of their knees at the same time.

The three of them collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud, dropping to their knees as cries of pain escaped their mouths.

Noah roared.

"Melody, I won't let you get away with this!"

I lazily rubbed my chin, a mocking smile appearing at the corner of my lips.

"No. This time, I won't let any of you get away."

My slender fingers pointed at each of their faces one by one. My eyes carried the cold arrogance of someone looking down at insignificant insects.

As the baseball bats came down again and again, their faces twisted in pain. They screamed in anger and humiliation, their once arrogant expressions replaced with complete misery.

Jasmine still tried to provoke me.

"Melody, fine, you hate me and hurt me. But Noah and Brad are your real brother and fiancé. How can you treat them this way?"

Brad cried out in pain.

"Melody, you've gone too far!"

I smiled faintly.

"You haven't seen the worst of it yet."

As soon as I finished speaking, I picked up a ruler from the coffee table.

I raised my hand and brought it down.

The ruler struck their faces and mouths repeatedly.

"Since you don't know how to speak properly and your faces are thick enough to endure anything, I'll teach you all a lesson!"

Smack!

Their screams of pain, the heavy blows of the baseball bats, and the sharp cracks of the ruler echoed throughout the living room. For the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of satisfaction.

Only after I became tired did I signal the bodyguards to stop.

They collapsed on the floor like beaten dogs, their faces swollen and bruised, their legs trembling weakly beneath them.

"Throw them out of the estate."

Before Noah was dragged away, he glared at me with hatred and spat out one final threat.

"Melody, I'll make you regret this!"

I ignored him, casually tossed the ruler aside, and accepted the warm towel John handed me.

After wiping my hands clean, I happily continued selecting my outfits.

*****

The day before the recognition banquet was the International Original Piano Competition, which was broadcast live across the globe.

The competition had incredibly strict rules, especially in the final round. Every contestant was required to perform a completely original piano piece composed by themselves, one that had never been performed publicly or released before.

Anyone who played a famous composer's work or modified someone else's composition would be immediately disqualified.

With a deeply moving original piece and my near perfect performance skills, I left all the other contestants far behind and won the championship with no room for doubt.

The livestream of the competition spread across the internet in real time. The footage of my performance flooded major social media platforms overnight. In only one night, my personal account gained millions of followers, and I became a sensation far beyond the music industry.

Countless netizens were amazed by my gift for composition and the powerful emotions flowing through my piano performance. They all called me a young piano prodigy.

Before I had even officially returned to the Parker family, I had already earned the highest recognition in the international music world through my own talent.

During this period, my parents, who had been dissatisfied with me for so long, finally put aside their pride and called me for the first time. They reminded me that the recognition banquet would be held at the seven-star Moonstone Hotel and told me to arrive early to get prepared.

On the day of the recognition banquet, the sun slowly sank into the horizon, painting the entire sky crimson.

I had just changed into a red mermaid style gown and stepped out of the dressing room.

Jasmine, who had been waiting outside, immediately walked over with an innocent smile.

"Melody, you're finally finished changing? Could you help me rehearse my lines for the play?"

Sometimes, I truly had to admire Jasmine's shamelessness.

She wanted nothing more than to destroy me, yet whenever she needed something from me, she could pretend as if nothing had ever happened.

Seeing that I might refuse, Jasmine quickly added, "As long as you help me, I'll say good things about you in front of Mom, Dad, and Noah. I'll help them forgive you for everything you've done recently and make them sincerely accept you as part of the family."

How laughable!

I was the real Parker family daughter and the biggest victim in this entire situation. Did I really need Jasmine, the person who had benefited from stealing my identity, to speak up for me so I could be accepted?

As for the so-called rehearsal she mentioned, it was a trap designed specifically for me.

In my previous life, I had desperately craved family love and recognition, so I fell for Jasmine's words.

But I never expected that the rehearsal dialogue would be secretly recorded through a hidden microphone Jasmine planted and broadcast throughout the entire banquet hall, allowing every guest to hear it clearly.

Those were nothing more than lines from a play, but once they reached the guests' ears, they became an admission that I had won the championship by copying Jasmine's original piano composition.

In an instant, I went from being a celebrated genius young pianist to a shameless plagiarist hated and mocked by everyone online. My reputation was completely destroyed.

Meanwhile, Jasmine went from the person who set the trap to the victim everyone sympathized with.

Not only did she gain everyone's pity and make the Parker family feel even more protective of her, but she was also appointed as a music professor at Empire University under special circumstances. With the original pieces she had stolen from me, she entered the Global Piano Association and became a board member, enjoying endless fame and glory.

But this time, since Jasmine had already made her move, I would gladly follow her plan.

I immediately played the role of a child desperate for affection. I widened my beautiful eyes and asked with disbelief and anticipation.

"Really?"

A flash of satisfaction appeared in Jasmine's eyes, and her voice carried obvious excitement.

"Of course!" She handed me the script and reminded me seriously. "Make sure you say your lines exactly as they're written."

I looked at my lines on the script and pretended to hesitate, as if I was struggling between suspicion and my longing for family love.

In the end, I nodded firmly. "Sure!"

At that moment, inside the massive banquet hall, guests were raising their glasses and exchanging polite greetings when the surround sound system suddenly released a sharp burst of static.

Everyone frowned and turned toward the source of the noise, asking each other in confusion.

"What happened?"

At the entrance of the banquet hall, a tall, muscular, and handsome man suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The moment he heard the sharp female voice coming from the speakers, his hawk-like eyes instantly turned cold as ice.

"Melody, why did you copy my piano piece? Don't you know that's cheating?"

In the backstage lounge.

I stared at the sentence written on the script.

"I copied it, so what? Who cares if it's cheating? As long as the championship belongs to me!"

A trace of coldness flashed across my eyes.

Then I raised my head and looked at Jasmine, who was questioning me from across the room.

She curled her lips into a smile, looking innocent and adorable on the surface, but the viciousness hidden in her eyes couldn't be concealed.

I let out a mocking laugh, "Jasmine, you stole someone else's work and bullied them at school until they were driven to suicide. After everything you've done, it still isn't enough? Now you want to frame me too?"