Lauren Shaw wore a calm expression now—whatever Eva Snow did made her look like nothing more than a clown. No one would ever believe her anyway.

Yancy Shaw took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it gently. "Are you hungry? Let me take you to eat."

Lauren Shaw wrapped her arms around his waist, her voice tender. "I want hotpot."

With a loving smile, Yancy Shaw bent down, touching his nose to hers. He agreed without hesitation, "Alright."

"Have the paternity test results come out?"

"Not yet, it'll be a bit longer," Yancy Shaw replied; he'd just come from the hospital.

Lauren Shaw furrowed her brows, a faint unease creeping in.

"What if…"

"There's no 'what if.' There's only the truth."

Yancy Shaw was fully aware that the result might hurt those he cared for—but he had to get to the bottom of it.

After lunch, the hospital called. Yancy Shaw brought Lauren Shaw back to her studio, then headed to the hospital.

The moment he left, Lauren Shaw received a call from Mrs. Chen, who said that Eva Snow was making a scene at the Shen residence, begging Shen Wenting to judge fairly on her behalf.

Honestly, this girl could really make a fuss. Did she not think she'd embarrassed herself enough? She insisted on making sure everyone knew. Clearly, Lauren Shaw had underestimated just how unhinged Eva Snow could be.

While Yancy Shaw went to collect the test results, Lauren Shaw recalled something he'd said on the phone. After a brief moment of thought, she messaged him: she was heading to the Shen house, and once he had the report, he could meet her there.

At the old Shen family home—

Tear tracks streaked Eva Snow's face as she insisted that Lauren Shaw had set her up, thrown her into Yvonne Sung's room, and knocked her out cold.

Mrs. Chen couldn't help rolling her eyes at the accusation—could Lauren Shaw ever do such a thing?

Shen Sylvia Shaw piped up from the side, egging things on. "Aunt's always held a grudge against my cousin—I can vouch for that."

Shen Wenting's face darkened, and he rebuked her, "You? Your word alone is enough to smear your aunt's name?"

That troublemaker always seemed to take outsiders' sides. Instead of helping her own family when trouble came, she'd help stir things up. Honestly infuriating.

"Uncle Shen, Sylvia Shaw isn't just making things up. Every time I met Lauren Shaw, she was hostile to me, but I never imagined she'd actually do this."

As she spoke, tears slid down Eva Snow's face. She was determined to play the victim for the family's sympathy.

Mrs. Chen couldn't stand it anymore. "You said Lauren Shaw threw you in that room. Any proof?"

"I have no evidence, but you all saw what happened—someone knocked me out and dumped me there without my knowledge. When I woke up…" Sobbing, she buried her face in her hands.

The hotel's security footage had already been erased. In the end, the truth hardly mattered; what mattered was that she was the victim now.

"Shouldn't you discuss this with your own elders? What do you want from us?" Mrs. Chen muttered under her breath and glared at Shen Sylvia Shaw.

After all, Sylvia Shaw had brought the troublemaker home. It's easy to invite the Buddha in, but hard to send them away—if anything happened under their roof, it would be on them. The Shen family didn't want to get mixed up in this nonsense.

Just then, a car pulled up outside. Mrs. Chen peered out the window, delight lighting up her face. "Shengsheng is back. We'll just ask her directly in a moment."

After all, whatever these girls say won't change a thing. She trusted her daughter-in-law.

Shen Wenting watched as Lauren Shaw came in and immediately cut to the heart of the matter. "Shengsheng, Miss Xue claims you knocked her out last night and framed her. Is that true?"

"Of course not," Lauren Shaw replied, casting a brief glance at Eva Snow. "Shouldn't Miss Xue know best what happened last night? Oh, and Sylvia Shaw was clearly her accomplice. You can ask her for the details."

"That's not true! It was you—"

"Enough! Don't speak," Shen Wenting barked, silencing Shen Sylvia Shaw. He looked at Lauren Shaw. "Go on."

This concerned the Shen family's honor; he had to get to the bottom of it and wouldn't let anyone with ulterior motives sully their name.

At that moment, Mandy Snow arrived. Eva Snow lit up like she'd just found a savior.

Lauren Shaw curled her lips into a chilly smile. Good—everyone had arrived. She happened to have a question for Mandy Snow as well.

"You're just in time. There's something I want to ask you."

Mandy Snow, sensing Lauren Shaw's tone was off, replied, "Ask away. Mom and Dad are both here—let's sort everything out. I've something I want to ask you, too."

Lauren Shaw let out a mocking laugh. "I checked the guest list for the annual gala. Yvonne Sung's name wasn't there, and he had no invitation. So why did he show up at the hotel? You were the organizer—care to explain?"

Mandy Snow scoffed, "Why should I explain? Shouldn't you be asking yourself? Wasn't Yvonne Sung your ex-fiancé? You should know better than I do."

"I have nothing to do with Yvonne Sung. He's with Wanrui Group now." Lauren Shaw countered with a knowing look, giving Mandy Snow a pointed warning.

Mandy Snow grew uneasy, as if Lauren Shaw had somehow caught her red-handed—everything felt beyond her control.

What was she plotting?

Mandy Snow stared at Lauren Shaw for a long while, somehow unnerved under her gaze.

Seeing her cousin wasn't going to stand up for her, Eva Snow stomped furiously up to Lauren Shaw, eyes red with anger. Remembering how she'd been beaten and dumped in Yvonne Sung's bed only fueled her rage—she raised her hand to strike.

But Lauren Shaw was quicker, shoving her aside with a cold laugh. "If I hadn't seen through your little scheme, I would have been the one left in that room, and I'd be the one everyone was mocking right now."

Mrs. Chen caught the real meaning in those words. "No wonder Sylvia Shaw pulled me aside at the party, saying you'd been dragged into a room and I should hurry over. So it was their setup from the start."

"The nerve, falsely accusing Lauren Shaw when they're the ones who tried to frame her. Absolutely shameless."

Shen Sylvia Shaw, who had just been pointing fingers, instantly fell silent. The moment her lie was exposed, her confidence vanished.

Shen Wenting shot her a frosty glare, snapping, "You're part of this family yet you help outsiders smear our name? Well done indeed!"

If she weren't the only child of Nathan Shaw, he'd have kicked her out on the spot—no respect at all.

"Grandpa, I…"

"Dad, Sylvia Shaw's just worried about her cousin. After all, Eva Snow is an innocent girl. Now her engagement's been broken off and all the gossip..." Mandy Snow implied.

"So you know her reputation's suffering. If Lauren Shaw had ended up in that room, the one everyone's gossiping about today would be the Shen family!" Mrs. Chen snapped back, seeing right through their attitude.

Clearly, this mother and daughter only cared about their own side. The Shen family's honor meant nothing to them.

Hospital—

The moment Yancy Shaw collected the paternity test results, a new message popped up from Mrs. Chen: Eva Snow was making a scene at the Shen family house. His face darkened as he read it.