Reborn With a Money-Making System: Ruined Actress to Nation's Treasure-Chapter 114: Pretty Masks

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." Victor smiled as he stood on a small stage in the hall.

His smile was bright, too bright. The kind of smile that could hypnotize a room and make everyone forget he had ever done anything wrong.

If I didn’t know he had done horrible things to my sweet Lando, I probably would’ve thought he was just a gentle old man who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

People even often forget that he had a mistress and cheated on his wife back then.

Then again, cheating seemed normal in elite circles, and Lando’s stepmother had never publicly complained. So everyone just assumed they had an open marriage, and that Lando’s mother was a greedy woman trying to steal a rich man for herself.

The truth... of course, was far from that.

Lando never told me much, but Henry once said his mother was just a young woman from a small town who came to Redmond City looking for a new life.

She was very beautiful, and Victor immediately noticed her when she worked as his secretary. Basically, their story sounded exactly like one of those drama series I would act in.

But Lando’s mother wasn’t a bad person. She was just a victim of Victor’s manipulation, and later, a victim of bullying from his legal wife, to the point she lost her sanity and ended up in a mental hospital.

Unfortunately, people always choose to believe a billionaire over a mistress.

"I am truly happy that all of you could attend our humble charity gala," he said.

Humble, my ass. Everyone here was dressed to the nines, and this event had always been nothing more than a stage for showing off wealth and performative charity.

"I’m also very happy to see so many new faces here tonight," he said. "With this, our charity can grow even bigger."

He then announced the total donations received by the nonprofit organization he managed.

But the only thing I could think of was how earlier, Lando had told me he wouldn’t donate a single dollar tonight.

I knew he had a painful history with his family, but I also knew he wasn’t the kind of man who refused to donate out of spite. Which meant there was something I didn’t know about his father’s non-profit organization.

After all, he had been observing the Brixton Holding Group for years, including the nonprofit foundations under it.

"Besides that, I also want to announce something joyful today." Victor looked around the audience one by one, carefully avoiding our table like we were the dirt under his shoe. "One of my beloved sons will be getting married next month."

...What?

For a second, I honestly thought he was going to announce our wedding, just to polish his image and act like a loving father.

But no, of course not. Instead, he wanted to announce another son’s marriage.

"My son, Dorian Brixton, has finally found the right partner," he said proudly.

I almost laughed.

Victor had always been desperate to force Lando into a marriage, even though his older son—Dorian, already thirty-seven—wasn’t married yet. And Maxwell, who was Lando’s age, wasn’t being pushed either.

Which left only one conclusion: Victor just wanted to humiliate Lando by marrying him to an illegitimate daughter, like he was trading defective children.

But why?

Why would he do something like that? Lando never did anything wrong to him. In fact, he always tried to stay out of Victor’s business.

"Dorian isn’t here," Lando murmured when I kept looking around. "He’ll probably make a grand entrance with his future wife. My father loves drama."

Right. A circus leader needs a circus show.

"I feel blessed," Victor continued, "because I’ll soon have another beautiful and virtuous daughter-in-law." He looked proudly at Kai Brixton and his wife, then Ezra Brixton’s wife, like they were trophies.

Once again, he didn’t look at me, or more accurately, he immediately turned away the moment our eyes accidentally met.

What am I, a disease to him?

"And now," Victor announced loudly, voice filled with fake warmth, "please welcome, my son, Dorian Brixton, with his soon-to-be wife, Madeline Davenport!"

Holy shit.

What kind of plot twist was this?!

I turned toward Lando and saw that he was just as shocked as I was.

[Ding! Ding!]

[Random Quest!]

[Quest: Humiliate Madeline in front of everyone!]

[Reward: $100,000]

[Time Limit: 12 hours]

Damn it! How am I supposed to do that? And besides that, why is the reward already this high?!

While I was still frozen in shock, trying to figure out how the hell I was supposed to finish that mission, I saw Dorian and Madeline walk into the hall.

How could Madeline still have the nerve to show her face here, when her bullying case isn’t even settled yet?!

No, at that moment, I understood why she suddenly stopped contacting me and why DN Entertainment never released a statement about the bullying case.

It was becahse they already had the powerful backup behind them, one powerful enough to push Madeline back into the spotlight with the click of fingers.

Just look at everyone’s faces.

Just look at everyone’s expressions.

Not one person—not a single one—showed confusion, disgust, or even the slightest frown when she walked in.

Every single one of them was smiling, clapping, and whispering about how beautiful she looked tonight in her red gown, a color that matched her blonde hair perfectly.

I straightened my back and stared right into her eyes. She met my gaze with a smile, not a kind one, but the kind people use when they’re mocking you.

"Thank you for the enthusiasm. I’m truly touched," she said sweetly, placing a hand on her chest and raising her brows like she wanted to look innocent, fragile, pure. "And I also want to announce... Dorian and I are expecting our first child."

The applause erupted again, louder than before. People whispered about how perfect they were together. Lariette even stood up just to show her support, like she was cheering for royalty. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

I sat silently, watching people who once bullied innocent women to death live happily and be celebrated.

Life was unfair, after all.