Resting on the bookshelf was a single sanitary pad, rolled tightly and heavily soaked in fresh, damp blood.

"You... you absolute piece of trash!!"

The very moment Jun-hyuk walked into the house after school, his stepmother slapped him across the face.

It was a strike on an entirely different level from the time he had poured milk into the grand piano. She had put the absolute entirety of her body weight into it.

Still carrying his heavy backpack, Jun-hyuk lost his balance, flew backward, and crashed violently against the entryway floor, his head striking the molding.

As Jun-hyuk struggled to steady himself and push his body up, she began kicking him mercilessly, her house slippers still on.

Just then, the front door clicked open and his father walked in. Taking in the chaotic violence the exact second he got home from work, he stepped between them, blocking his wife with sharp irritation.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Shaking uncontrollably from head to toe, her eyes heavily bloodshot with rage, his wife spat back.

"Ask that little bastard yourself! Ask him what he did to Yuri!"

His father turned his gaze toward Jun-hyuk, who stammered in sheer panic.

"I... I don't know. I didn't do anything to Noona. I swear!"

His father’s eyes then shifted toward Yuri. She was standing in the living room, frozen at a distance near the balcony like a complete stranger, quietly observing the fallout.

"Ha-yuri. Explain what is going on here."

In that exact split second, a profound rush of emotion overwhelmed Yuri.

The father she had feared so deeply, the father she had desperately idolized—the man who had barely deigned to look at her for months—was finally, truly looking at her. Ever since Jun-hyuk had secured the top rank in the school, the times her father had actually made eye contact with her could be counted on one hand.

Yuri's body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her rims burned hot, and a tear finally spilled over, tracing down her cheek.

"I... I don't really know either," she whimpered.

Pausing to catch her breath through a delicate sob, Yuri glanced toward Mrs. Yoon, the maid.

"The maid... she said she found something in Jun-hyuk's room..."

The exact second Mrs. Yoon opened her mouth, visibly bewildered by Yuri's sudden pivot, her mother shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"That sick freak stuffed Yuri’s used sanitary pad inside his bookshelf!! I went through menopause years ago! The only one he could have stolen that from is Yuri!"

Yuri watched her father’s face closely. A volatile mixture of disgust and deep embarrassment flickered across his features before he snapped his gaze back to Jun-hyuk.

Jaw dropping, Jun-hyuk’s lips trembled as he scrambled for words.

"No... No, I didn't. I never did that. It really wasn't me...!"

Only then did Jun-hyuk’s eyes dart across the room toward Yuri, standing far off in the shadows. With a face that looked on the verge of breaking into tears, he cried out desperately.

"Noona! It wasn't me! You know it wasn't me...!"

Jun-hyuk’s face was completely drained of color, his pupils shaking erratically. His chin quivered, and even his lips were trembling. His eyes held a desperate blend of begging and sheer, helpless innocence. That exact expression... it looked identical to the face of Su-hee back in middle school, when she had held her gym clothes in her hands, her voice shaking, completely frozen in terror.

Finally, everything is back to how it should be.

Only now did Yuri feel as though she had reclaimed her rightful throne in this household. The sheer, intoxicating thrill of it made her chest heave as she continued to fake her quiet sobs.

Slamming a hand against his forehead as if a massive migraine were setting in, her father barked, "Heo Jun-hyuk, get down to the basement immediately. Ha-yuri, you get into your room!"

With his face already swelling from the assault, Jun-hyuk hastily hoisted his backpack and retreated into the basement.

Yuri moved back into her room and closed the door. She tried to crack it open slightly to spy on the living room, but her parents had moved to the absolute furthest table at the deep end of the room, obscuring their faces. It seemed they intended to have a quiet three-way interrogation with Mrs. Yoon.

Yuri shut the door completely, pressed her ear flat against the wood, and strained every single nerve in her body to catch their muffled conversation.

Forced into unexpected overtime, Mrs. Yoon began giving her testimony regarding the incident.

"It is exactly as Madame said. I was cleaning the young master's room, and I noticed a strange, foul odor. Right there on the bookshelf... a used sanitary pad had been tucked away."

She paused, darting an anxious glance toward Yoon-hee before continuing.

"I never use the first-floor bathroom. I only use the basement one... so it must belong to Young Mistress Yuri."

Yoon-hee flared up instantly, screaming that they needed to kick a psychopath like him out of the house this very instant.

Kang-hoon completely ignored Yoon-hee and fixed his gaze on Mrs. Yoon.

"You said it was resting openly on the bookshelf ledge?"

"Yes, sir. That's right."

"Not inside a drawer?"

"No, sir."

Mrs. Yoon looked distinctly confused by Kang-hoon's specific line of questioning, but he pressed on regardless.

"Tell me, do you usually clean deep inside the desk drawers?"

"Oh, no. I never touch the drawers. Some employers are very sensitive about their privacy and dislike that."

Taking a slow, calculated sip of his tea, Kang-hoon remarked, "Unless a pervert was actively begging to get caught, what kind of deviant leaves something like that sitting on an open shelf instead of hiding it in a drawer?"

"Maybe the boy didn't realize we hired a maid! He probably just didn't think that far ahead!" Yoon-hee countered sharply.

"There is no such thing as a pervert that stupid."

Yoon-hee’s temper flared instantly.

Is he saying that because he’s the kind of high-class pervert who couldn’t keep his pants zipped and went around siring a bastard child? Because on the outside, he’s a brilliant CEO who graduated from a prestigious university? Is that why he thinks a stupid pervert can't exist?

The toxic urge to venomously throw those words back at him boiled from the very depths of her stomach, but she forced herself to swallow it down. Yuri was still in her room; she couldn't allow the girl to be broken by this.

Then, Kang-hoon spoke, his voice deadpan. "If you ask me, it looks like Yuri planted it there on purpose."

The words struck Yoon-hee like a blunt instrument to the skull.

Suddenly, a memory from Yuri's middle school days flashed violently through her mind—a phone call she had received from the homeroom teacher.

“Madame, Yuri and Su-hee had an altercation today. Yuri accused Su-hee of stealing her belongings... Truthfully, Yuri has exhibited this behavior multiple times. Children often have misunderstandings, but Yuri has a strong tendency to definitively declare that others have stolen from her. I would highly appreciate it if you could guide her at home so they can resolve this through a healthy conversation.”

And then, another memory surfaced, a diagnosis from a doctor when Yuri was only nine years old.

“It appears to be... highly consistent with the early onset of antisocial tendencies.”

Yoon-hee squeezed her eyes shut.

Even so, she is my daughter. The child I raised with my own two hands.

She could accept her child tearing others down with harsh words, but she could not—would not—fathom the idea that her daughter had intentionally shoved her own soiled sanitary pad into a young boy's bookshelf. It was infinitely easier to believe that an unfamiliar boy had acted out of a twisted, depraved curiosity toward her daughter.

"Regardless of this nonsense, Heo Jun-hyuk is the sole heir to EduWise," Kang-hoon said coldly, rising from his seat. "Make sure you keep Yuri on a tight leash so she doesn't pull any more pathetic stunts."

Yoon-hee caught his sleeve, her voice trembling. "Why won't you believe Yuri? ...She's our child."

He violently threw her hand off him.

"Every time she pulls one of these brainless stunts, it makes me want to disown her on the spot."

Biting her lip until it bled, Yoon-hee hissed, "...Watch your mouth."

Kang-hoon looked down at Yoon-hee, a face twisted in absolute disgust.

"If she’s so precious to you, guard your daughter properly. I only choose the smart one who won't bring shame to my name. It's late, so go to sleep. The moment the sun comes up, move Jun-hyuk out of that basement and back into his bedroom."