Eve Vaughn opened the door and was dragged all the way downstairs by the dorm manager, only to find Julian Lawson had collapsed.

"Julian Lawson!"

Without a second thought, she rushed forward and shook him repeatedly. "Julian Lawson, wake up! What’s wrong with you?"

But there was no response.

She couldn’t tell if he was faking it.

Left with no other choice, she started performing CPR on Julian while telling the dorm manager to call 911.

After all, Julian had suffered from acute liver failure before. A transplant had saved his life, but who knew if he might have a relapse?

Eve felt a pang of fear. If Julian died or had a major relapse, the Lawsons would surely blame her for it.

After all, he had collapsed right outside her dormitory tonight.

The ambulance arrived quickly, and Eve got in with him.

But she didn’t have any of the Lawsons’ phone numbers. In her panic, her only choice was to call Mason Lawson.

For the past few days, Old Mr. Lawson had been auditing the company’s books. Mason had been by his side for three full days, terrified that something might go wrong and give the main family branch an opening to undermine him.

Tonight was the final day of the audit. Old Mr. Lawson hadn’t found any discrepancies. After concluding the audit, he even held a reception for Mason, praising his numerous accomplishments since taking charge of the Lawson Group and transferring a portion of his own shares to him.

Instantly, Mason’s standing within the Lawson Group soared.

On the way back from the reception, Mason was riding in his own car.

He smiled when he saw Eve Vaughn’s name on his screen and answered the call.

But her panicked, trembling voice came from the other end. "Mason, you have to call Julian’s parents, quickly! Something’s happened to him!"

Mason’s heart lurched, the effects of the wine he’d drunk earlier vanishing. He frowned. "Tell me exactly what happened."

On the verge of tears, Eve rambled, "Julian collapsed outside my dorm building. We’re on our way to Rivaster Central Hospital now. I don’t know if it’s a relapse of his old condition or what, but please, just call his parents right away. You’re the only one of the Lawsons whose number I have."

Mason was bewildered. ’How did Julian get tangled up with Eve again?’

’And what’s more, she was the one taking him to the hospital.’

The realization made Mason vaguely uncomfortable, but a life was on the line. He couldn’t just do nothing.

So, he had Neil Kane call the Lawson residence, pretending to be a staff member from Rivaster Central Hospital, to inform them about Julian.

Then, Mason instructed the driver, "Turn the car around. We’re going to Rivaster Central Hospital."

...

「Half an hour later.」

The Lawsons had all converged on Rivaster Central Hospital; even Old Mr. Lawson had come after hearing the news.

After all, among the current generation of grandchildren, Julian was the only one.

Eve hadn’t expected that her first time meeting all the Lawsons would be under circumstances like these.

With the exception of Mason, they all scrutinized her with sharp, suspicious eyes.

Their stares made Eve’s heart race. She lowered her head. "Since you’re all here, I’ll get going."

She had just taken a step when Autumn Woods grabbed her, demanding furiously, "You’re not going anywhere! Why was our Julian with you? Eve Vaughn, you’d better explain yourself! What did you do to him? What made him suddenly collapse like this?"

Just then, the Third Madam, who was standing beside Old Mr. Lawson, added fuel to the fire. "I hear this Miss Vaughn is Julian’s ex-girlfriend. Could it be she still holds a grudge and wanted revenge?"

Her words were exactly what Autumn Woods wanted to hear.

For the first time, the two women, who were usually at odds with each other, were on the same side.

Autumn Woods snorted. "I think so too! Eve Vaughn, if you don’t give me an honest explanation today, you’re not walking out of this hospital! Our Julian and Charlotte are head over heels for each other. If you hadn’t tried to seduce him, why would he have gone looking for you?"

Ethan Lawson turned to the old man. "Dad, this is the girl who abandoned our Julian when he was sick! And now she’s put him in a coma. You have to do something, drive her out of Rivaster! Otherwise, she’ll be the death of him sooner or later!"

Old Mr. Lawson’s sharp, ice-cold gaze fell upon Eve Vaughn.

He looked her up and down. "For such a young girl, you’ve got a lot of nerve, daring to target my grandson. I take it you don’t know who the Lawsons are in Rivaster, do you?"

Eve was being ganged up on. It felt like every single one of them wanted to stomp on her, to crush her into dust right here, tonight.

She was afraid at first, but after calming down, she faced their predatory gazes and said, enunciating every word, "I have no feelings left for Julian Lawson. He’s the one who came to my dorm late at night looking for me. From now on, please keep him under control. I don’t want him harassing me anymore."

"Nonsense! Our Julian hates your guts! Why would he ever go looking for you? You horrid girl, you’re absolutely vicious!"

Autumn Woods roared, cutting her off, and lunged forward, raising her hand to slap Eve across the face.

Just then, a hand shot out from behind and seized her wrist in a firm grip.

Everyone turned in shock. It was Mason Lawson.