The next morning was the weekend.

Eve Vaughn slept in, but Mason Lawson was woken up early by a phone call.

Seeing the caller ID, he glanced at the soundly sleeping young woman beside him and took his phone out to the balcony.

"Mom, what’s up this early in the morning?"

Mason Lawson’s voice was tinged with languor.

The voice of his adoptive mother, The Third Madam, came from the other end. "Mason, I’m abroad taking care of your father, so I can’t come back to look after you. You’re thirty now; it’s high time you put marriage on the agenda! Even Julian Lawson is about to get married. How can you not be anxious at all?"

Mason Lawson was a bit speechless. His mother was always nagging him to get married.

Hearing his silence, The Third Madam continued, "I hear Joanna is back in the country."

"I know," Mason Lawson said flatly.

The Third Madam sighed. "Back then, you couldn’t completely blame Joanna. Your marriage was indeed a bit rushed. You were both young and should have focused on your careers first. But things are good now. Both you and she are established in your careers, so you can finally settle down and talk about getting married!"

"Mom, what was between Joanna and me is in the past," Mason Lawson said, his tone turning colder. "You can stop playing matchmaker."

The Third Madam just snorted coldly. "Joanna told me you have a girlfriend? Someone who looks remarkably similar to her? And you even brought her home?"

Mason Lawson was clearly getting annoyed. "Don’t listen to her baseless gossip," he said.

The Third Madam clearly didn’t believe him. "At your age, full of vigor, it’s understandable to find a woman who looks like Joanna to satisfy your urges. But for marriage, we must find someone of equal social standing. You need to understand that not just any woman can casually walk through the doors of the Lawson family! You’ve only just managed to grasp the core power of the Lawson family. Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture for a minor gain. Don’t screw this up."

Mason Lawson’s gaze suddenly darkened. He said, word by word, "Mom, stop your wild guessing. I don’t have a woman. As for marriage, I will take it seriously. When I find someone suitable, I’ll tell you and Dad."

Only then did The Third Madam let out a slight sigh of relief. "That’s good! Before you get married, if you like those women on the side, it’s fine to keep them around to play with. But you can never let things get serious with a woman like that. For marriage, you should still consider a girl like Joanna."

"Got it."

Mason Lawson muttered a reply and hung up the phone.

His expression was complicated, his cold, handsome face unreadable.

Returning to the bedroom, he found the young woman still sleeping soundly.

But Mason Lawson had completely lost the desire to sleep. There were still many things at the company that needed his attention.

Before leaving, he kissed her on the forehead and reminded her, "Mrs. Linton is back. Remember to get up and eat breakfast."

"Mmm."

She was so sleepy she just rolled over and mumbled a reply.

After Mason Lawson left, Eve Vaughn slept until late in the morning.

When she came downstairs, Mrs. Linton greeted her with a beaming smile, as friendly as ever. "Miss Vaughn, breakfast is being kept warm for you. Go ahead and eat."

Eve Vaughn’s gaze was different now. She looked at Mrs. Linton for a long moment, then walked to the dining table and asked, seemingly casually, "Mrs. Linton, is your daughter feeling better?"

Mrs. Linton answered truthfully, "Much better. The doctor said it was just superficial injuries."

As Eve Vaughn ate her breakfast, she asked, "Did she tell you what happened?"

Mrs. Linton thought for a moment. "Not really. She just said she had a little conflict with her roommate, but she didn’t go into detail."

Eve Vaughn took a few bites of breakfast and then suddenly asked, "Mrs. Linton, a lot of my clothes and bags are missing from my room. And a few sets of my skincare products, too. Have you seen them?"

A flash of nervousness crossed Mrs. Linton’s face. She quickly shook her head and said, "N-no."

"Okay, I must have misremembered. I’ll look again. Or could it be that a thief got into the house? Mrs. Linton, you should be careful these next few days and make sure the doors and windows are locked. After all, the bags my ’uncle’ bought for me are quite expensive. If they were really stolen, I’m afraid we’d have to call the police."

"Oh, okay."

Mrs. Linton’s heart was pounding, but she quickly agreed.

Later that morning, when she saw Eve Vaughn go upstairs, Mrs. Linton returned to her own room and quickly took out her phone to call her daughter.

"Sharon, those bags and skincare products you had me take for you to show off with—you need to bring them back right now."

Mrs. Linton said timidly, "I think the lady of the house noticed things were missing today. If she can’t find them, she’ll probably call the police."

Sharon Lowe immediately exploded. She raged, "Didn’t you say the lady of this house doesn’t even like that stuff and never uses it?"

"I don’t know what happened! She really doesn’t use them normally," Mrs. Linton said. "When I used to clean her room, she hadn’t even unwrapped some of that stuff; it was just sitting there. But today, she suddenly brought it up. Anyway, you just have to bring it back now!"

Sharon Lowe said in a furious panic, "I can’t bring them back! They were all smashed! Even the bag I managed to salvage is scuffed!"

"What?"

Mrs. Linton’s voice trembled with fear. She pressed, "What happened? How did they get smashed?"

After all, Sharon Lowe had only mentioned being beaten up before, not that the items were smashed. She had kept quiet out of a guilty conscience, afraid her mother would blame her.

’She had assumed that a rich family had so many luxury goods that taking one or two items would go unnoticed.’

’But now, the owner actually wanted them back!’

Mrs. Linton was frantic on the other end. "What are we going to do? If she calls the police, with how expensive those things are, we’ll go to jail!"

"I know, I know!"

Sharon Lowe said irritably, "Whoever broke them can just pay me back the full price. Don’t worry. Worst case, once I get the compensation money, I’ll just buy her new ones to replace them."

...

On Monday, Eve Vaughn went to class, and just as she expected, Sharon Lowe was there too.

She couldn’t wait to demand compensation from her.

Before class, as students trickled into the classroom, Sharon Lowe deliberately made a scene so everyone would hear.

"Eve Vaughn, do you have any idea how much the things you threw away were worth?" Sharon Lowe stood with her arms crossed, looking self-righteous and superior. "Plenty of students from the next dorm saw you throw my stuff away. You can’t deny it!"

To prove her point, she pulled Nina Steele over. "You saw it too, didn’t you? When Eve Vaughn threw my things away?"

Nina Steele looked indifferent. "I saw it. But I also saw you throw her things away."

After saying her piece, she returned to her seat as if the argument had nothing to do with her.

Sharon Lowe shot her a hateful glare and cursed inwardly, ’Poor people are all just timid like that. Serves her right she can’t even afford to eat!’

Aria also spoke up for Eve Vaughn. "You threw away Evie’s things first. You’re the one who started it!"

"So what?" Sharon Lowe looked at Eve Vaughn with contempt. "Her shabby bedding and cheap skincare aren’t even worth as much as one of my outfits. What does it matter if they were thrown out? But my bags, clothes, and all my skincare products are designer brands. The things she destroyed are worth over three hundred thousand!"

When this number was mentioned, the surrounding students were stunned, all marveling at how rich Sharon Lowe’s family must be.

Everyone then started to watch the show. After all, that much money was no small sum for an ordinary family.

But Eve Vaughn just looked languid, flipping through a book nonchalantly. "You say three hundred thousand, so it’s three hundred thousand? Do you have the receipts? When you buy all these designer bags and cosmetics, you must have receipts, right?"

Sharon Lowe’s expression changed. She hadn’t bought those things herself, so how could she have receipts?

She gritted her teeth. "When I shop, I never look at the price. My family’s maid threw the receipts out long ago! Eve Vaughn, if you’re trying to welsh on the debt, no way! After class, we’ll take them to the store. They can definitely authenticate them and give us a price. You are definitely paying this money!"

"Oh, fine, fine, I’ll pay!"

Eve Vaughn nodded. "If I have to pay, I’ll pay. Why make such an aggressive scene? But I don’t have that kind of money on me. Why don’t you come home with me after school to get it?"

Sharon Lowe was momentarily stunned. She probably hadn’t expected Eve Vaughn to be so agreeable this time and so readily accept her demand.

’Still, this is good. Once I get the money, I can buy everything back and quietly fill the hole without alerting the lady of the house.’

’Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to get any more luxury goods from that house to maintain my ’rich girl’ persona in the future!’

During class, Aria whispered, "Evie, are you really going to pay her that much money? Has your family’s villa been sold yet? Three hundred thousand—where are you going to get that kind of money?"

Eve Vaughn gave her a mischievous wink. "Don’t worry, I have a plan!"

And so, since class ended early that afternoon, Sharon Lowe followed Eve Vaughn, ready to collect the debt at her home.

Getting into a taxi, Eve Vaughn gave the address of the villa.

Sharon Lowe was utterly astonished. The Sovereign Pearl was a famous wealthy district in Rivaster, home to the most exclusive, top-of-the-pyramid mansions.

She asked in surprise, "Isn’t your house at..."

She quickly stopped herself.

After all, if she blurted out the address of Eve Vaughn’s family villa, Eve would realize she had been followed.

’I’m not that stupid!’

So, Sharon Lowe quickly changed the subject. "Doesn’t your family have a villa? And you don’t even have your own car? You have to take this crummy taxi home?"

Eve Vaughn glanced at her and said pointedly, "It must be exhausting, maintaining this ’rich girl’ persona all day, isn’t it? Does your family have a chauffeur? If so, you should have him come pick you up."

Sharon Lowe was rendered speechless by the comeback and could only clench her fists and hold back her anger.

After all, her mind was completely occupied with how to return the items without anyone noticing.

When Sharon Lowe stood in front of the European-style standalone villa, she was completely stunned.

This house was countless times more luxurious than the villa she had seen Eve Vaughn go to before!

Eve Vaughn smiled and said deliberately, "It’s not bad compared to your family’s villa, right?"

Sharon Lowe was dying of jealousy. She could only force a brave face and say, "What’s so special about this? So this is what the top villas in Rivaster look like. My family’s villa in Calypsos is the truly magnificent one!"

As Eve Vaughn pressed her finger on the fingerprint scanner to open the door, she remarked, "In your dreams, you can have any kind of villa you want!"

Sharon Lowe followed her inside and was nearly blinded by the sight.

She had only ever seen a place this luxurious on TV.

This was the first time in her life she had ever been in such a house in reality.

Sharon Lowe immediately accused her, "And you dare say you didn’t fake the donation? Your family has such a nice house, yet you lied to everyone. Eve Vaughn, you just wait, tomorrow I’ll..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Mrs. Linton came out from inside, saying attentively, "Miss Vaughn, you’re back. I’ve prepared some fresh juice for you. Please come in and have some."

Just as the words left her mouth, she noticed someone standing behind Eve Vaughn.

When Sharon Lowe saw her mother, she was already dumbfounded.

Mrs. Linton was instantly stunned as well.

Sharon had intended to pretend she didn’t know Mrs. Linton, but before she could speak, Mrs. Linton said, "Sharon, what are you doing here looking for me? Go on, leave. You can’t just barge into the master’s house."

Even now, Sharon Lowe still hadn’t processed what was happening. She was completely bewildered.