Chapter 111: Everyone’s Watching and Laughing at Us
The lawyer wore the pained expression of an overworked employee begging for mercy. Alvin Lancaster couldn’t even vent his anger, leaving him simmering with frustration.
"Is this Mrs. Everett’s idea, or her new employer’s?" he demanded, wanting to get to the bottom of it.
Neither Mrs. Everett nor Caleb Lowell should have done this.
This wasn’t a dirty trick a normal person would even think of. It was purely to disgust them!
The finance person said, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can you hurry it up? I’m very busy."
Alvin Lancaster was so furious he felt like he could stand up from his wheelchair.
Jane Lancaster just smiled. "It’s fine. Mrs. Everett embezzled the money penny by penny, so it’s only reasonable she pay it back penny by penny. Your boss is very thoughtful and even treats his subordinates well. I imagine his business is thriving, and his salaries must be quite generous."
She clapped her hands, calling the maids over. All other tasks were to be paused for the day; everyone would split into groups to count the coins.
’I bet this wasn’t Caleb Lowell’s idea. Even if he wanted to clear Mrs. Everett’s name, he wouldn’t do it so flamboyantly. After all, the fewer people who know about this, the better.’
’It must have been that idiot, Clayton Lowell, right?’
’Well, this is great. The entire villa community is grabbing their popcorn, and now everyone knows Mrs. Everett embezzled from the Lancaster family.’
Alvin Lancaster had been on the verge of exploding with anger, but hearing his sister’s thoughts brought sudden clarity!
"Count today as overtime. I’ll pay everyone two thousand in overtime wages."
Such a good deal? The people counting the coins were no longer reluctant and began happily counting the money.
Jane Lancaster glanced over and noticed the finance person’s expression had soured.
’Sigh. They both work for the Lowell family, but while employees at the Lowell Group get hefty salaries, the same can’t be said for those working under Clayton Lowell.’
’Clayton Lowell has been an entrepreneur for half his life, and he’s still just an entrepreneur. He basically loses money on every investment, yet he insists on maintaining his aristocratic persona every day. Since he’s tight on cash, he naturally can’t be generous to his subordinates.’
’I’m guessing these two are working unpaid overtime today. The kind without any extra pay.’
’Is that so?’ Alvin Lancaster felt even more satisfied and almost laughed out loud.
The finance person: "..."
Instead of angering the Lancaster family, he was about to have a heart attack from his own fury!
***
Alvin Lancaster didn’t even need to publicize it intentionally. By simply not forbidding discussion, word of the incident quickly spread throughout the entire villa community.
After all, this was one of the most expensive villa communities in the city. Everyone was shocked that someone could be so bizarre.
Fabricating expenses, padding accounts, and taking kickbacks—embezzling nearly 500,000 in two years was more than enough to land someone in prison.
Out of respect for their past relationship, the Lancaster family didn’t call the police, only asking for the money back. Most people would have been eager to return the money quietly and pretend nothing had happened.
But this person just had to make a huge spectacle of returning the money, using such a disgusting method, as if trying to slap her former employers in the face. She clearly didn’t care about her reputation at all.
Soon enough, everyone had dug up Mrs. Everett’s full name. Every family made a mental note to steer clear of this Felicia Everett in the future.
She already had a bad character, but to be caught red-handed and still act so brazenly showed her character wasn’t just bad—it was abysmal.
You wouldn’t even want to hire someone like that. If you ran into her on the street, you’d want to keep your distance.
***
"So, President Lowell, was Jane Lancaster furious?" Mrs. Everett asked eagerly the moment she saw Clayton Lowell.
Clayton Lowell sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said, "Cigar."
Mrs. Everett attentively handed him a trimmed cigar and lit it for him.
Smoking his cigar, Clayton Lowell said with a laugh, "Goes without saying, doesn’t it? The Lancasters are so arrogant, bullying a servant like that. Once word gets out, their reputation will be ruined."
In truth, he had been quite displeased at first when Caleb Lowell foisted a maid on him.
But when he heard this was the maid Jane Lancaster wanted to fire, he immediately changed his mind.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend!
Besides, Caleb had said he would be responsible for her salary, which meant he was getting a free laborer!
What’s more, Mrs. Everett was rather good-looking. She was nothing like those socialites and wealthy madams—she was considerate, docile, and knew how to take care of someone.
If not for the age difference, he might have suspected she was Caleb’s mistress.
Originally, Caleb had transferred the money to him, wanting his help in handling the return of the embezzled funds.
But Clayton felt a direct transfer was too pathetic. As it happened, Mrs. Everett also wanted to show up and throw the money in their faces to vent her anger. They saw eye to eye, which led to the grand spectacle of returning the money.
"Don’t you worry. I’ve already put the word out that you suffered all kinds of grievances at the Lancaster home." ’When it comes to manipulating public opinion, who can beat me?’
Mrs. Everett’s eyes flickered. "Thank you, President Lowell. You’re too kind!"
She guessed Jane Lancaster knew her backer was Caleb Lowell, so she had deliberately used this tactic to show Jane just how much Caleb valued her.
’Jane Lancaster must be going crazy with rage right now. Her own fiancé is siding with a servant instead of her.’
Clayton Lowell’s phone suddenly rang. Seeing it was a call from Caleb Lowell, he quickly answered.
He began with a smile, "Sean, your uncle has handled that matter you asked about..."
"Uncle, do you have any idea what’s happening out there?" Caleb Lowell cut him off directly. "The entire high-society circle is gossiping and laughing at our expense!"
Clayton Lowell was stunned. "That’s impossible!"
’Aren’t they supposed to be laughing at the Lancasters? Getting slapped in the face like that by a mere servant.’
Caleb massaged his temples wearily. "Why is it impossible? Mrs. Everett was indeed in the wrong. Even if it was to raise money for her daughter’s surgery, she shouldn’t have done it."
At first, he had also thought the Lancasters were oppressing Mrs. Everett. But after repeated questioning, she finally confessed that she had indeed embezzled money from them.
Mrs. Everett felt she couldn’t deny it. Rather than let Caleb go to the Lancasters to find out what happened, it was better to confess herself. At least that way, she could retain some control of the situation.
She cried her eyes out, saying her daughter needed surgery and that her parents were emotionally manipulating her, constantly demanding money. That’s why she had a moment of weakness and did the wrong thing.
She said she only wanted to say a proper goodbye to Jane Lancaster, but wasn’t even allowed that. She claimed she was pushed, fell, and broke her suitcase, which in turn caused the Second Young Master to fracture his ankle again.
Mrs. Everett had mastered the art of conversation: half-truths, half-lies, and leaving you to fill in the blanks yourself.
She didn’t explicitly accuse Jane Lancaster of hurting her, so her intentional omission made her look like she was enduring humiliation for a greater cause.
Caleb’s heart sank. No one in the Lancaster family would lay a hand on Mrs. Everett, except... Jane Lancaster.
Not only was Jane capable of physical violence, but she had also repeatedly thought about breaking Alvin Lancaster’s legs.
Now she was forcing Mrs. Everett to return the money within a month or she’d call the police... Thinking of Samuel Miller, who was still in jail, this was definitely something she was capable of.
Caleb couldn’t just ignore it. At the end of the day, Mrs. Everett was just a pitiful person trapped by her circumstances.
But no matter what, Mrs. Everett was in the wrong. It would have been best to make amends quietly, part on good terms, and save some face for everyone involved.
Now the incident was the talk of the town, and Mrs. Everett’s reputation was ruined.
"Also, they’re all mocking Mrs. Everett’s new employer, calling him an idiot." Caleb let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Clayton Lowell was the one who had done the stupid thing, not the Lancasters. He couldn’t even criticize the Lancaster family for being ungrateful or ruthless.
"Have Mrs. Everett try to stay indoors for a while." Caleb hung up after giving the instruction.
Mrs. Everett was in disbelief. How could this have happened? She looked weakly and helplessly at Clayton Lowell. "President Lowell..."
Clayton Lowell’s face was dark. He suddenly grabbed a vase from the coffee table and hurled it to the ground.
With a loud CRASH, shards of porcelain flew everywhere.
Mrs. Everett was so frightened she didn’t dare make a sound.