Chapter 22: Discovered
From the hallway, Vivian Lowell heard sounds coming from the dance studio.
The two little princesses had arrived.
They were chattering away around Mason Grant and Shelly Lowell. Vivian didn’t know what they were saying, but she was sure it was nothing good.
Shelly was so desperate to be the true heiress, so eager to marry Mason for personal gain.
Well then, it was about time she experienced the burdens that came with getting everything she wanted.
「In another suite on the second floor.」
Vivian pushed the door open, and the first thing she saw was the vanity by Shelly’s window.
It was large and covered in all sorts of jewelry. Just as she’d expected, some of it had originally been in her own room but was now all here with Shelly.
In her past life, when Vivian and Shelly lived together in the Lowell Family home, Shelly loved coming to her room, pointing out this and that, saying how pretty something was and that she wanted it.
Thinking about the hard life Shelly had supposedly lived before, Vivian took great care of her. She usually agreed to whatever Shelly asked for.
Eventually, Shelly had taken basically all the nice things from her room.
The reason given was that Shelly would be the one attending all the Lowell Family’s future banquets anyway. Since Vivian worked at a company, she had no use for such expensive jewelry.
Why let it go to waste in her room when Shelly could be using it?
The excuse was so specious. It stung Vivian at the time, but after being gaslit and manipulated, she’d thought it made some sense and foolishly gave everything to Shelly.
Now, seeing the things that should have been in her room here with Shelly, Vivian wasn’t surprised.
Shelly probably didn’t even truly like these things. What she liked was the act of taking them from Vivian.
After a quick glance at the vanity, Vivian entered the bedroom. She had seen that box of Shelly’s in her past life. If she remembered correctly, it should be in the hidden compartment of the nightstand!
She walked to the nightstand, opened the drawer, and sure enough, she found the box tucked away in a corner!
The box was beautifully crafted from huanghuali wood, but its owner clearly didn’t cherish it. The corners were severely worn.
Even the carvings on top showed signs of damage.
Remembering how Shelly had sold the jewelry inside the box, Vivian couldn’t help but shake her head and chuckle.
’Shelly truly has no eye for value.’
Huanghuali is a rare type of wood, and this box was clearly carved from a single, seamless piece. Not only that, but the craftsmanship was also exquisite.
Most ordinary jewelry probably wasn’t even as valuable as the box itself.
Opening the box, Vivian found the old photograph inside. It was yellowed with age, but she could still faintly make out that it had been taken at a manor or in a large garden.
The background showed the corner of a building that looked like a Western-style villa, with a swimming pool and a small fountain nearby. On the outskirts of the villa was a patch of Bauhinia flowers.
’It really is the same place as in Rachel Faulkner’s profile picture!’
It was the home of Rachel Faulkner’s ex-husband’s grandfather.
’What kind of person was that old gentleman?’
’Why would a photo like this be in the box my parents left me?’
’Could there be some connection between them?’
Vivian mulled it over but couldn’t reach any conclusions. She then checked the back of the photo and found a date.
It was dated one month before her birth, which was likely when the photo was taken. With no other notes, Vivian couldn’t draw any further conclusions.
Helpless, Vivian sighed.
Now that she knew the photo was related to Rachel Faulkner’s profile picture, Vivian grew more curious about her own origins.
’My parents are both dead, but do I have any other relatives left in this world?’
’Why did no one come looking for me after my parents had their accident?’
She puzzled over it for a moment. Just as she was about to put everything back, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her!
It was the sound of men’s leather shoes on a hardwood floor.
’Who’s here?’
Vivian frantically put the things away and walked out of Shelly’s bedroom. Before she could even reach the suite’s entrance, she saw who had arrived.
It was Mason Grant.
Mason stood at the doorway, his gaze on Vivian exceptionally complex as he asked, "Vivian, what are you doing here?"
Vivian was perfectly calm, showing no signs of guilt. She looked at Mason coldly and said, "Just came to see how greedy the great heiress of the Lowell Family is."
’See how greedy Shelly is?’
At first, Mason didn’t understand what Vivian meant. But when his eyes swept over the jewelry stand next to her, he understood everything instantly.
He saw quite a bit of jewelry that Vivian used to own, including some pieces he had given her, all of which were now here with Shelly.
Mason pressed his lips together, suddenly at a loss for words.
Vivian had no intention of dealing with him any longer. She walked to the door, turned sideways to get past him, and said flatly, "Mr. Grant, please move."
"Vivian."
Unwilling to let her go, Mason suddenly grabbed Vivian’s wrist.
Vivian instinctively shook him off. Mason stepped forward again, blocking her path with a pained expression.
"Vivian, I’m really not doing this willingly. But the marriage alliance between our two families isn’t something I can just call off because I don’t want it. Vivian, can you understand me?"
Mason looked somewhat haggard.
He had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
Or perhaps—
’He’s been busy mastering the art of time management?’
"Understand you?" Seeing that Mason was completely blocking her way, Vivian had no choice but to cross her arms and retort, "Understand what about you?"
"Understand your reluctance? That you don’t want to marry Shelly? Fine, I understand. Then are you going to go tell Mr. Grant and Robert Lowell right now that you’re calling off the engagement?"
"I..."
Mason’s breath caught in his throat. He clearly hadn’t expected Vivian to be so forceful, and the words stuck in his throat.
He couldn’t do any of that.
His father had three sons, and he wasn’t the eldest. He’d just gotten lucky that the Lowell Family had chosen him for the marriage alliance, which gave him a chance to inherit the Grant Family’s business.
Without this marriage, his future status and position wouldn’t be very high. These were things he couldn’t afford to give up!
Seeing Mason speechless, Vivian understood everything. She asked mockingly, "Or are you planning to marry Shelly while having an affair with me?"
"Frankly, I have no interest in being someone’s mistress. If that’s what you’re after, you’d better find someone else."
"Oh, but let me give you a piece of advice. Shelly doesn’t seem like a very good-tempered person. You should be careful when you find a mistress. Don’t get caught."
With that, Vivian turned and left.