Chapter 25: Taking Back Her Things
Vivian Lowell stated her three conditions.
First, she demanded that Shelly Lowell return all of her belongings, including the wool felt dolls from her room, her jewelry, and everything else.
And, the wooden box that had always belonged to Vivian Lowell.
As soon as she spoke.
Shelly Lowell was stunned. She slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet, staring at Vivian Lowell in disbelief. "How do you know about a wooden box?" she demanded.
Vivian Lowell raised an eyebrow. Seeing Shelly Lowell’s shocked reaction, she pulled out her phone, opened WhatsApp, and showed a chat conversation directly to Shelly and Sharon Galahad.
"This is the information I got from contacting the hospital director and the orphanage director. I don’t just know there’s a wooden box; I also know exactly what’s inside it."
Vivian Lowell said, "Since you’re the Lowell family’s precious daughter, then those things naturally don’t belong to you. It’s only right that I take them back."
Shelly Lowell bit her lip, unwilling to concede.
Although she had already taken and sold anything of value from the box, Shelly Lowell was still very reluctant to return what she considered her things to Vivian Lowell.
Seeing Shelly Lowell bite her lip, Vivian Lowell paused before continuing, "Oh, and I’ll be taking inventory of the contents in person. If anything is missing, I’ll have to trouble you to find it."
Shelly Lowell’s eyes widened again.
"I... I..."
She stammered, at a loss for words.
Watching from the side, Sharon Galahad was fuming.
’It’s just a wooden box, what’s the big deal?’
’Just give it back. Getting the blueprints is what’s most important—they’re worth ten million!’
’Once they had that money, what couldn’t Shelly buy?’
’All this dithering... honestly!’
"What’s wrong?" Vivian Lowell smiled mockingly, feigning ignorance. "Shelly Lowell, are you having some difficulty? Did you lose the things inside?"
Shelly Lowell nodded vigorously!
"I... I lost a lot of it. What’s left..."
"That’s enough." Vivian Lowell cut Shelly Lowell off with a wave of her hand. "Just bring the box down first, and we’ll talk."
「A few minutes later.」
Ms. Shaw came from Shelly Lowell’s room with the wooden box Vivian Lowell had requested. Vivian had also printed out an inventory list, ready to check everything one by one.
And now.
The moment the wooden box was opened, the expressions on Sharon Galahad, Mason Grant, and the Grant family’s two little princesses changed instantly.
It was as if...
All the valuable items inside were gone!
Shelly Lowell had just said she’d lost some things, but how could she have "coincidentally" lost only the valuable ones?
Sharon Galahad was mortified.
She clearly realized what had happened and said to Vivian Lowell, "Vivian, dear, I’ll compensate you for the things she lost! They’re all just little trinkets, no need to be so petty."
"No need to be petty?"
Vivian Lowell found this amusing. "Those were mementos left to me by my parents. They can’t be measured in money. Compensate me? With what?"
"Shelly Lowell, you’d better confess. Where did those things go?"
And so.
Under the threatening glare of Sharon Galahad, the disdainful looks from the Grant family’s two little princesses, and Mason Grant’s deep, inscrutable gaze, Shelly Lowell confessed where the items had gone.
All the jewelry had been pawned by Shelly Lowell at a shop in the city where she grew up. She had signed a receipt.
Shelly Lowell had thrown the receipt away because she found the act deeply embarrassing.
Vivian Lowell immediately rolled her eyes internally.
’If you think it’s embarrassing, why do it?’
’Truly shameless!’
But—
Fortunately, Vivian Lowell still managed to get the old photographs back.
She had only asked Shelly Lowell about the jewelry’s whereabouts to see if she could dig up any useful clues from them.
Shelly Lowell also returned Vivian Lowell’s wool felt toys and her other jewelry.
Vivian Lowell looked at the jewelry, thinking she should probably sell it when she had time. It would be good to donate the money she received.
She had bought all this jewelry with the dividends she earned after joining the Lowell Group and making money for them. She didn’t want these things anymore, nor did she want to give them to Shelly Lowell.
Selling them and donating the proceeds was the best solution.
Soon, Vivian Lowell stated her second condition.
She demanded that on the morning of Shelly Lowell and Mason Grant’s engagement ceremony, Shelly, acting as the representative of the Lowell Group, would publicly release the design blueprints for the "Swan" jewelry line.
As soon as this demand was made, both Shelly Lowell and Sharon Galahad looked utterly confused.
Perhaps because Vivian Lowell had been so aggressive earlier, they now suspected some kind of conspiracy behind her request.
But Vivian Lowell couldn’t be bothered to explain. She simply said, "If you’re not willing, we don’t have to cooperate."
With that said, Sharon Galahad had no choice. Fortunately, this demand wasn’t too difficult to fulfill, so she naturally agreed.
This was actually beneficial for them, too.
If Shelly was the one to release them, the public would see such excellent designs and only think that Shelly was incredibly talented, which would be a huge boost to her reputation.
"Then, what’s your third condition?"
Sharon Galahad was apprehensive, afraid Vivian Lowell would make an exorbitant demand.
Vivian Lowell leaned back in her chair and said lazily, "I also want to attend the Lowell Family banquet a week from now."
This banquet was being held for Shelly Lowell by Robert Lowell and Sharon Galahad.
It was to formally recognize Shelly’s place in the family and introduce her to the great families of Aethelburg, allowing her to meet more people and integrate into high society as quickly as possible.
In her past life, Vivian Lowell had been excluded from this banquet.
She wasn’t the real heiress, so the Lowell Family naturally wouldn’t give her the opportunity.
But—
Although Vivian Lowell hadn’t attended, she had actually been the one to plan the entire event, including the venue design and the food selection.
She was even in charge of Shelly Lowell’s outfit.
At the same time, Vivian Lowell had also been responsible for security at the banquet that day!
Therefore, she knew something in advance that Shelly Lowell did not.
That night, someone would come to the Lowell Family estate—someone who had a very, very deep connection to Shelly Lowell.
In her past life, Vivian Lowell had discovered this person just as he was sneaking in. After questioning him and learning his true purpose, Vivian had hesitated before handing him over to Shelly Lowell and Sharon Galahad to deal with.
Afterward, the person disappeared.
A long time later, when Vivian Lowell saw him on a missing person notice, he was completely unrecognizable. The report said he had been in a car accident.
But as for what really happened—
Based on the information Vivian Lowell uncovered later, she knew with certainty that it was definitely not as simple as a car accident!