Chapter 2

Emily's gaze landed on my daughter, Lily. Covering her mouth, she put on a look of surprise. "Oh, so this is Mrs. Shaw's daughter? She's adorable. Aunt Grace, didn't you say you were going to sponsor me? Why are you here buying your daughter such an expensive dress instead?"

She said it loudly on purpose, and the other shoppers all turned to look. Mr. Warren had an arm around her waist, clearly enjoying the show. Before I could speak, Lily got upset first. "When did my mom ever say she'd sponsor you? Don't make stuff up!"

Emily immediately put on a hurt expression, and her eyes reddened all over again. "Sweetie, don't get me wrong. I don't mean anything bad. I just... I just envy you so much. If only I had a mom who'd buy me pretty dresses too."

That fake-sweet little performance of hers made some clueless bystanders start pointing fingers at me. "Seriously? She'd rather spend thousands on a dress than help a poor student?" "Yeah. That's just cold."

Mr. Warren looked at me smugly. "Mrs. Shaw, charity isn't something you can just talk about and never do. Our Emily is a good kid. Don't ruin her future." I was so mad I laughed. In my last life, this was exactly how moral pressure sucked my family dry little by little.

I moved Lily behind me and looked at Emily coldly. "Emily Lane, I made myself very clear yesterday. Our company's sponsorship slots are full. Now that you've found Mr. Warren to back you, you should be happy. Why are you still so hung up on me? Or do you think what he can give you doesn't measure up to what I could?"

Emily's face changed at once, and Mr. Warren's expression darkened too. I kept going. "And another thing, the dress I'm buying for my daughter is paid for with my money. It has absolutely nothing to do with you or anyone else here. You'd be better off spending your energy on studying instead of digging into other people's pockets."

I didn't hold back at all, and Emily's face went red, then white. Mr. Warren couldn't keep up the act anymore. He spoke in a low voice, "Mrs. Shaw, don't you think that's a bit harsh? Emily's just an innocent kid. Why are you, a grown woman, picking on her?"

I looked at him. "Mr. Warren, are you sure she's really an innocent kid? As far as I know, when she applied for our sponsorship, she hid the fact that her father has a steady job in town and sends her living expenses every month. Around here, that kind of behavior is called charity fraud."

Emily's pupils contracted. She clearly hadn't expected me to know that much, and even Mr. Warren froze for a second before looking at her. Emily hurried to explain, "Uncle Warren, don't listen to her! She's lying! My dad's just a temp worker. He barely makes a little over three hundred dollars a month. That's nowhere near enough to keep me in school!"

As she spoke, tears started falling again. "She's just jealous of me. She's jealous that you're good to me, so she's smearing me on purpose!"

Mr. Warren clearly believed Emily more. He looked back at me with a warning in his eyes. "Mrs. Shaw, watch what you say. Slandering someone has legal consequences."

Right then, David walked in with two bodyguards. He came straight to my side, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over my shoulders. "Who says my wife should face legal consequences?" David had such a commanding presence that Mr. Warren instinctively took a step back.

"Mr. Shaw, this is a misunderstanding." David looked at him coldly. "I heard everything from outside. Mr. Warren, keep your people in line. If she bothers my wife and daughter again, don't blame me for what happens next."

Mr. Warren's face turned ugly. He knew the Shaw family wasn't someone he could afford to offend. He dragged Emily away and left in disgrace. As she turned, Emily glanced back at me, her eyes full of hatred and resentment.

After that little scene was over, I bought Lily the dress. She hugged it in her arms, happy as a little angel. "Mom, you were amazing today."

I patted her head. "From now on, Mom will never let anyone bully you again."

On the way home, I called Director Lewis. "Check whether Emily Lane also sent her aid application to the city branch of The Hope Foundation. If she did, send them a copy of the evidence showing she lied to get charity money."

Director Lewis hesitated. "Ms. Summers, won't that be a little much...?"

"Just do what I said." I hung up. Emily Lane, this was only the beginning. Everything you did to my family in my last life, I'll make you pay back a hundredfold.