Chapter 10 Samantha's True Face

In the living room, Michael and Sylvia were celebrating Vincent's homecoming after several years when Sam and his wife arrived.

Despite the unpleasantness last time, they were relatives after all. And they came visiting as if nothing had happened, all smiles.

You can't slap someone who's smiling at you.

But before they'd exchanged more than a few words, crazy screaming came from outside.

Looking up, everyone saw Samantha burst in soaking wet, stumbling desperately into Linda's arms.

"Samantha! What happened?" Linda's legs nearly gave out in fear as she rushed to support her daughter. "Who did this to you?!"

Samantha was crying and about to speak when Olivia walked in, making her stare like she'd seen a ghost as she clutched Linda's sleeve with a shaking voice.

"It was her! Olivia pushed me into the water! She held me down and wouldn't let me up—she tried to drown me!"

Hearing this, Sam flew into a rage. He immediately slammed the table and stood up, pointing at Michael.

"Look at what your daughter did! You owe us an explanation today!"

Michael and Sylvia exchanged glances, both finding it hard to believe.

And Vincent felt like the sky was falling.

His sister, whom he hadn't seen in years, tried to kill his cousin?

This... how was this possible?

Vincent quickly said to Sam.

"Uncle Sam, Liv would never do something like that."

Then he looked at Olivia, his tone somewhat urgent.

"Liv, what really happened?"

Olivia saw her brother after their long separation, her heart flooded with emotions.

But right now, she could only nod calmly, her tone even.

"That's right. I did push her into the water."

As soon as she said this, the room fell silent.

Linda was the first to react, pointing at Olivia, looking triumphantly at Michael.

"See! Your daughter admitted it herself! Still trying to deny it? She has to apologize to Samantha today! Last time she hit someone, this time it's attempted murder—what's next, killing all of us?"

Michael looked at his daughter in surprise, speechless.

Now Samantha felt even more in control. Her crying got louder, and she went up to grab Vincent's arm.

"Vincent, look at what she did... She's gone too far. I never did anything to her. I'm not as rich as her, and I don't have a brother like you, but that doesn't mean I should be bullied like this."

Vincent did feel some sympathy for this cousin.

Though he didn't believe Olivia would kill someone, she had just admitted it herself... He should comfort his cousin first.

After thinking, Vincent pulled out a check, wrote it for two million, and handed it to Samantha, about to offer comfort.

Samantha couldn't suppress the smug smile at the corner of her mouth and eagerly reached for it.

But Olivia suddenly stepped forward and snatched the check away.

Then Olivia pulled out her phone from her pocket and handed it to Vincent.

"Vincent, don't rush. Listen to this first."

She played a recording.

"If you don't give me an explanation, I'll jump in right now! Then I'll tell your brother you pushed me!"

"Just because I'm pitiful and your brother has that knight-in-shining-armor thing, he'll definitely compensate me!"

It was Samantha's voice, crystal clear.

When the recording finished, the living room fell silent.

Vincent's expression darkened instantly. He looked at Samantha in disbelief, as if something had shattered in his eyes.

Though he didn't cherish this cousin as much as his own sister, he had always given her whatever she asked for.

He never imagined that in Samantha's mind, he was just a stupid sucker.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, but his eyes couldn't help turning cold.

He shook off Samantha's hand. "Samantha, after all this, what else do you have to say? Leave right now. The Shaw family doesn't welcome you anymore!"

Samantha was stunned.

She never expected Olivia would record it!

Why!

Olivia had been a bit distant from her lately, but not enough to be this guarded!

She didn't know what would happen—how could she have predicted it!

She didn't understand. There was so much she didn't understand.

The more she thought about it, the more furious she became. She could only point at Olivia through gritted teeth.

"Olivia! You're so calculating!"

Olivia sneered. "Calculating? You're just stupid. What, still not leaving? Want another drink from the fountain?"

Michael and Sylvia's faces also turned completely cold.

"Sam, Linda, take your daughter and leave! Don't let Samantha come here again. Our Liv doesn't have a sister like her!"

Sam and his wife looked terrible and opened their mouths to defend themselves, but Michael's livid face silenced them.

"Fine, let's go."

Sam left with a dark expression.

Linda frowned too, a flash of resentment in her eyes. She pulled Samantha to leave.

But Samantha refused. Just as she was about to speak, Sam's glare silenced her, and she had to follow them out.

Outside the villa, Samantha shook off Linda's hand and cried out indignantly.

"Dad! Mom! I've been so wronged—why should we leave! If we'd just held on a bit longer, the check would've been ours!"

Sam was impatient, his tone harsh.

"What do you know! You didn't discuss this with us first, and you did it so sloppily—how could you let yourself be recorded! If we keep making a scene, we won't just lose the money, we'll anger the Shaw family! Then there'll be no chance at all!"

Linda sighed too. "Samantha, listen to your father. Be patient for now. There'll be plenty of chances later. The Shaw family will be under our feet eventually!"

Samantha left, grinding her teeth in anger.

Without those annoying pests, the Shaw family living room quickly returned to its peaceful warmth.

Olivia looked at Vincent's familiar face—his gentle smile was just like in her memory.

She stepped forward and hugged her brother's arm, her eyes instantly reddening.

"Vincent, you're finally back."

Vincent gently ruffled her hair and couldn't help but laugh.

"Silly girl, why are you crying? We've only been apart a few years, but from your tone, it sounds like a lifetime. I thought about you the most while I was abroad. Oh, I brought you a gift—remember to open it later."

Olivia's voice grew more choked up.

"I don't want any gift. Vincent, I just want you to stay with me."

Vincent's heart felt like something was squeezing it. He looked at the girl in his arms—her appearance was indeed still the same as before.

But something was different.

"Mature" wasn't quite the right word. It was more like she'd been through something unimaginable.

Though he didn't know what it was, his heart seemed to ache along with his sister's.

"Liv, tell me, did someone bully you? Tell me who it was and I'll teach them a lesson! Why have you changed so much all of a sudden?"

Olivia smiled through her tears.

She actually felt that her brother hadn't changed at all.

He was still the person who would always support her unconditionally.

She shook her head.

"Vincent, I'm fine. After years apart, people change."

After thinking, her expression became serious. "It's not just me who's changed—a lot of people around us have changed too. Vincent, Samantha was just one example. You have to be careful from now on. Don't let people fool you."

Vincent looked at his sister's serious expression and nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. By the way, as soon as I got back today, I saw the livestream of your race. When did you learn to race? Even I didn't know."

Olivia's heart ached.

In her past life, she had secretly learned racing to surprise Vincent on his thirtieth birthday.

But then Vincent had his accident, and he never got to see it.

She forced down her emotions and smiled. "After all these years apart, isn't it normal to learn some new things?"

Vincent grinned.

"Sure is. Looks like my sister's been working hard in secret these past few years. Funny thing—I learned a lot of new stuff abroad too. I'll show you sometime."

Olivia nodded and hugged her brother tightly.

"Okay, there'll be plenty of chances."

In this life, she, Olivia, would definitely protect everyone she cared about.

Those parasites from the White family would have to be dealt with eventually. But today when they came, Mom and Dad still received them.

Even though she'd played the recording today and shown her family Samantha's true colors, there was no guarantee her parents wouldn't soften later and accept them again.

She needed to gather more evidence.

Back in her room, Olivia opened the gift her brother gave her.

It was a delicate bracelet made of light blue gemstones and South African diamonds.

The most dazzling one was the "Goddess's Tear," which had been bought by some hidden tycoon fifty years ago.

Even with money, you couldn't necessarily buy it.

Clearly, her brother had put a lot of thought into this.

In her past life, this bracelet had indeed brought her countless good fortune.

Before that series of disasters happened, this bracelet had been stolen.

Later, it appeared on Samantha's wrist.

Thinking of this, Olivia's hatred nearly overflowed from her chest.

She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Connor, I need a favor. For the next month, keep an eye on Sam's family for me..."