Chapter 3

They found the bracelet in my bag.

"I never thought you were the kind of person who'd steal," Bianca sobbed as she clung to Albert, eyes red with tears.

She continued, "I get it. Your family's not well off, and you've never seen anything this expensive before. But that doesn't mean you can steal what's mine. That bracelet was Albert's birthday gift to me."

I frowned and looked at Albert. As much of a bastard he was, I was still the one footing his bill. The least he could do now was to speak up for me, right?

But he didn't. He only glanced at me, then comforted Bianca gently in his arms. "It's okay. We found it, didn't we? If you want, I'll get you another one in a few days."

Found it?

Was he seriously siding with her?

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone else instantly jumped in.

"Oh my god, I never thought Eve would be a thief."

"I'm keeping my distance from now on."

"Disgusting. Who steals someone's birthday present at their birthday party? She must be insane."

Their voices buzzed around me like a swarm of flies. I clenched my fists and let out a cold laugh. "Check the security footage. Call the police. I've got nothing to hide. Don't even try to accuse me."

At that, Bianca's lips pressed into a thin line, a flicker of panic flashing through her eyes. "Albert already said he won't pursue the matter further. We're classmates. There's no need to blow this out of proportion."

She must be scared that the police would come and prove she was the one who set this whole thing up.

I looked up and stared her straight in the eye. "Apologize and admit you put that bracelet in my bag. Or I'm calling the police."

Albert stepped in front of her and glared at me in disdain. "Don't go too far. We're already letting this go. Stop making a scene."

I was the one making a scene?

I drew in a deep breath. A fight now would barely scratch him.

If I were to take him down, it had to be big. I would make sure his reputation was completely destroyed.

Furious, I grabbed my bag and walked out of the hotel, whispers trailing behind me. I even covered the bill for the entire dinner for Albert.

When I got home, I ran straight into Dad's arms and broke down sobbing.

He doted on me like I was his whole world. The moment he saw me crying, he teared up without even knowing why. Seeing his face, my throat tightened, and I cried even harder.

How devastated he must have been the day I died in my last life.

"Dad, someone pretended to be your son," I said. "He even blackmailed and bullied me."

The second I finished, Dad's face darkened with fury. He picked up his phone to call my university's president, but I grabbed his hand.

"Dad, I want to handle this myself. I was the one who begged you to support him financially, so that we could attend the same university. Now that I've seen him for who he really is, I want to end this myself."

Dad let out a frustrated sigh. "I told you back then. That pretty face of his means no good, but you wouldn't listen. Look what happened now."

I frowned. "Are you helping or not?"

"I'll do anything you tell me to," Dad answered.

Albert cared more about his reputation than anything else. Over the years, thanks to Dad's name, the university had polished his image quite well. As I had never exposed him, even the president thought he was the true heir to the Roosevelt family.

He had gotten too comfortable that he forgot he was nothing but a broke kid living off Dad's support.

Well, I was going to burst his bubble now.

"I'll start by exposing him for the fraud he is," I said. "Then, we'll cut off every last cent of support."