Chapter 2

“Ms. Clark, since you knew that was my coat, how dare you not return it? You’re even trying to trade it for one of your own? Do you have any idea how expensive that coat is?”

Molly immediately flew into a rage. Her shrill voice almost seemed to pierce my eardrums.

“You little wench, who do you think you’re looking down on? I’ll tell you this: I’m not giving that coat back. What are you going to do about it?”

I could not stand for that, so I immediately took a firm stance. “Fine, if you won’t return it, you’ll have to pay for it at full price. That’ll be 320,000 dollars.”

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line, followed by a burst of derisive laughter.

“320,000 dollars? Why don’t you just go rob someone? Even if that were true, how could a little girl like you even afford it?

“Besides, it’s your own fault for not keeping an eye on your things. Finders keepers.”

I was so furious I was about to lose my mind. I shouted, “You didn’t take it by accident. You were stealing!”

Molly was nonchalant and utterly brazen.

“I took your coat, so just take my jacket. That jacket’s worth 400,000 dollars. I’ll make up the difference with that purse, and we’ll call it even.

“If you want to call the police, go ahead. I’ll stick to my story that I grabbed the wrong one by mistake. It’s not like you can throw me in jail.”

That was the last straw.

Without another word, I ran straight to the nearest police station.

After explaining the situation to the officers, I produced the surveillance footage as evidence.

The police immediately called Molly.

Their intervention certainly had the desired effect.

Molly’s attitude was like night and day compared to before.

“Yes, yes, yes. I just took the wrong one by accident. We were still talking it out. It’s just a little disagreement.

“I didn’t expect the young lady to have such a short fuse that she called the police right away. I’ll talk it over with her properly on WhatsApp later. Officer, rest assured, I still have the coat, and I’ll definitely return it to her.”

She sounded exceptionally sincere throughout the entire conversation.

Grassroots police stations had a lot on their plates. Considering Molly’s sincere assurances throughout our conversation, I figured she should know better by this point.

So, I did not press the issue any further.

“I don’t want your jacket. Later, I’ll mail it back to you. As for my items, once you have returned them, I’ll have them appraised by a professional agency.

“If there’s any damage, you’ll have to compensate me for the full value. The same goes for the bag.”

Molly replied with a simple [Okay] and seemed quite cooperative.

On the third day, I received my coat and bag.

The coat looked exactly like the one I had lost. However, when I touched it, I noticed something was off.

The fabric on the surface was noticeably rougher than mine.

Upon checking the label inside, sure enough, it did not match.

My heart sank.

I checked the bag again. Nothing was missing from inside.

However, the cheap hardware and rough stitching all pointed to the fact that this bag was a fake.

She was really taking me for a fool.

I immediately called Molly again. “The coat and bag I received are both fakes. I estimate that my losses exceed 350,000 dollars. So, tell me. How are you going to compensate me?”

Molly slipped back into her casual tone. “If you say it’s worth 350,000 dollars, then so be it.

“I’m telling you, this is exactly what I received. Are you trying to extort me? Are you tired of living?”

I was furious and immediately flashed her the purchase receipt. Then, I threatened to call the police again.

I thought that might make Molly think twice.

To my surprise, she sent me a photo of the front of my ID.

It was the one I always kept in my purse.

“I never would’ve guessed that a poor country bumpkin like you would be so vain.

“You dress up in such expensive clothes. How many men are you seeing?”

Molly said this because she saw that my address on the ID was situated in a rural area.

That was where my family’s hometown was. When I was a child, my parents were busy with their business, so I grew up with my grandparents. Therefore, my ID was registered under my hometown.