Chapter 3

I ignored him and turned my attention to Madeline Pierce.

My eyes immediately landed on the brand-new Hermès bag in her hand.

“Ms. Pierce, don’t you feel embarrassed carrying a fake designer bag around?”

Madeline’s face went pale. She instinctively hid the bag behind her.

“What are you talking about? Julian just bought this for me! It cost over ten thousand dollars!”

I let out a derisive laugh and exposed her in front of everyone.

“The hardware engravings are blurry around the edges, and the stitching is crooked.

“The leather has completely wrong sheen. It’s not even a good counterfeit. It’s barely an imitation.

“Even Julian has to buy you a fake bag. Looks like his company’s cash flow really is about to collapse.”

Several sales agents in the office poked their heads out to see what was happening.

“You!”

Madeline’s face flushed red as she trembled with rage.

She turned to Julian and stomped her foot indignantly.

“Julian, look at her! She actually accused you of giving me a fake bag!”

Julian had just been exposed in front of everyone. His face turned from pale to red and back again.

Unable to meet Madeline’s eyes, he fell completely silent.

I couldn’t be bothered to waste another second on them. I turned around and slapped my bank card down on the counter.

“Run the card.”

A sharp beep sounded.

Payment successful.

I signed the paperwork without hesitation and finalized the purchase of the entire floor.

Julian watched me, then couldn’t help but sneer.

“Vivian, you’ve lost your mind. You just blew $9,000,000 on a half-finished development.

“Just wait. You’ll lose everything and end up on the streets!”

I put the purchase documents away in my bag.

Then I turned to him with a meaningful smile.

“Is that so? We’ll see.”

The official announcement about the new school district would be issued in three days.

Then we’d see who had really lost their mind.

Three days later, the headlines in Riverton exploded.

The half-finished development that no one had wanted suddenly became the hottest property in the city.

Within just a few days, the value of the entire floor I’d purchased had tripled.

Real estate agents called me nonstop, practically begging me to sell.

I felt fantastic when I saw the latest valuation reported in the news.

After tidying up, I took a cab to Riverton General Hospital for a prenatal checkup.

I was almost three months pregnant, and this was my first hospital visit since being reborn.

The doctor overseeing my checkup was Dr. Everett Lawson.

Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting a clean, warm glow over his features.

“Ms. Hartley, did you come alone today?”

Dr. Lawson looked over my medical records, his voice calm and gentle.

I nodded calmly.

“Yes. I’m a single mother.”

Dr. Lawson nodded and continued in an equally composed tone.

“The babies are developing very well. Their heartbeats are strong, so there’s no need to worry.”

After the ultrasound, I was about to push myself up from the examination table.

I stood too quickly, and my vision suddenly went dark for a moment.

A well-defined hand reached out at just the right moment and steadied my arm.

“Careful. It’s easy to experience low blood sugar during pregnancy. Don’t get up so quickly.”

I used his support to sit up and quietly thanked him.

He then turned around, poured me a glass of lukewarm water, and handed it to me.

“Get plenty of rest during the first trimester, and try not to let your emotions get too intense.

“If you experience any discomfort, come see me anytime. Here’s my work number.”

He handed me a business card.

With my newfound financial security and the anticipation of the new life growing inside me, I felt hopeful about the future.

For the first time in a long while, everything seemed to be moving in the right direction.

After my checkup, I took my paperwork and walked into the hospital lobby.

I was about to call a cab home when the massive screen on the wall suddenly cut to a breaking financial report.

“We have breaking news. Riverton-based Calloway Industries is facing a major crisis.

“An overseas investment project has been brought to a complete halt due to an unexpected change in government policy.

“The project reportedly involves hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, placing Calloway Industries under immense financial pressure.”

I stopped in my tracks and stared at the images flashing across the screen.