Chapter 2

“Ethan, aren’t you saying anything because I’m right?”

“Grace, you’ve watched how I’ve treated Vivian all these years. I love her more than anything. How could I possibly want her dead?”

I took Grace’s hand and put on a look of unbearable grief.

“I’m the last person who wants something like this to happen. I just want Vivian to come home safely. I’ve already made arrangements. Let’s go to the scene.”

The moment she heard that, Grace’s face lit up.

She looked as if she had already forgotten that her daughter’s life was still supposedly hanging in the balance.

Grace and I got into the car one after the other.

Before leaving, I had also hired a private investigator. I needed him to watch everything happening around my house. The moment Vivian appeared, he was to record evidence.

After Grace sat down, she kept both hands hidden as she rapidly typed on her phone.

When I asked what she was doing, she claimed she was checking the news because she was worried about the crash.

But the scene had already been sealed off, and all the vehicles had been diverted. Aside from the first photos that had leaked online, there was nothing new to see.

I knew Grace was lying.

She was actually messaging Vivian and reporting everything I did.

Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Vivian and her childhood friend were already waiting in disguise.

Vivian was preparing to sneak inside and take some expensive jewelry to sell, but the man beside her stopped her.

“What’s going on? Why is that man lurking outside my house?”

“I’ll go take a look.”

Vivian was about to step forward when Noah urgently stopped her.

“No. If you show yourself now, you’ll be exposed. The whole plan will be ruined.”

She stopped, her expression turning ugly.

“Then what are we supposed to do? My jewelry and important belongings are all inside.”

In my previous life, when I returned home from the crash site, the house had been turned upside down. A great deal of jewelry was missing.

At the time, I couldn’t accept that Vivian was dead. With the victims’ families causing trouble, I had no energy to investigate the theft. In the end, I simply let it go.

But this time, I wouldn’t let her succeed.

She was supposedly dead, yet she still wanted to steal my money to support her lover.

Not a chance.

“Don’t worry. We’ll find another opportunity.”

“Besides, once you’re dead, he’ll have to support your mother. We can just make Mom demand more money from him and use it ourselves.”

Vivian and Noah quietly withdrew from the mansion.

Even now, they were dreaming about living off me for the rest of their lives.

They had no idea I had deliberately placed two investigators around the house—one in plain sight and one hidden—to gather evidence.

Even if Vivian had a new identity, her face hadn’t changed.

Once I had photos of her, their scheme had already lost half its power.

When I reached the crash site, the flames had only just been extinguished.

The moment Grace got out of the car, she ignored the police officers and firefighters trying to stop her and charged inside.

By coincidence, the fire had burned several vehicles completely black. Yet Grace still found Vivian’s car without hesitation.

The moment she got close, she threw herself to the ground and wailed as if she were about to die.