CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34: DRAMA QUEEN SISTER-IN-LAW SCAMMED

During the entire Labor Day holiday, Victoria Sinclair only took one day off, spending the rest of the time in the laboratory.

Aside from work, she would use her spare moments to study, preparing to pursue her Ph.D. while working, relying on her academic achievements in the pharmaceutical research field over the years.

Knowledge can change destiny—relying on oneself is better than relying on others. This has been Victoria Sinclair’s life creed since childhood.

The last night of the holiday.

Victoria was studying in her room until 11:30. Feeling unbearably sleepy, she was about to go to bed.

Her phone on the bedside table rang.

She picked it up and glanced at it; it was a call from her mother.

Her mother never called her so late unless it was an emergency.

Victoria answered, "Mom, so late..."

Before she could finish, her mother shouted incoherently from the other end, "Victoria! What should we do! The police are here, your sister-in-law’s been scammed, she wouldn’t listen, your brother is losing it, you must come and help him."

From her mother’s fragmented words, Victoria caught on quickly. She rushed to change clothes and urgently asked, "Are the police still there?"

"Yes, but she won’t listen to them!"

"I’ll be right there." Victoria immediately hung up, dressed quickly, grabbed her bag, and rushed out.

Her commotion startled Eugene Vaughn in the neighboring room.

Shutting the front door behind her, Victoria pressed the elevator button, anxiously pulling out her phone to open a ride-hailing app.

The elevator doors opened, and Victoria stepped in, pressing the button for the first floor.

As the doors slowly began to close, a silhouette suddenly rushed in, stopping the elevator doors, which slowly reopened.

Victoria looked up in shock at the person.

It was Eugene.

In light-colored casual pajamas, he exuded a clean and refreshing elegance, but his face was dark and cold, breathing slightly, his voice particularly low and powerful, "Where are you going?"

Victoria almost never went out at night, and this sudden anomaly alarmed Eugene. She felt a bit guilty, "Sorry for waking you, I have something to deal with outside."

Eugene’s face looked even more sullen, his voice colder, carrying a hint of anger as he repeated, "Where are you going?"

Victoria didn’t want to discuss her family’s issues with him, but she was in a hurry, and letting him drag things out wasn’t a solution, "To my brother’s place, my sister-in-law might have been scammed, even the police can’t persuade her."

Eugene took a breath, his tone lightened a bit, "I’ll take you."

"No need."

"Give me two minutes."

"Really, no need, I’ve got a ride..." Victoria hadn’t finished speaking when Eugene stepped in, took her by the arm, and pulled her back home.

Victoria was dragged back home, seated on the sofa.

"Give me two minutes." Eugene’s tone was commanding, "Don’t leave."

Two minutes later, Eugene came out wearing a brown casual hoodie paired with black pants, walked straight to the entrance, grabbed his car keys, and changed into white casual shoes, "Let’s go."

Victoria stood up from the sofa and quickly followed.

They took the elevator straight down to the garage.

All along, Victoria was anxious, the car’s atmosphere felt low, extraordinarily quiet.

The night streets were fairly clear, the orange streetlights falling through the car window, outlining Eugene’s handsome, cold profile.

He focused on driving, then suddenly broke the silence, "You’re going to pursue a Ph.D.?"

Victoria was slightly taken aback, turned her head to look at him, inexplicably touched.

They hardly exchanged words usually, rarely seeing each other. How did he know?

Victoria’s silence seemed to have a voice.

Eugene added, "I saw the notes you left in the living room."

Victoria realized, "Oh!"

"You’re so busy, and you still have time for a Ph.D.?"

"I’ll try to make time to study."

"Your brother’s wife got scammed, your presence might not change anything."

"When family is in trouble, you still have to see if you can help."

"Hmm." Eugene responded, and said no more.

The car fell into another bout of silence.

Their interactions were always like this, shallow and brief, seemingly kept apart by an invisible barrier, maintaining a detached and distant relationship, which Victoria had grown used to.

Arriving at Evergreen Gardens, Victoria got out of the car and ran to the fourth floor.

Eugene locked the car and followed in long strides.

When Victoria arrived at her parents’ home, the door was ajar, with the police’s voice urgent and earnest, "You can still salvage something if you withdraw now, any later and it might really be gone."

Victoria walked into the house, out of breath.

Eugene followed in, going to Victoria’s father and mother’s side, greeting them politely.

Mrs. Sinclair clutched Eugene’s hand, crying softly.

Timothy Sinclair sat on the sofa, burdened with an air of heaviness, as if crushed by a mountain, covering his face with his hands, sobbing in despair.

Molly leaned against the wall, clutching her phone under her arm, her glare towards the two policemen in front of her exceedingly hostile, defiant eyes, unwillingness etched on her face, resolute.

The policeman sighed deeply, his tone growing firmer, "We’ve been trying to talk sense into you for half an hour, you’ve indeed been scammed, that platform is fake, a setup by an illegal foreign organization!"

Molly angrily shouted, "It’s real, real, real, I previously deposited a thousand yuan and made three thousand that I withdrew successfully. Later I deposited five thousand and made fifteen thousand, and could also withdraw. It’s skyrocketing now, not withdrawing will be a great loss."

The policeman, exasperated, put his hands on his hips, his patience utterly exhausted.

Timothy raised his head, his face pale, his eyes filled with tears, and asked with a sob in his voice, "How much did you put in altogether?"

Molly fell silent.

Timothy, frenzied, stood up and shouted, "How much exactly did you put in?"

Molly, hesitantly, said, "Two million."

Timothy was agitated, stomping, clapping his thighs in panic and trembling, his voice choked, "We only have tens of thousands in savings, where did you get so much money from?"

Molly loudly murmured, "This time, I’ll definitely get rich, I took out over eighty thousand from a few banks, and over a hundred thousand through online loans. I can at least double it."

Mr. Sinclair clenched his fists, pounding the table, holding his chest and taking deep breaths in anger.

Mrs. Sinclair collapsed to the ground, wailing uncontrollably, completely lost.

"Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?" Timothy was even more furious, clenching his fist to hit Molly. When she dodged, he couldn’t bear to lay a hand on his wife, so instead, he turned to punch the wall, his fists bleeding.

Victoria hurried over, grabbing Timothy by the arm, "Brother, don’t hurt yourself."

Timothy, hearing this and seeing Victoria had arrived, forced down his already frantic and aggravated emotions, quickly wiped the tears from his eyes, his pale face more flustered, his voice softened, "Sister, why did you come? Go home, go home now!"

Seeing Eugene there as well, Timothy quickly said, "Brother-in-law, please, take my sister home."

Eugene walked over, addressing Timothy, who was even younger than him, politely, "Brother, don’t rush."

"I’m not in a rush, quickly take my sister away." Timothy pushed Victoria towards Eugene’s arms.

Eugene steadied Victoria’s shoulders.

Married for two years, he had never visited Victoria’s parents’ house. This was the first time, and in such circumstances.

Victoria leaned into his unfamiliar embrace, then quickly withdrew, running to help her mother up.

Mrs. Sinclair, tear-streaked, beat her chest with her fists in agony and remorse, "Victoria! What should we do? Two million! Your sister-in-law has gone mad, borrowing two million for online investment, even though the police say it’s a scam she still doesn’t believe it."

"You’re the one who’s mad." Molly gritted her teeth, yelling at Mrs. Sinclair, "I haven’t been scammed, I’ll wait until my funds double, then I’ll withdraw, I’ll definitely be able to take it out, what do the police know? What do you know? If I take out the money now, all the profits I made before are gone."