The first time I meet Solana Charvet's childhood friend, Tyson Hatch, he claims that he's the best fraud buster ever.

At the dining table, he keeps lecturing me.

"Men shouldn't overdress, you know. If not for the fact that Solana actually told me that you're her boyfriend, I'd definitely group you up with the gigolos together."

Solana keeps agreeing with everything Tyson says.

"You're far too flashy when it comes to your fashion sense. Just listen to Tyson and change your habits, yeah?"

I can't be bothered to listen to a word Tyson says, so I come up with an excuse to use the toilet. But on the way back, I hear Tyson giving Solana his verdict as a fraud buster.

"Solana, Charles' posture and the way he speaks are all clear indicators that he's a fake heir who has undergone training. He intends to get close to you for your money, you know!

"That watch he's wearing? And the sports car that's worth over a million dollars? How is it possible for a doctor like him to afford all these things?"

Fury burns in my gut. I can no longer tolerate Tyson's nonsense, so I dial my mom's number right away.

Right, have I mentioned that my mom's the richest woman in the country?

"Mom, give me five million dollars right now. I want to buy an agency that specializes in fraud busting and teach a certain someone a lesson!"

"If you don't believe me, I'll test him for you later so you can see through that gold digger sooner rather than later!"

After I ended the call, I heard Tyson Hatch's confident voice fill the private room. Solana Charvet was sitting there, nodding at him with complete trust in her eyes.

I was keen to see just how Tyson planned to test me—a bona fide, wealthy heir.

When I pushed the door open, Tyson was holding my bag, thoroughly inspecting it.

"Young men like you should really stop comparing yourselves with others. The first step toward being a fake heir is deliberately packaging yourself as a real one.

"This bag of yours… You rented it, didn't you?"

I almost laughed out loud.

That was a limited-edition piece I had bought directly from the boutique. I spent 30,000 dollars in one go to buy this bag.

Seeing me stay silent, Tyson thought he'd hit a nerve. He looked at me with a knowing expression, then his gaze shifted to my watch.

"Mind if I take a look at your watch? Don't get me wrong. I'm just worried you got scammed and spent real money on a fake. After all, this bag is already fake…"

Solana looked at me with growing suspicion.

"Ty is just looking out for you. Show it to him," she demanded.

This watch was a gift my eldest sister had given me last month. Every watch in her collection was worth over a million dollars.

If Tyson found this watch to be fake, the only fake one here would be this "fraud buster".

I took off the watch and handed it to him, my smile faint.

"Sure. This is a limited-edition watch, though, so be careful not to misidentify it."

Tyson eagerly took the watch and examined it carefully, and I clearly caught a flash of jealousy in his eyes.

It was obvious he had already identified that the watch was genuine, yet he still said, "Goodness, Solana, your boyfriend is trying to pass this off as a limited-edition piece to fool us. In reality, it's just a fake.

"You're just a young man from an average family with an average job. Why even buy these fake luxury items to put on a front? Or do you think you can use these fakes to get yourself a rich lady and get her money?"

The condescension in his tone was unmistakable.

In an instant, the way everyone at the table looked at me changed from initial admiration to something completely different.

Solana stared at me with utter disdain, her voice sharp with repulsion.

"Why are you so shallow? I really thought you were different! It turns out you're all just after my money!"

Seeing the disgust on Solana's face, I felt utterly disappointed. Even though she was easily influenced, I thought she at least possessed some basic judgment.

After all, we'd been together for nearly a year, so she surely knew what kind of person I was. Reality, however, decided to pour a bucket of cold water over my head.

I frowned. "Solana, who exactly is your boyfriend here? You so easily believe whatever he says? In that case, I don't see the point of continuing with this dinner anymore."

I stood up, grabbed my bag, and turned to leave. That was when Tyson spoke up again, his smile faint.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Is it because the rental on that sports car downstairs is up, and you're using this as an excuse to return it?"

I had had enough.

"What makes you so sure my car is rented?" I pressed.

While patting Solana's back to calm her, he gave me a fake grin.

"These little tricks of yours are nothing to a fraud buster like me. I can see through them in a second. Lana already told me that you two met in a car accident. Isn't that a classic move used by people pretending to be rich?"

After firing off this string of malicious speculations, he smiled and quickly switched gears.

"Oh, dear. It looks like my professional instincts are acting up again, Lana. You aren't going to doubt your own boyfriend just because of what I said, right?"

Solana grabbed his hand, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"Ty! Thank you so much for helping me see through this gold digger's real colors!

"What's with that look, Charles? He's just being kind by pointing it out to me! And here I thought you really came from a rich family, but turns out you're just a vain gold digger! You don't deserve me at all!"

I scoffed coldly. Before she could ask to end things, I beat her to it.

"Fine. Let's break up then."

…

At that point, Mom was already waiting for me downstairs. When she saw me coming down alone, she quickly asked me what had happened.

I forced a smile. "It's nothing, Mom. There's no need to go up anymore. Let's just go home."

I had originally planned to reveal to Solana that day my real identity as the son of the wealthiest person in Ralliopolis. By having them meet, Solana's company would also gain a potential ally in the future.

But she herself failed to seize the opportunity.

On the way home, my phone buzzed nonstop with group chat notifications.

I took a look and realized that when Tyson was creating a group chat with Solana and the others, he'd accidentally added me to it too.

He was frantically sharing the results of his analysis of me.

"Lana, he's definitely a fake heir after your money. Did you see how angry he got when I exposed him at dinner?

"I just looked into the car he drives. It's registered to some 50-year-old woman. It's not his at all!

"You're better off with someone more down-to-earth, like me. I, for one, never cared about that flashy luxury stuff."

Looking at the sports car's registered owner's name, I couldn't help but sigh at his stupidity. Even more ridiculous was how Solana and her group of girlfriends were now all very worked up, completely fooled by him.

"So he's a gold digger through and through? He finished leeching off his last target, and now he's targeting Lana?"

"Lana, calculate how much money you've spent on him this past year! Make sure you get it all back!"

Solana was especially enraged.

"If it weren't for Ty, I never would've realized what kind of person Charles really is!

"Don't worry. I'll definitely find a way to get back everything I gave him!"

They continued to chat away excitedly, but I was already over it. I did, however, chime in.

"Seeing you all being played like fools by Tyson is really quite entertaining."

Then I immediately left the group chat.

That night, Solana bombarded my phone with calls. She demanded to know what my message meant and insisted I apologize to Tyson.

I couldn't be bothered to deal with her, so I just blocked her number.

What I didn't expect, however, was for her and Tyson to be waiting for me outside the hospital the next day.

The moment they saw me, she hurled a stack of photos at my face.

"How filthy are you, Charles? It's no wonder you rushed to break up with me yesterday. Once Tyson exposed you, you realized you couldn't get money from me anymore, so you immediately went looking for your next target!"

Tyson stood with his arms crossed, smirking as he gloated.

"You don't even mind that she's almost 50 years old? You sure are willing to do anything for money!"

The sharp corner of the photos cut into my forehead, stinging instantly.

I glanced down at the photos on the ground. They were pictures of Mom picking me up and taking me home yesterday.

Only Tyson had followed me out yesterday, so he had to be the one who took them.

Scowling, I stared at him.

"Before you 'bust' someone, you should at least look into their relationships, shouldn't you? Solana, the woman in the photo is my mother!"

I expected Solana to at least feel guilty once she learned the truth, but she only sneered. She'd already been brainwashed to the point where she didn't believe a single word I said.

"Ty's already looked into it. That woman is the richest person in Ralliopolis. Playing the connections game is something fake rich kids like you always do, huh?"

Tyson wrapped his arm around Solana and sighed, saying how pitiful she was for nearly being scammed by me. Then he urged her to look through my phone.

"Lana, these gold diggers usually have several targets at once. You should check his phone. Who knows, he might have several sugar mamas saved in there."

Solana immediately grabbed my wrist, wrenched my phone from me, quickly scrolled through my contacts, then furiously shoved the screen in my face.

On it were entries saved as "Princess A" and "Princess B".

I was about to explain that they were my real sisters—Alyson and Bianca Ravine—but she glared at me with pure disgust and fury.

"So it's true after all!" she said coldly. "Ty was right! You acted so innocent in front of me, but in reality, you're just pretending to be a rich guy so you can seduce wealthy women!"

"Charles McCain! Give me back all the money I spent on you this past year!"

My anger vanished the moment I heard that last sentence, and a bitter laugh escaped me.

So it was all about the money.

If we really calculated it, the amount I spent on Solana in the past year of our relationship was far more than what she'd spent on me.

I snatched my phone back and met her gaze coldly.

"If it's money you want, you're not getting a single cent. But if you want to get down to the bottom of who actually cheated in this relationship, I'd be more than happy to settle accounts with you!"

With that, I turned and stormed off, while Solana screamed furiously behind me.

…

After getting out of surgery, the hospital director, Julian Rappert, called me to his office and showed me a social media post that had gone viral.

"Dr. Charles McCain from a prestigious hospital is a heartless fraud who only pretends to be wealthy. He plays the role of the perfect doctor in front of patients, but at night, he runs around with multiple sugar mamas! Patients should beware! Who knows what infectious diseases he might have?"

The post was already trending, and the comment section was full of criticisms, insults, and curses. Someone even photoshopped my obituary and posted it in the thread.

Julian's expression was grave as he said, "Charles, you're suspended for the time being."