Right after I put the invoice of an eighty-thousand-dollar gold necklace into my bag, my Instagram went wild.

A woman calling herself “Future In-law” showed a picture of a ring with a diamond the size of a pigeon egg. It was worth two million dollars.

[It’s our first meeting, but my future in-law insisted on giving me this. I couldn’t say no.]

The next second, the shop attendant handed me a receipt saying that I owed them two million dollars.

“The lady from earlier charged you for her daughter’s two-million-dollar diamond ring. She said that you’re her future in-law, so you have to be nice to her too.”

I scowled. “Do you have security footage? I’d like to find her.”

The shop attendant shrugged and appeared dismissive. “Sorry, but the security camera broke down today. It’s written clearly on the receipt. You can’t refuse to pay.”

Exasperated, I laughed, grabbed the unsigned receipt, and called the police.

“Hello, officers. I just got scammed out of two million dollars at a jewelry shop.”

The moment the call went through, the atmosphere at the counter and the other shops around us seemed to freeze.

Layla Lark, my future daughter-in-law, turned completely pale. She grabbed my sleeve tightly and asked in a quivering voice, “Leto, did Apollo…?”

I could understand Layla’s reaction.

After all, she had suddenly heard her future mother-in-law getting a two-million-dollar tab on the eve of her engagement party. Any woman would immediately think that her fiance had cheated.

As I watched the shop attendant’s malicious glee and the blatant disdain in her eyes, I figured out what she was thinking. She thought she was watching the legit fiancee catching the mistress.

However, I did not hang up. I just calmly recited the jewelry shop’s address.

Before hanging up, I turned around to fix Layla a gentle but firm stare while I spoke clearly for everyone around us to hear. “Calm down, Layla. This has nothing to do with Apollo. I’ll handle it for you. I trust my son. If he cheated on you, I’ll break his legs.”

Those words calmed her down instantly. Layla immediately teared up, but the fear of being betrayed had yet to disappear fully. With trembling hands, she took out her phone and called Apollo.

Three seconds later, she heard a voice telling her that the call could not go through for the time being.

Layla’s face turned paler.

At the same time, a woman in a uniform strode over. Her nametag stated that she was Mandy Williams, the shop owner.

“What are you doing, Ma’am?” Mandy had a perfectly professional smile on, and she spoke gently, though I could detect a hint of reproach in it. “This is just a minor thing. Why did you call the police? You’re about to become a family. You just need to resolve the misunderstanding.”

While she spoke, she subtly stood between me and Layla as her gaze landed on the dazed Layla.

“Calm down, Miss Lark. Men are busy sometimes, and they have no control over their own bodies. If your husband isn’t answering his phone, he might be feeling guilty of something. Why don’t you pay first? Then, you can go back home and ask him about it. If he’s really cheating on you, your mother-in-law will surely side with you.”

She had a way with words and kept hinting at Layla that this was a family matter. She was trying to turn this business scam into a family conflict.

The whispers around us were not loud, but they stabbed into me like thorns.

“Did you hear that? That girl is her future daughter-in-law…”

“Heh. Rich families are full of complicated problems. The son might be keeping a lover.”

Those words made Layla even paler.

When Mandy saw this, her smile widened, since she thought that she had caught our weakness.

I sneered.

This was why they dared to do this. She was betting on the fact that someone like me would suffer this insolence in silence for the sake of my dignity.

Unfortunately for her, she was wrong.

I earned my dignity bit by bit in the business world. I did not need to maintain it through concessions.

“Miss Williams.” I did not speak loudly, but I did make her freeze.

As I faced her gaze, I continued calmly, “One, my future in-laws are enjoying tea right now in Soul District. So, where exactly did that ‘in-law’ come from? Two, that two-million-dollar receipt doesn’t contain my signature, wasn’t verified by phone, and never requested me to show any ID before it was issued to me. Yet, you dared to bill it to me just because some random stranger claimed herself to be my future in-law?”

I looked around and pointed at the brilliant diamonds in the glass cabinets.

“I’m sure that your security system is top notch. Your security cameras cover every part of your shop. But you’re telling me that your management is worse than the wet market downstairs? Even the shop owners there would ask if you want an extra onion as a gift! How could you be so lax when you sell jewelry here?”

My voice remained low, but the mockery in my voice was clear.

The rich ladies watching could not help but snicker, and they started siding with us.

“She’s right. That’s two million dollars. How could the shop owner just issue it to someone else just because some random person said so?”

“This shop’s management is scary. No one would dare buy jewelry here anymore.”

Mandy’s face turned as red as a tomato in the next second. Since I tore off her mask, she flew into a rage and raised her voice. “Ma’am, don’t be unreasonable! We already verified things, and there were no problems! If you don’t settle the bill today, you’re not leaving!”

Ooh, that was a blatant threat.

However, I was not scared. Instead, I smiled.

Taking out my phone, I adjusted the angle, pointed the camera at her enraged face, and started recording a video as I stared at her calmly. “Sure. Please repeat what you just said right into the camera and to all the other customers. Tell us clearly that you’re going to illegally keep me here before the police arrive.”

Mandy’s rage was instantly put out, like I had poured ice water on her.

When she saw my phone, she acted as if she was looking at a cannon. She opened her mouth but could not say anything.

As for Layla, who stood behind me and watched my actions, her panic faded and turned into great pride.

Right then, her phone rang, and the caller ID showed that it was from my son, Apollo Stane.

“Layla? I was in a no-signal zone for a meeting, and my phone was in airplane mode. What’s wrong?”

The moment Layla answered, Apollo’s anxious and regretful voice blasted through the speaker.

There was no guilt and avoidance, only confusion and worry.

The last shred of doubt in Layla was replaced by indignation. She started weeping.

“Apollo, I…” She choked up and could not even form a complete sentence.

However, Apollo could immediately tell that something was wrong. He raised his voice in anger and roared murderously, “What’s wrong? Did someone harass you and Mom? Don’t cry. Hand the phone to my mom!”

While crying, Layla handed her phone to me. Once I gave Apollo the general gist of what had happened, he became so livid that his voice started trembling, and he started making some really crazy oaths. “Mom, trust me when I say that I’ll never betray Layla. If I do, you can announce to everyone that you’re cutting ties with me immediately, and God will kill me in a car crash!”

That “I’ve got the cat in the bag” smile on Mandy’s face finally cracked.

Just then, two police officers walked into the shop with steady footsteps and sharp gazes. “Who called the police?”

I raised my hand.

Mandy’s expression immediately changed. She strode over and tried to snatch my phone away.

“Officers, it’s all a misunderstanding! It’s just a family matter! We can handle this by ourselves!”

However, I took a step to the side and blocked her way as I said coldly, “You’re not the one who gets to decide whether this is a misunderstanding.”

The police officer who was clearly the leader observed us. When he saw me, he raised an eyebrow in shock. “Are you… Leto Jackson, the CEO of Grand Source?”

His words were like a splash of cold water on boiling oil. It made the people around us erupt in shock.

“Grand Source? The giant in new energy? She’s the CEO?”

“Wait. Now that you’ve mentioned it, she really is Leto Jackson! I saw her during the last financial summit!”

As she listened to the discussions, Mandy’s face turned pale.

When she trained her eyes on me, her lips quivered, and all her arrogance from a moment ago vanished.

“M-Miss Jackson, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know that you’re…”

She almost started crying, but when she realized that Apollo was still on the phone, she decided not to give up yet.

“But we weren’t trying to scam you. We just thought that the woman seemed to know you well. Why don’t you ask your son if he’s too afraid to tell the truth because Miss Lark is here?”

I refused to entertain her stubbornness and showed the police officers the ridiculous receipt.

“It’s simple, officers. I brought my future daughter-in-law here to buy an engagement present, but the shop owner issued me a two-million-dollar receipt. I was unaware of it, I never signed the receipt, and I was never asked for verification. When I refused to pay, she threatened to keep me here,” I stated calmly and clearly with no hint of unnecessary emotion.

The police officers’ expressions grew stern as they turned to Mandy. “Since both of you have stated that there’s a conflict between you, bring out the security footage. We’ll handle this.”

I smiled and agreed. “Of course. The shop owner said that I’m very close to whoever said I ought to pay for the diamond ring. Let’s have her bring out the security footage. I believe that the number of security cameras in such a large jewelry shop should be second only to the amount of jewelry here.”

I then stared at Mandy and said, “Miss Williams, this is your best chance to prove your innocence.”

Mandy’s eyes flickered with various emotions. After a long time, she stammered, “T-The security cameras… broke down today.”

This time, the police officers scoffed.

When Mandy saw that the police officers’ expressions were turning darker, she gritted her teeth. She grabbed my arm and whispered, “Miss Jackson, can we talk in private?”

I had thought that she would beg for mercy, but the moment she went to the side, desperate ruthlessness replaced her fear. When she spoke, her voice was absolutely threatening.

“Miss Jackson, burning bridges isn’t good for any of us. You’re a respectable person. I don’t think you’d want to go on the news for a family matter, right? Besides, two million dollars is a small sum to you, isn’t it?”

Seeing that I was silent, Mandy thought that she had me, and she immediately wore an expression that screamed, “I’m just doing this for your own good.”

“Miss Jackson, our brand is a global franchise, and we have a legal team. If the reporters report about this, they won’t be digging around for news from us, but from you.”

Then, she lowered her voice even more as her gaze turned meaningful. “Besides, you’ve earned so much money. I’m sure that some of it is dirty money. Can you really handle being looked into?”

I scowled, which somehow made her think that I felt guilty. So, she started talking gently, like she was trying to convince me to just listen to her. “I’m doing this for your sake, Miss Jackson. If there’s smoke, there’s fire, right? Why didn’t that woman do this to anyone else but you? I’m just saying that what if your son really cheated on your future daughter-in-law? If you cause such a ruckus and he did cheat, you’d be humiliating your own family. That’s why you should just let this slide, don’t you think?”

I scoffed. Even at this point, she was still throwing mud at Apollo.

I took a deep breath and could not be bothered to continue dancing in circles with her. “Will your shop pay those two million dollars?”

Honestly, I could understand her.

She was just an employee. The moment such a major flaw in management appeared, her first reaction was to hide it and convince me not to blow this out of proportion.

To my surprise, the moment she heard that I wanted the shop to pay for the two million dollars, her eyes went wide. “Why should we pay? My monthly salary is just eight thousand dollars! Of course you’re paying for it! You own a huge company. Two million dollars is nothing to you. You can earn it back immediately!” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

She even shrugged, and her innocent expression made it seem like she was talking about a simple problem.

As I stared at her self-righteous expression, I suddenly thought that saying even one extra word to her would be a waste of my breath.

Before she could react, I walked back to the police officers and told them all that she said to me. Then, I stared into their eyes as I said, “Officers, according to Article 40 of the Consumer Protection Act, when a seller has elements of deception in the products or services they sell, they need to pay monetary compensation. I suspect that she was trying to coerce me into spending money.”

Mandy’s expression turned as dark as a thundercloud.

As for the police officers, they flew into a rage because of her outrageous behavior.

“Mandy Williams, is it? Please come to the station with us for an investigation.”

For a fraction of a second, I could see Mandy warring between choosing to be a lawful citizen or an unreasonable banshee.

The unreasonable banshee won.

She stomped on the floor and screamed so shrilly that her voice could shatter glass. “I’m not wrong! That woman is her future in-law! She’s the one who won’t recognize it! What does that have to do with me?!”

Her voice grew increasingly louder as she pointed at the air. Her spit flew everywhere. “I’m just an employee! Why should I clean up this mess for you rich people?! Arrest that woman! She’s rich but heartless!”

Phones came out, and cameras flashed.

The jewelry shop turned into a huge live stream event.

Layla frowned and instinctively hid behind me.

Just as Mandy was kicking up a fuss, the most cliche thing happened.

Someone from the crowd suddenly shouted, “Hey, look! The person who bought the diamond ring has gone live! She says that she wants to argue with Miss Jackson!”

Everyone went wild, and they turned to me.

The police officers frowned.

Mandy stopped kicking up a fuss too. A flash of panic rose on her face for a brief moment before slight confidence replaced it.

After that, the crowd turned restless and went to that live stream channel.

Indeed, even I had not expected the person to show themselves instead of running away.

I took out my phone and popped into the live stream channel.

I wanted to see what sort of lies that mother-and-daughter pair was going to weave.

The moment I connected to their channel, a sickeningly sweet voice came through my phone.

“Hey, Leto. Why did you call the police? This is just a small matter!”