Chapter 9

If it weren't for Harold adamantly opposing Erica's relationship with Joe, Samantha would never have become Joseph's wife. Thinking of this, Erica shot a venomous glance at Samantha. Samantha felt the hostility and responded, "Exactly. Joe is still legally my husband. How dare you act so arrogantly in front of me?" Erica's face turned pale. Then, she spat, "Samantha, a woman who failed to gain her man's love is the mistress. You might have Joe's body, but his heart has always been with me." Mina let out a derisive laugh. "Erica, you really have some nerve to act all righteous as a mistress." She then walked to the entrance of the store and shouted, "Everyone, come see this! This mistress is trying to provoke the rightful wife!" Mina's smirk widened as she turned around and pointed at Erica. Many of the onlookers were married women, so upon hearing this, they turned their scornful and disgusted gazes on Erica. "How disgusting. She's a mistress, but she's trying to cause trouble in front of the wife." "Young women these days have no shame." "This mistress can afford such high-end luxury goods. Clearly, the man is funding her well. No wonder she's eager to be the mistress." A few among the crowd recognized Erica and were shocked. "Hey, doesn't she look familiar? I think I've seen her on TV." "Yes. Her name is Erica Fitch. Isn't she that pianist from TV?" With this revelation, the onlookers began taking out their phones and pointing their cameras at Erica and Samantha. Erica's face turned pale as she saw the disapproving stares from the surrounding women. Her studio was currently negotiating a deal with an international luxury brand. She couldn't afford any scandals now. Biting her lip hard, she clenched her fists tighter. "Mina, you win this time. I won't forget this." With that, Erica didn't spare them another glance. She quickly covered herself with her oversized sunglasses and hat before rushing away from the crowd. Mina grinned with satisfaction. She then approached Samantha and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "That felt good. We finally got some payback. There were a lot of people filming. If those videos make it online, I'll make sure they get some extra attention." Samantha sighed heavily and said, "Joseph loves Erica too much. He won't let anything happen to her. Even if the videos go viral, he'll find a way to suppress them." Erica was once an unknown pianist and had worked hard to gain fame. She had maintained a flawless public image since her debut, all thanks to Joseph's efforts behind the scenes. Mina thought Samantha had a point. Hence, her smile faded quickly. "Yeah, you're right. That jerk will definitely clean up her mess. But at least we gave them some trouble." Then, Mina turned her attention to the boy standing beside Samantha. She scrutinized him curiously. "Hey, kid, what happened?" She bent down and picked up the latest LV bag from the floor before examining it closely. The bag seemed perfectly fine. Confused, she frowned. The man outside was right. Erica deliberately wanted to find trouble with the boy. There wasn't even a single scratch on the protective film. Upon hearing that, the boy put his hand behind his back and nervously looked at the store owner. He seemed somewhat hesitant. Seeing this, Mina and Samantha exchanged a quick glance. Samantha took out a credit card from her bag and walked up to the counter. She then uttered expressionlessly, "I'll take this bag. Please process the payment." The shop owner looked slightly surprised but didn't say much. She quickly took the credit card, processed the payment, and respectfully handed the card back to Samantha. "The total is 188 thousand dollars. We'll have someone assist you with packing it up shortly. Thank you for your purchase." Samantha nodded and pointed to the boy standing nearby. "He should receive a commission for this sale. I'd like to ask him to cooperate with us for a bit of investigation. Is that okay?" The shop owner hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement. "Certainly." After getting the owner's permission, Samantha collected the bag from the attendant and left the luxury store with the boy. As Erica departed, the spectators who had been watching the drama at the door dispersed. Samantha, Mina, and the boy walked for about 15 minutes until they reached a nearby cafe. Mina chose a window seat and signaled for the waiter. They ordered three cappuccinos. After everything was settled, Mina turned to the boy. "Can we talk now?" The boy looked nervously at Samantha. He hesitated before asking uncertainly, "Do you have a brother named Riley?" Samantha nodded in disbelief. "Yes." Riley Wyatt had poor health since he was young. Their family had made a lot of effort to protect him and keep his identity hidden. She wondered how this boy knew that Riley was her brother. Sensing Samantha's astonishment, Ronaldo Loonie sighed and explained, "My name is Ronaldo Loonie. I'm Riley's classmate. When we were in school, he often talked about you, and I've seen your photos." Samantha asked urgently, "So, why did Erica try to mess with you just now?" Ronaldo lowered his head. "Because she knows I'm friends with Riley. That's why she did that. The owner of that store seems to have some connection with her, so she just went along with that woman's behavior earlier. If it weren't for you guys, I guess she would have continued harassing me. "Actually, Riley hasn't been happy at school. But he knows that you're suffering at the Lynchs, too. He didn't want to worry you, so he didn't tell you about his concerns." Samantha's expression turned serious. "Tell me about it."