Chapter 302: Chapter 302: Good-for-Nothing Girl

The surveillance video Joyce Lawson produced was a complete shock to everyone present.

Mr. and Mrs. Sutton’s hearts skipped a beat. ’How can there be a security camera here?!’

Before putting their plan into action, they had meticulously searched both floors to ensure there were no cameras along the entire evidence-planting route.

Why did apartment 1601 have a surveillance video? And how did it happen to capture the exact moment they showed up at the door?

Realizing they were exposed, Mrs. Sutton flew into a rage out of humiliation, pointing at Joyce Lawson and stammering, "You—how could you film us in secret!"

Mr. Sutton, even more flustered, blurted out, "You did this on purpose! You must be in cahoots with the thief!"

Joyce Lawson was not happy to hear this. She retorted to Mr. and Mrs. Sutton with displeasure, "I didn’t film anyone in secret! This is my own doorbell camera!"

With that, Joyce Lawson reached up and gently adjusted the custom Pikachu nameplate on her front door. There was a small mechanism on it, and with a light flip, she pointed to the adorable Pikachu nameplate and said to Officer Tristan Tanner, "Officer, I work at a hospital and often have night shifts. I was worried about being followed home at night, so I installed a hidden camera in my nameplate."

"I heard you all arguing in the hallway just now. I got the gist of what was happening, so I quickly checked my camera footage to see if it caught any key evidence. That’s when I found that video clip!"

Due to its angle, Joyce Lawson’s camera didn’t capture the hallway or the elevator entrance, but it did capture what happened right in front of apartment 1602, recording the moment Mr. and Mrs. Sutton came seeking a partnership!

With a sincere expression, Joyce Lawson said to Officer Tanner, "Officer, Summers and I were college classmates. Summers is a really, really good person. I’m sure she would never do anything wrong. I hope you’ll investigate this thoroughly and not let anyone frame her!"

Hearing this, Melody Summers couldn’t help but smile.

But when Maisie Lynch heard the words "college classmates," she seemed to flinch as if struck and lowered her head in shame.

Officer Tanner nodded at Joyce Lawson and replied with a smile, "Don’t you worry. We police will certainly investigate thoroughly. We won’t wrongly accuse any good person!"

Seeing his chance, Ivan Warren scurried over to Joyce Lawson. With a slightly fawning smile, he said, "You and Melody Summers are college classmates? What a coincidence! That means we were classmates too! My dear classmate, you must know I’m a good person too, right?"

Then Ivan Warren turned back to Officer Tanner, his face pleading. "Officer, I’m a good person too. This really has nothing to do with me! You saw the video. This was a deal between Maisie Lynch and that couple. I was kept in the dark the whole time!"

Staring at Ivan Warren, the smile on Joyce Lawson’s face vanished instantly.

She pursed her lips and said to Officer Tanner, "Officer, I don’t know this ’classmate.’ I hope you’ll investigate him thoroughly as well and not let a single bad guy get away."

Hearing Joyce Lawson say this, Ivan Warren grew anxious and tried to say more, but Officer Tanner cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Alright, that’s enough nonsense. Save it for the emergency management office!"

With that, Officer Tanner led Mr. and Mrs. Sutton, Maisie Lynch, and Ivan Warren away.

After watching them leave, Melody Summers smiled and thanked Joyce Lawson. "Mona, thank you for stepping up to provide evidence, and thank you for speaking up for me. I really owe you one this time!"

Joyce Lawson quickly waved her hands. "Summers, don’t be so formal with me. It’s what I should have done! I was listening at the door just now, and those people are truly despicable! It’s a good thing my camera caught them, or they probably would never have admitted to it!"

Melody Summers thought for a moment and then reminded her, "You’re right, both of those families are very devious. Mona, by helping me today, you might have made them hold a grudge against you. Be careful next time you see them, and stay far away!"

Joyce Lawson nodded. "Don’t worry, Summers. I have a big family. I’ll be fine! They wouldn’t dare come knocking on my door!"

Hearing this, Melody Summers finally felt relieved.

「 *** 」

After Melody Summers left, Joyce Lawson gently closed the door and let out a sigh of relief.

She was very happy that she could help Melody Summers this time.

After all, Melody had helped her many times back in college.

Back then, Melody knew that Joyce’s family refused to pay for her tuition and living expenses, so she kindly recommended several part-time jobs to her.

Part-time job listings for university students were always a mixed bag. Everyone knew that students were often naive and inexperienced, so many job postings were scams designed to exploit them, and Joyce had been tricked many times. But the jobs Melody recommended to her were always the highest-paying and most reliable ones!

Melody always had a knack for immediately telling whether a job was legitimate or not, and she could find reliable listings in the most obscure corners.

In Joyce’s heart at the time, Melody was the goddess of part-time jobs on campus!

Furthermore, ever since she started school, many of her classmates would make fun of Joyce Lawson’s name. They would tease her, asking if her family ever got the younger brother her name was hoping for.

Perhaps the teasing was harmless, but Joyce couldn’t stand it. She had never told anyone, but deep down, she hated her own name.

But Melody never called her Joyce. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Melody seemed to be deliberately avoiding that part of her name, only ever calling her ’Mona.’ This kindness always made Joyce feel incredibly warm.

Joyce believed that someone as good as Melody would absolutely never do anything wrong!

Just then, a voice from behind her broke through her reminiscence.

"Joyce, where’s the charger? What’s taking you so long? Your brother is about to get angry!"

Joyce turned around to see her grandmother’s face etched with displeasure.

The temperature was too low now, so to save on electricity, Joyce’s whole family was huddled together in one bedroom, warming themselves under blankets with an electric heater.

Her younger brother, Gregory Lawson, had accidentally left the charger in the living room. Since no one else was willing to get out from under the warm covers, Joyce had to be the one to get up and find it for him.

But as soon as she’d gotten to the living room, she heard the argument outside. She had been busy checking the surveillance footage ever since and had completely forgotten about the charger.

Joyce gave her grandmother an apologetic smile. "Grandma, something came up and I got delayed. I’ll get it for him right now."

With that, Joyce rummaged around the living room and finally found the charger, which had fallen underneath the coffee table.

She took the charger back to the room and handed it to Gregory Lawson.

Gregory was completely absorbed in his game, cursing nonstop, "Motherfucker, defend the tower! Go defend the tower! Motherfucker!"

When he saw Joyce arrive with the charger, Gregory snapped irritably, "What took you so long? My phone was about to die! If you make me lose my MVP, I’ll beat you, you money-losing baggage!"

Hearing this, Joyce said angrily, "Gregory Lawson, I’m your sister! Don’t you dare use those three words to me!"