Billionaire Kneeled, My Family Freaked Out

Chapter 3

The manager pushed open the door to the VIP waiting area.

The room was carpeted with thick wool.

The thermostat on the wall read 79°F.

On the table sat a clear pitcher filled with warm water. Chloe hurried in and looked around the room.

She walked over and sat on the sofa.

"Mr. Williams has had his eye on me for a while."

Eleanor set her bag on the coffee table.

"Of course he has. You were born to be noticed by the right people."

A row of file folders sat on a display rack against the wall.

The covers showed the names of various TV shows. Arthur walked to the rack, pulled out his phone, and opened the camera.

A staff member came in from the door and raised a hand to block Arthur.

"Only those designated by Mr. Williams can touch these materials."

Arthur put his phone away and retreated to the coffee table.

I looked at the rack.

On the third shelf, the leftmost folder had a black-and-white logo on its cover.

I walked to the coffee table, picked up the pitcher, and poured a glass of warm water.

The staff member turned to look at my action, his mouth falling open as he froze.

Chloe stood up, stepped over the coffee table, and snatched the glass from my hand.

The warm water spilled onto the carpet.

"Who do you think you are? A guest?"

The staff member pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"I need to check with upper management to confirm her identity."

Eleanor stepped in front of the staff member, pressing down the walkie-talkie's transmit button.

"No need to bother Mr. Williams. She's just someone we brought along—nothing special."

Arthur stood by the sofa.

"She's always been good at putting on a show. Don't let her fool you."

The staff member set down the walkie-talkie, turned, and walked out.

Chloe stared at the display rack, then turned to look at me.

"Iris, you don't actually think that just because you look a little like that woman in Mr. Williams's heart, you can climb your way up, do you?"

I stood still, looking back at Chloe.

"What if I am her?"

Chloe grabbed the remote from the coffee table and slammed it onto the carpet.

"Pull up the security footage."

The manager walked in and turned on the TV screen on the wall, which began playing a recording from the side entrance to the lounge.

In the footage, I was being shoved around by Arthur while Eleanor held me down by the shoulders.

Chloe whipped out her phone and started recording the TV screen.

She froze the frame where I was nervously glancing around, then hit send.

"See? Classic attention-seeking gold-digger behavior."

Chloe sent the video to the family group chat.

My old phone vibrated on the coffee table.

The screen lit up, showing the group chat messages.

A: [So embarrassing.]

B: [No shame, throwing herself at a man.]

C: [Good thing your sister isn't like you.]

I stared at the words on the screen but didn't reach for the phone.

Arthur came up behind me and pressed both hands on the back of my neck.

He shoved down hard.

"Apologize to your sister. She's clean and innocent. Don't drag her down with you."

My upper body lurched forward.

My forehead was only two inches from the edge of the coffee table.

I braced my palms against the tabletop.

"Arthur, when you kicked me out of the house, did you ever stand up for me back then?"

Chloe picked up a bottle of red wine from the coffee table, pulled out the cork, and tipped the bottle over my head.

The red liquid streamed through my hair and zipped down the collar of my coat.

"People like you need to know your place."

I lifted my head, the wine dripping from my eyelashes.

I looked toward the closed wooden door at the end of the room.

"You sure about that? Think you can stand there?"