She Called Me Trash, I Revealed My Billionaire Identity

Chapter 4

"Serena!"

I charged in, seized a table, and hurled it.

I turned and locked eyes on Serena, closing in one step at a time. She'd never seen me like this. She stumbled backward, shaking her head, screaming through her forced bravado.

"Don't get your filthy blood on my hazmat suit! This suit costs over 100000. A dirtbag like you couldn't pay it off with ten lives! Sign the asset waiver right now, or by tomorrow Cole Financial Group will bury you under a lawsuit and level this rotting graveyard to the ground!"

Watching her drop every last shred of pretense for money, I felt myself go strangely calm. I brushed the dust off the stone, my voice cold as a blade quenched in ice.

"You want me to sign?" I stared straight into her eyes and said, one word at a time, "In three days, isn't there a hundred-billion-dollar launch event you've been so proud of? If you can secure even a single cent of investment at that venue, I, Asher Thorne, will sign the waiver right there in front of every global investor in the room."

She laughed like she'd heard the greatest joke of her life. "You brought this on yourself. When you back out in front of everyone, your mother goes down in flames with you."

With that, Serena grabbed Tristan and hurried out like she was fleeing a plague. Watching their backs disappear, I smiled. Enjoy this moment, Serena. When the time comes, I want to see just how ugly you cry.

I had Harrison move my mother into a penthouse downtown in the city and settle her in.

Three days later, the global launch event at the Summit Builders tower.

Starlight spilled across the lavish hall. Serena wore a deep-violet mermaid gown, her hair swept up without a single strand out of place. She glided in on Tristan's arm, chin lifted high. Her online flock of blind followers swarmed around her like she was royalty as she walked the red carpet.

During the warm-up she was already circulating with a glass of champagne, flushed with triumph. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting an industry titan like Mr. Cole today. The moment the funds land, Tristan and I are flying to Aldoria, and we won't let Mr. Cole down."

She turned and murmured into Tristan's ear, "The second I meet Mr. Cole, I'm throwing that waiver in that loser's face. Once Cole Financial Group's three million hits my account, I'd like to see what he thinks he has left to fight me with. I've rehearsed my thank-you speech 300 times. I'm going to be the first person to hug him."

Tristan slid an arm around her waist, teasing, "After you meet Mr. Cole, we'll fly to Aldoria and celebrate properly." Serena giggled and the crowd around them cooed along.

When the atmosphere hit its peak, I told Harrison to begin.

The spotlights snapped together at the center of the stage. Serena was trembling with excitement, hovering at the waiting area off to the side, wiping her hands over and over with a scented cloth, straining to see the back of the stage.

The host's voice rose with practiced fervor. "Now, please welcome, with your warmest applause, the true head of Cole Financial Group, the sole decision-maker behind this ten-billion-dollar project, the living legend of overseas engineering."

The hidden panel above the stage slid open, and I sat there in my custom-tailored suit, in the private VIP box, looking down on the entire room. The lift began to descend.

Serena's fawning smile shattered like porcelain the instant she saw my face.