Betrayed By The Billionaire

205

"Even if you manage to snatch Arthur Vance, what makes you think he could ever stand against Xavier Grayson?"

Chloe had never felt such a visceral, bone-deep hatred for another human being. Looking at the woman before her, she felt a terrifying urge to tear that smug, porcelain mask right off her face.

"You’re missing the point, sister," Yvonne Blue replied, her swollen cheek giving her a grotesque, lopsided smile. "Xavier is formidable, yes, but he isn't my target. You are. My father and I have no personal grudge against him. The moment he tosses you out into the street, I’ll find a way to get my father out of that cell."

Yvonne leaned in one last time, her eyes glinting with a reptilian coldness. "So, dear sister, you’d better cling to Xavier’s leg with everything you’ve got. Don't let him shake you off. Because the day you lose his protection is the day I start collecting your debts—tenfold."

Chloe watched Yvonne’s retreating back, her hands trembling so violently that the scabs on her knuckles cracked. Fresh beads of crimson blood began to seep from the back of her hand where the IV had been, staining the sleeve of her fresh knit dress.

The Luxury Reality Check

Down in the hospital's VIP parking lot, Sarah dragged Julian Lang through the rows of high-end vehicles, eventually shoving him against the hood of a gleaming red Ferrari. She stood over him, arms crossed, her military-grade aura suffocating. "Open those eyes of yours and take a good look at what’s in front of you."

Julian’s hip slammed into the chassis, the pain making him hiss through his teeth. He started to bark an insult, but as his eyes registered the car, he scrambled a full yard away as if the metal were white-hot. As a man who obsessed over status, he recognized the vehicle instantly: a limited-edition Ferrari worth nearly five million dollars.

A single car in this lot was worth more than his family’s entire six-story rental complex.

Before he could process the shock, Sarah grabbed his collar again. Seconds later, he was sprawled across the hood of a matte-black Lamborghini. Looking at the golden bull emblem, Julian began to physically shake.

Lyra stepped forward, planting a designer heel on the bumper and leaning over the terrified doctor. "See this? Chloe has a garage full of these. This is her 'everyday' collection."

"A garage full..." Julian stammered, his world-view tilting on its axis. "Who... who are you people?"

"Do you have any idea what our monthly allowance has been since we turned eighteen?" Lyra continued, her voice dripping with lethal mockery. "The minimum is a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, you i***t! And you offered her two thousand? God, I’m embarrassed for you. You actually thought you were 'sponsoring' a woman whose handbag costs more than your BMW."

Lyra’s words were like physical blows, stripping away Julian’s pride layer by painful layer. "You look so educated, so refined, yet your heart is this filthy? You’re a disgrace to the white coat you’re wearing."

Julian’s face went through a spectrum of colors—from pale white to a humiliated, blotchy red. For the first time in his life, the 'Golden Boy' of the hospital realized he had stepped into a den of lions. These three women weren't just wealthy; they were the apex predators of the city's elite.

He thought of his boastful claims about his savings and his mid-range luxury car. Compared to the women standing over him, he wasn't a "landlord"—he was a beggar. Chloe’s comment about him having savings on a hundred-thousand-dollar income finally made sense; to her, that kind of money was pocket change, barely enough to cover a weekend trip.

Sarah looked down at him as he sat paralyzed on the pavement. Her presence was iron and fire, a reminder of the woman she had been before her marriage. "Think very carefully," she commanded. "Because in five minutes, you’re going to walk back inside and deliver the most sincere apology of your miserable life."

Chloe stepped out of the hospital lobby just in time to witness the scene.

Watching Sarah standing there with her arms crossed, Chloe felt a wave of nostalgia. This was the Sarah she remembered from ten years ago—valiant, radiant, and untouchable. A woman who carried the light of the world in her eyes.

Over the last decade, Sarah had become like a pearl covered in dust, her brilliance forgotten by a world that only saw her as Arthur Vance's disgruntled wife. Looking at her now, Chloe realized that Yvonne Blue didn't even possess a fraction of Sarah’s grace or strength.

But a cold fear tightened in Chloe’s chest. Sarah was blunt, honest, and brave—qualities that made her a hero, but made her vulnerable to a poisonous snake like Yvonne Blue. In a war of shadows and whispers, Sarah’s brightness might be the very thing Yvonne used to destroy her.