Chapter 1

My brother’s secret girlfriend locked me in a storage room, accused me of seducing him, and ordered her guards to beat me.

Lucas didn’t answer my calls.

But he did throw a party—

telling everyone he’d make me kneel and apologize.

He forgot one thing:

I built everything he owns.

And I’m done protecting him.

I was about to leave the upscale restaurant Lucas owned when the manager stopped me. “Excuse me, ma’am, you haven’t paid your bill.”

I looked at the unfamiliar face, figuring she was new and didn’t recognize me. So, I politely explained, “Just put it on Lucas’s tab. He knows.”

The female manager swept a disdainful glance over me. “Ma’am, our restaurant is a Michelin three-star. We’ve never had a policy of charging to an account.”

She finished speaking, then handed me a printed bill.

I glanced down, and my eyes widened. A single meal for half a million dollars.

Cutlery Gleam Maintenance Fee: Thirty thousand.

Exclusive Air Purification Fee: Fifty thousand.

VIP Serenity Service Fee: One hundred thousand.

And a bunch of other ridiculous charges.

I had no idea my brother was running such a rip-off joint. I was so furious, I actually laughed. “I’m Sloan Cross, Mr. Cross’s sister. Tell him to come home and talk to me if there’s a problem.”

But she wouldn’t back down. “Can’t afford it, huh? Don’t pretend you’re someone important, trying to mooch off Mr. Cross.”

I immediately texted my assistant: *Tell Lucas. Either fire this woman, or I’m pulling all my investments.

“Ma’am, don’t waste everyone’s time. Just pay the bill.”

Her tone was utterly certain, cutting, as if she’d already branded me as a vain gold-digger trying to skip out on the bill.

Several curious glances from other patrons were already turning our way.

I frowned, not wanting to waste time on such a ridiculous matter. I pulled out my phone and dialed my brother’s number directly.

However, only a cold busy signal answered, and repeated attempts yielded the same result.

What the hell is that kid up to on a weekday?

I put down my phone and faced the aggressive woman, enunciating each word carefully.

“I’ll say it again. My name is Sloan Cross. I am your boss, Lucas Cross’s, older sister.”

“His phone is unreachable right now, but you can check his company account. My picture and information are linked to it.”

I thought this was the most direct and effective way to solve the problem.

But when the female manager heard my name, instead of verifying anything, she burst into a sharp, grating laugh.

She cackled, shaking with malicious glee, drawing even more attention.

Then, she abruptly leaned in close to me, lowering her voice to a volume only we two could hear.

“Still pretending? I’ve seen that face of yours in my husband Lucas’s Ins feed countless times!”

“You shameless hussy, secretly seducing my man!”

“Now you have the audacity to waltz into his restaurant and try to charge everything to his account? Do you have no shame at all?”

I froze for a second, then glanced at her name tag—Madison Reed. An overwhelming sense of exasperation washed over me.

Lucas’s girlfriend, the one he’d been keeping under wraps, not even a single picture he’d bothered to show me.

It turned out to be this foolish, venomous woman in front of me.

How could his taste be this bad?

Suddenly, I understood. This half-million-dollar “exorbitant bill” today wasn’t a misunderstanding at all. It was a premeditated humiliation.

Before I could even open my mouth, she’d completely lost her patience.

“Since this woman wants to dine and dash, we’ll have to restrain her until the police arrive!”

She waved her hand backward, and two burly security guards, who had been standing nearby, immediately stepped forward.

One clamped his hand over my mouth, while the other wrenched my arms painfully behind my back, twisting them like rope.

I struggled violently, but the sheer difference in strength between us made all my resistance futile.

They ignored my furious glares and the horrified stares of the other patrons, roughly dragging me toward the back of the kitchen.

Then I was thrown heavily into a storage room reeking of disinfectant mixed with stale food.

The door slammed shut, cutting off all light and sound from the outside.