Chapter 3

Veronica bit her lower lip until it almost bled. "Chloe Vance, mark my words—I will get you kicked out of this house!"

Just then, a smug voice cut in from behind: "So you're Chloe Vance? At least you know your place. Stay quiet, don't stir up trouble, and nobody will mess with you. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to teach you a lesson."

I turned around to look at the speaker. He was a decently handsome guy, but coated in pure arrogance.

I furrowed my brows. "Who is this clown?"

Veronica instantly clung to his arm, looking delicate. "Julian!"

Then she sneered at me. "Chloe, this is Julian Sterling, my fiancé. Technically, this engagement should have belonged to you. But as you can see, someone of your background simply wouldn't fit."

Julian wrapped his arm around Veronica's waist. "Veronica, it doesn't matter who your biological parents are. I love you for who you are."

I looked him up and down. The dude was wearing cheap, cloying women's perfume that definitely wasn't Veronica’s scent, and there was a faint red scratch mark right under his collar.

A classic playboy who couldn't even cover his tracks properly. And Veronica treated him like a grand prize.

I chuckled and waved my hand dismissively.

"Alright, you reek. Go play somewhere else and leave me alone. And Veronica, a piece of friendly advice: letting a man blind you is the fastest way to ruin."

Veronica shot me a murderous glare before dragging her fiancé away.

Seeing the interaction, my mom rushed over to comfort me. "Chloe, that engagement was arranged between the families years ago. Since we didn't know you were alive back then..."

"Mom, don't worry about it," I interrupted calmly. "I don't want him. Only an idiot would fight over a cheating red flag like that."

Hearing my nonchalant response, my mom felt even guiltier and transferred another million dollars to my account as 'compensation.'

Not bad. Trading a piece of trash man for another million bucks? Best deal ever.

The less I cared, the more Veronica convinced herself I was playing hard to get. Her logic was utterly beyond me.

Seeing how completely whipped she was by Julian Sterling, I honestly doubted the family business would survive in her hands.

And as it turned out, my gut was dead on.

Following the banquet, Veronica acted like she had been injected with adrenaline. She worked round the clock, dominating social media headlines.

Under her lead, the Vance Group aggressively expanded, landing three massive multi-billion-dollar construction contracts that required astronomical capital follow-through.

Watching the news hail Veronica as a 'commercial prodigy,' I couldn't help but sigh. What an utter fool.

Of those three projects, one was clearly a massive sinkhole.

If Veronica couldn't see it, was Dad blind too?

The Vance family was flying way too close to the sun.

I gently brought it up at home, suggesting it was better for the company to play it safe.

My dad looked at me in surprise. "Are you interested in corporate strategy, Chloe?"

"Not really. But I know you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. That Midtown Estates project Veronica picked was already a stalled development site before we bought it! The cash required to finish it is ridiculous. It's draining the entire family's liquidity!"

"What would you know?" Veronica sneered dismissively. "Real estate is an essential market, especially in a top-tier school district! It'll sell out instantly!"

I shrugged. "Fine. Forget I said anything."

My dad, however, looked thoughtful.

Unfortunately, Veronica’s ego was already out of orbit. Calling herself a business genius, she actually believed her own hype.

Shortly after construction restarted on Midtown Estates, following a massive hundred-million-dollar bond deposit, whistleblowers exposed that the building materials were counterfeit and dangerously below safety codes.

As the executive in charge, Veronica was taken into custody by the authorities. Scandals poured in, the stock plummeted, and banks froze all our credit lines overnight.

My dad literally collapsed onto the floor.

And I started panicking too.

"Wait! My luxurious slacker life can't just end like this!"

"I still have a facial appointment scheduled for this afternoon!"

Hearing my footsteps, my dad scrambled to his feet and grabbed my hands desperately:

"Chloe! You're the only one who can help us now!"

"We gave you so much money recently... it's time to save your family!"