- 8.
I knew this was Grandpa giving me a chance.
After what happened with my Dad and Chad,
he didn’t trust me to anyone else. It was
better to have me take control myself.
I agreed without hesitation.
Hearing this news, Dad completely broke
down.
Over the years, he had used my name to
swindle a lot of money from my grandparents.
He was used to spending money, and now he
had no place to live, his credit cards had been
cut off, and he had Mia to take care of, so he
was strapped for cash.
L
Ignoring the security guards, he stormed into
the company, yelling that I wasn’t good
enough.
“She’s just a kid. Dad, you’re crazy. You want
her to take over the company?”
“With her around, the Smith Corporation will
be ruined!”
But his words were met with a swift elbow to
the face from a security guard, who pinned
him to the ground.
Grandpa stood next to me, glaring at my Dad.
“The Smith Corporation is the lifeblood of the
Smiths.”
<
“Even if it fails in Hailey’s hands, I won’t let it become a tool for outsiders to abuse Hailey.”
“Besides, Hailey has a lot more talent than
you.”
“Since Vice President Smith has been fired,
he shouldn’t come to the company.”
Amidst the chaos, Dad was thrown out of the
company in a mess.
Chad and Mia had also tried to find me
several times, but they had never been able to
see me.
I knew they wouldn’t give up.
Sure enough, on the way back from
<
L
I NOW Hoy wouldnt give up.
Sure enough, on the way back from
negotiating a contract, a semi–truck suddenly
swerved at me.
I couldn’t dodge it in time and passed out.
The last thing I saw before my eyes closed
was Chad’s dark stare.
When I woke up, I was tied up in an
abandoned warehouse.
Mia was no longer the rich socialite she used
to be. She was wearing cheap clothes, with
rough make up, and the look in her eyes was
full of resentment.
く
“Hailey, you’re finally awake.”
As Mia raised the knife in her hand, Chad
suddenly jumped out and stopped her.
“Are you crazy?”
Blocked, Mia turned around and yelled at Chad, “What are you stopping me for?”
“What? Do you like her now and can’t bear to
hurt her?”
“Let me tell you, if she hadn’t broken off the engagement, your dad wouldn’t have yelled at you and then found out you were a bastard!”
“We wouldn’t be in this situation!”
く
Hearing that, I was shocked.
Chad wasn’t the true son of the Peterson
Family patriarch – he was a illegitimate child
from one of his mom’s affairs.
No wonder the Petersons had suddenly
kicked Chad out a few months ago, saying he
was no longer related to the family.
Everyone thought it was because he had
angered the Smiths, but the real reason was
that he wasn’t a Peterson to begin with.
Chad’s face twisted for a moment, and then
he took a deep breath.
“If you hurt her, how are we going to get the
money?”
<
“Don’t forget, those old farts have started
looking into your family history!”
“Even if you kill her, you won’t be able to get
the Smith’s money.”
My Dad came over at that moment, looking at
Mia with resentment.
“Mia, Chad’s right.”
“You were supposed to follow my plan and
keep things quiet.”
“Then I could use Hailey to get control of the
Smith Corporation, and get rid of the old
people for good.”
“But you had to show off at the party and
<
attract that old woman.”
“How could we have ended up like this?”
Mia was about to say something, but Chad
impatiently interrupted.
“Okay, that’s enough.”
“Hailey, for the sake of our past relationship.”
“If you cooperate with us and get them to give us three million dollars.”
“We’ll let you go.”
