Chapter 2

2

The guards shoved me to the floor, pinning me down with their batons. The pressure made it hard to breathe.

"Jade, you're insane!" I screamed, struggling against the cold floor. "When my brother finds out about this, he'll destroy you!"

Before the words fully left my mouth, she slapped me across the face.

She grabbed my chin, squeezing hard until it hurt.

"Oh, honey, you really think you're that special? Let's see who he actually cares about."

She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. When the person picked up, her voice turned sweet and sugary.

"Sterling, honey, where are you? I caught a thief at the store. She's claiming to be your sister."

She giggled into the phone. "She's saying that if I touch her, you'll never forgive me."

A man's scoff came through the speaker. "I'm on a business trip, babe. Don't listen to her. I don't have a sister."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Jade held the phone near my face, gloating.

I ignored the stinging pain in my cheek and screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Sterling Vance! Are you deaf? You don't recognize your own sister's voice? Don't forget who gave you the cash to start this place!"

There was a brief silence on the other end. Sterling sounded like he was about to say something.

Suddenly, Jade clutched her stomach and let out a pained moan.

"Sterling, it hurts… I think the stress is upsetting the little one. Why are you being so patient with this criminal?"

"It's okay, baby, I'm sorry," Sterling said instantly. "Do whatever you want with her. I'll handle the fallout."

He hung up, leaving me staring in shock while Jade's smirk grew wider.

She patted her belly and raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're out of your league, sweetie. I'm carrying his child. Once we're married, all his money is mine. You won't get another dime!"

I bit my lip, looking at the baby supplies on the floor.

Sterling had asked me to pick those out specifically as 'gifts for a business partner.'

Now I realized they were for her.

Jade saw the defiance in my eyes and stepped hard on the back of my hand. She ground her heel into my skin while looking at the crowd.

"Sorry for the drama, everyone. To make it up to you, everything you're buying today is on the house."

"All I ask is that you delete any videos or photos you took on your phones."

I gasped in pain, my heart sinking.

People had been filming the whole thing. If those videos disappeared, I'd have no evidence of her assault.

"Don't do it!" I yelled at the crowd. "If you keep those videos, I'll pay you ten times what your groceries are worth!"

The people in line just laughed at me.

A burly man at the front of the line looked down at me with contempt.

"You're a joke. Ten times? You can't even pay the hundred thousand you owe now."

"Stop acting rich. You look like you don't have a hundred bucks to your name."

He stood there like a judge, cursing me out to feel morally superior.

He even raised a fist, shouting about how he was going to teach a thief a lesson.

As his fist swung toward my face, I jerked my head to the side.

I managed to slip one hand free and pulled a card from my pocket.

"Who says I don't have money!"