The engine of the armored SUV purred like a beast as we pulled away from the campus gates, leaving the stunned crowd behind. My butler, Thomas, sat across from me with a tablet in his hand, his expression granite-cold.
"Master Ethan, the Hawthorne family's credit lines have been frozen as you instructed," Thomas reported, his voice devoid of emotion. "By the time Elara tries to pay for her engagement dinner tonight, she will realize her gold card is nothing more than a piece of useless plastic."
I leaned back against the hand-stitched leather seat, my mind replaying the look of terror on Elara’s face. For three years, I had washed her car, cooked her meals, and endured the sneers of her elite friends, all while waiting for her to show a single spark of genuine love. Today, that hope was dead.
"And the impostor?" I asked, looking down at my emerald ring.
"Gerald isn't even a Kaelen distant relative," Thomas sneered. "He is a small-time con artist who rented that Lamborghini with stolen funds. He targeted Elara because the Hawthorne family has been desperate for a Kaelen partnership to save their failing textile business".
A sharp vibration came from my pocket. I pulled out my old, cracked smartphone. It was a call from Elara’s mother, Sandra Hawthorne.
I swiped to answer.
"Ethan! You low-life bastard!" Sandra’s voice screamed through the speaker so loudly that Thomas winced. "What did you do? Why did our company’s main accounts just get flagged for investigation? I know you were at the gate causing a scene! If you don't fix this in ten minutes, I’ll have your legs broken!"
"Mother-in-law," I said, my voice like dry ice. "I told you before. I am no longer part of your family. If the Hawthorne Group is collapsing, it’s because you built it on lies and my charity."
"Your charity? You were a beggar we picked up from the street!" she shrieked. "Listen to me, you trash. Gerald, the true Kaelen heir, is with Elara right now. Once they sign the contract tomorrow, you’ll be begging for a bowl of soup at our back door!"
"Then I’ll see you at the banquet tomorrow night," I said, a dark smile playing on my lips. "I’ll be the one sitting in the VIP chair. Let’s see if Gerald can still afford to stand next to you by then."
I hung up before she could respond.
"Thomas," I turned to the butler. "You mentioned the girl who really saved me. Where is she?".
Thomas swiped his screen, bringing up a photo of a woman with tired but beautiful eyes. "Her name is Mia. She’s the one who pulled you from the wreckage the night your parents were killed. Elara stole her jade bracelet and took the credit, using it to worm her way into your grandfather's favor".
My grip tightened on the car door handle. Elara hadn't just betrayed my heart; she had stolen a life of gratitude that belonged to someone else.
"Mia was drugged and sold off this morning by her own stepmother to pay off a gambling debt," Thomas continued, his voice tightening. "She’s currently at the villa of the playboy, Silas Vance. He has a reputation for being a monster to his 'wives'".
I looked out the window as the car sped toward the edge of the city. The rain was still falling, but the man who had been shivering in it was gone.
"Tell the driver to floor it," I commanded, my eyes glowing with a cold, predatory light. "If Silas Vance lays a single finger on her, I’ll burn his entire estate to the ground before the sun sets."
The SUV roared, weaving through traffic at breakneck speed. As we reached the gates of the Vance villa, I saw the guards reaching for their holsters.
I didn't wait for the car to stop. I kicked the door open before the tires had even stopped smoking.
"Who are you?" the lead guard barked, leveling a weapon at my chest.
I didn't answer. I simply moved. In a blur of motion, I disarmed him, the sound of his wrist snapping echoing through the courtyard. I wasn't just a billionaire anymore; I was a man with a debt of blood to pay.
I stormed toward the main hall, kicking the massive oak doors off their hinges with a single strike.
Inside, Mia was huddled on the floor, her clothes torn, while a man in a silk robe laughed as he reached for her hair.
"Let her go," I roared, my voice shaking the very chandeliers above us. "Or tonight will be the last night the Vance family exists in this world."
The playboy turned around, his eyes wide with shock, but then he saw my clothes. "Another beggar? Guards! Kill him and throw his body in the river!"
As ten armed men rushed into the room, I stood my ground, my hands empty but my heart full of fury.