Chapter 4

The few sycophants beside Marlene chimed in loudly.

"Exactly! Ms. Welch opened her own restaurant at such a young age. An independent woman like her is the perfect match for Mr. Crawford. What makes you think a gold digger like you can even compare?"

"Ms. Welch has been gracious enough to waive the two thousand dollars, so how about you show some gratitude before we make you do it?"

"Hurry up and admit you're a fake socialite! Then, take off those knockoffs and get out!"

Knockoffs? The jewelry and accessories I had on me added up to over a million dollars. Marlene couldn't afford a single watch of mine even if she sold this restaurant, and yet she wanted me to apologize?

She really was dreaming!

My fists clenched involuntarily.

"Marlene, seems like you really do have a death wish."

Just as the words left my mouth, my phone rang in my pocket. It was Grandpa's exclusive ringtone.

Before I could grab it, Marlene quickly snatched the phone right out of my coat pocket. She broke into a contemptuous smile as she glanced at the caller ID and promptly put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

Grandpa's robust voice came through from the other end of the line.

"Jillian, how did the blind date go?"

Marlene replied arrogantly, "I take it you're Jillian's grandfather? Your granddaughter owes me two thousand dollars, so she's being held at my restaurant.

"Listen up, old geezer—you'd better hurry up and bring the money here to bail her out. Otherwise, I'll strip every last one of those fakes off her and throw her out onto the street."

A brief silence hung on the line before Grandpa's voice, tight with restrained anger, broke through.

"Two thousand dollars? All this over that measly sum? I'll give you 20 thousand dollars. Tell me the address. If you so much as lay a finger on Jillian before my people arrive, I'll have your entire family buried alongside you."

The murderous intent in his words nearly pierced through the receiver, yet Marlene remained utterly unfazed.

"20 thousand dollars?" She laughed. "Who do you think you're bluffing, you old geezer? As if your family could have that much money! Go on, keep up the act. You and your whole family are nothing but a pack of liars!"

Marlene didn't believe a word of it and assumed Grandpa was just bluffing to save me.

She yelled into the phone, "You have ten minutes! If I don't see the money by then, things are going to get ugly for Jillian. When that happens, don't blame me for not warning you!"

With that, she hung up the phone and tossed it onto the table.

"Jillian, let's see if that lying grandfather of yours can magically come up with 20 thousand dollars in ten minutes."

Time ticked by, and Marlene's patience had clearly run out. She glanced impatiently at her watch and shot a meaningful look at the group of burly men.

"Do it! Take off every last necklace and watch she's wearing."

My eyes immediately reddened. "Marlene, you're going against your word. It hasn't even been ten minutes yet."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Two minutes less makes no difference. Besides, I never expected that old fool to actually show up with the money anyway."

A burly man immediately stepped forward and reached out to yank the necklace and earrings from my neck and ears. Another grabbed my wrist and unfastened the Patek Philippe.

That watch was a gift from my mother, Erin Decker, for my 18th birthday. I wore it every single day and never let it leave my side. And that necklace was a gift from Grandpa just this year, while the earrings had been personally designed by my best friend, Jodi Benton.

Marlene snatched those items and hurled them viciously onto the ground. The sharp sound of them shattering made my heart seize.

Still not satisfied, she instructed the others, "You love wearing knockoffs and pretending to be a socialite, huh? Smash them all to pieces!"

Several burly men in leather shoes trampled over the jewelry and watch without a shred of mercy.

I watched helplessly as the watch face shattered, the diamonds fell loose, and the metal twisted out of shape.

I glared at Marlene, practically grinding my teeth to dust. "You will regret this, Marlene!"

She looked at my reddened eyes with even greater contempt.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you're heartbroken over a few knockoffs? This is what happens when you pretend to be a socialite. Now I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget. Since the jewelry's been smashed, let's strip off those counterfeit designer clothes as well."

With that, Marlene actually stepped forward and personally reached out to tear at my clothes.

I resisted with all my might but was held down firmly.

Just then, the front door of the restaurant was kicked open from the outside.

A team of bodyguards in black suits surged in and took control of the entire room. The burly men Marlene had hired were subdued and pinned to the ground in a matter of seconds.

Immediately after, Andres Moore, the renowned CEO of Heliosium Group in Richstead, strode inside. Carrying a silver briefcase, he swiftly walked up to me with a grim expression.

"Ms. Vega, my apologies for arriving late. I'm sorry you had to go through this."