Chapter 2

"Hannah, you bitch!"

My cousin, Quinn Burton, finally snapped out of her shock. She stormed up to me while glaring at me.

"What the hell did we ever do to you? Why are you ruining us like this? If anything happens to my parents, I swear I'm going to make you pay!"

As she said that, she raised her hand, ready to slap me.

I instinctively dodged, and her hand missed by inches.

Seeing me avoid her slap only made Quinn more enraged. She grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall.

"How dare you dodge? You're just an orphan! If my parents hadn't been kind enough to take you in, you would've starved to death on the streets long ago!"

The sudden pain made real tears spill from my eyes. "Let go of me!"

"Let go of you? I'll beat you to a pulp today!"

Quinn suddenly sneered. "Hannah, you're just jealous because I have everything and married a great husband, while you're nothing but worthless trash!"

She flaunted her diamond watch and casually tossed her Porsche car keys in the air.

"See this? This is power! Lucian is the CEO of a major company. With just a snap of his fingers, he could make sure you never set foot in Avendale again!

"Now, get on your knees and apologize to my parents right now. Otherwise, I'll make sure you're out of Avendale by tomorrow, begging for change under the bridge!"

Her words made the relatives who had been trying to break up the fight freeze. They all turned their attention toward me.

I pressed my hand against my throbbing forehead and looked at her timidly. "Quinn, I'm not jealous. I'm just worried about you."

Quinn stared at me for a second, then burst into laughter. "Worried about me? You're a loser who can't even take care of yourself, and you're worried about me? Are you out of your mind?"

I lowered my head and replied softly, "No, Quinn. I think Lucian's company… might be in trouble."

"What do you even know?" Quinn sneered, sizing me up with disdain.

"You probably don't even understand stock charts. Lucian's company is about to go public. When it does, I'll be a billionaire's wife! And you? You'll always be nothing but trash!"

"But…" I raised my head, blinking innocently.

"I saw on the news yesterday that there's something called a Ponzi scheme, and it targets people like you… who want to be rich wives."

I tapped my phone a couple of times and showed her the screen.

A financial news clip was playing. The anchor was delivering a report. "Zentara Group is under investigation for illegal fundraising. The police have intervened…"

Quinn's smile immediately froze.

"Hannah! Are you trying to ruin our family's Christmas?" she screamed, lunging to grab my phone.

"Give me that! How dare you fake this garbage to make up lies? I'll call the cops and have you arrested today!"

I dodged her again. Just as I was about to speak, her phone suddenly rang.

When Quinn saw who was calling, her face lit up with newfound confidence. "Hmph! Lucian is calling me! You said he's a fraud, right? Just watch!"

With that, she answered the phone and put it on speaker. "Honey, you need to hear this. My cousin said you're a frau—"

"Honey! Help me!"

Before she could finish her sentence, her husband Lucian Lowery's frantic voice cut her off.

"I've been arrested! The police are here! All our money has been frozen! Help me!"

In the background, a stern voice commanded, "Don't move! Hand over your phone!"

A series of mechanical beeps followed.

The call was abruptly cut off.

Clutching the phone, Quinn stood there in shock.

I watched as the color drained from her face and walked over to pat her lightly on the shoulder. "Quinn, don't be too upset. I looked it up. That car you're driving is rented. Daily rental is 2,000 dollars, and the deposit is 50 thousand dollars."

I picked up the Porsche key from the floor and handed it back to her. "You'd better return it now, or the penalty fees for late return will be on you."