All Chapters of Her Halo Was My Money: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Lillian, you're amazing! You even care about broke students like us—buying us houses and cars? You're literally one in a million!""Just landing a job with you feels like winning the lottery!""Hurry, Lillian! The TV crew's still waiting for your interview!"...My head was a mess—like someone had thrown a sheet over my brain.Then it started to clear. And there she was: Lillian Pegg, front and center, soaking up the spotlight, holding court with reporters like she actually built the empire she stole.I reached up, fingers brushing my forehead. The wound Liam gave me? Gone. And my stomach—usually a war zone—felt warm, steady.No way. I was alive. I was back.I stepped forward, half in a daze, trying to get to Lillian.Then bam—one of her groupies stumbled and shoved me aside. "Who even are you? Move!"That shout flipped every head.Lillian spotted me too. Her smile twitched, just for a second, before she snapped on that fake sweetness."Clara, what are you doing here? Go w

I drummed my fingers on the desk. A second later, the door slammed open.Lillian barged in, fake smile long gone. "Clara Quinton, why'd you freeze my card? The TV reporters are still outside! Are you trying to tank Vectorial Corp's rep?"I've worked my butt off to build this image, and now you're tearing it down?"You never even cared about this company, and now look at you—wrecking everything. What kind of person..."Blah, blah, blah. She was on a roll, playing the betrayed saint like I was the villain wrecking her charity act.I rolled my eyes, dropped my phone, and finally met her stare. "My card. My company. I'll do whatever I want."I raised my voice. "You're more worked up than the owner. At this rate, people might think you're running Vectorial Corp!"Lillian froze. Her face twisted, then melted into fake guilt real quick."I'm sorry," she said softly. "It's just... this really matters to the company. I got emotional. Can you unfreeze the card now, please?"I arched a b

The crowd got loud, rallying around Lillian like she was some martyr.One of her so-called underprivileged students lunged at me, all worked up.I sidestepped and let him fly straight into her.Lillian yelped as she hit the floor. Liam scrambled to help her up, all panicked.She shot the guy a glare sharp enough to slice, irritation flashing fast before she masked it.The loudmouth shrank back, suddenly mute, trying to slip away.I cut him off and stepped into his path, eyes sweeping the room.Then I pointed—one by one. "You've got cars, houses, and spending habits that scream luxury. Still calling yourselves 'underprivileged'? And isn't every single one of you related to Lillian?"The staff froze. Dead silent—until the so-called poor students snapped.They rushed me, yelling."Quit lying! You're just a sponsored student—who even are you to judge us?""Yeah! The company already verified us. You think your word changes anything?"I let out a cold laugh and locked eyes with L

The second they saw how dead serious I was, Bobby and Whitney froze.Lillian jumped in first, all concern and fake sweetness."Don't say something you'll regret," she said gently. "We're family—why make things ugly? It's heartbreaking. Just calm down, okay? We can talk later."Yeah, she was all soft words and crocodile tears. Bobby and Whitney? Not so much.Bobby's glare could've cracked glass. He started cursing under his breath, hand twitching like he was dying to slap me.Whitney didn't even hesitate. She lunged, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and screamed, "Take back what? You're not getting a damn cent! This is ours! We let you stay—be grateful!"I scoffed, yanked her hands off, and shoved her back.Then I pulled out my phone, cool as ever. "The deed's in my name. Time's up. Get out."Whitney, still fuming, lunged at me again, trying to pull the same stunt.If I hadn't dodged quick, she probably would've gotten another handful.When that failed, she switched tactics—full

Good thing I was already two steps ahead. If Alex couldn't reach me, he'd call the cops.I'd also stashed backup phones in the bedroom in case she snatched the main one.Yeah, I could've escaped. But to actually nail her, the report had to hit within 24 hours.So I stayed. Played the long game. Let her dig her own grave.The door creaked. Lillian strolled in, slow and smug.Finally dropped the fake halo and showed up like the villain she really was."If you behave, I might let you live long enough to die of old age."Cute. Real generous of her.Even if I'd been totally clueless, they still would've wiped me out. Just like last time—erase, delete, gone.Lillian cracked up, loud and unhinged. "You did this to yourself! Rot here! Everything you had? Mine now!"In my last life, I never got why Bobby and Whitney backed her. She might've "saved" them, sure, but I was their son's wife. That used to mean something, right?Apparently not.And her whole sob-story spin? Please. They'd