Chapter 4

The man was pinned to the ground, ranting and raving. "Naomi, you tricked me into bankruptcy. You'll die a horrible death..."

The place was close to the police station, so it didn't take long for the cops to show up.

The Ferguson couple were still shaken, their faces pale. In just a few minutes, they'd stared death in the face twice. Even the toughest heart couldn't take that.

As for the heiress's family, only her parents, who got in the car first, had minor injuries. The old gentleman and the heiress were just shaken up, but unharmed.

Theo, realizing his behavior had been inappropriate, walked over to the heiress and said, "I didn't mean to..."

But the heiress slapped him hard across the face, her eyes icy. "Get lost!"

Theo had never been slapped before, and his face darkened with rage. "You should be grateful I even considered you. Do you really expect me to be devoted to you?"

At that moment, he reeked of filth and sour sweat.

I couldn't help but speak up. "She might not be a beauty, but she's got a good heart. When danger struck, her first instinct was to protect her family. You, on the other hand, used people as shields and ditched your parents to save yourself. You're the real ugly one here."

Theo, humiliated and furious, snapped, "Get out of my face! Who are you to judge me? You're just an outsider!"

I ignored him and walked away.

The Ferguson couple called after me from where they stood.

I pretended not to hear them and kept walking.

Later, I heard from the manager that the attacker was out for revenge. Naomi had spent her high school years overseas because her grades were lousy. When she got back, she made a big deal out of her so-called business skills everywhere she went. She was barely twenty, but still managed to fool a bunch of people.

The guy was drawn in by Naomi's looks and her family's wealth, thinking he could cash in. Instead, he lost everything he owned, even took out loans, and ended up deep in debt.

Naomi only got away this time because she was lucky.

But she'd scammed more than just him. Whether she could dodge trouble again was anyone's guess.

I didn't want the Fergusons to know where I was, so I quit my part-time job that same day.

But they still managed to track me down.

Gina was acting totally different now. She made it clear what she wanted—she wanted me to come back home, and she was even ready to hand over half the family fortune if I agreed to return.

I wanted the cash, but going back home? No way.

I asked her, "So, did Naomi get exposed? Her whole 'genius girl' persona turned out to be fake, right? And now that I've gotten into an Ivy, you guys figured picking me is a better deal for the Ferguson family?"

My classmate told me all this.

She'd gotten into a good university too, and after hearing my messy backstory, she opened up about her own situation—turned out, she was actually rich.

She said the Fergusons chose Naomi over me because Naomi was well-known in their circle as a genius.

By the time she was nineteen, she'd already built her own business in the financial district, raised over a hundred million in funding, and even got a company listed.

I was honestly shocked. My adoptive parents were both dumb and mean—it was like their genes mutated or something, and suddenly they had a genius kid.

With a daughter who shines that bright, it's no wonder the Fergusons didn't choose me.

Not long after our chat, my classmate headed overseas for a vacation.

Just two days later, I got a call from her in the middle of the night.

She could barely contain her excitement. "Let me spill some gossip—Naomi's whole 'genius girl' persona back home? Turns out it was crafted by a middle-aged man, an international scammer. To make fundraising easier and have someone to take the fall if things go wrong, he always finds a well-connected heiress in every country to use as bait."

"Naomi's being hunted down? Honestly, she had it coming. She scammed at least ten million and wrecked three companies. She's overseas now—I just saw her. That old guy had his arm around her, and they looked pretty intimate."

After she finished, she sent me a photo.

In the picture, Naomi looked nothing like she did back home. She was dressed in a bold, revealing outfit, and the man holding her was a white guy. The two of them were kissing in public, looking exactly like a couple.

As memories flickered by, I fixed my gaze on Gina. The sincerity she showed at first faded, replaced by something more deceptive.

"We just want to look out for you..." Gina said.

"You'd better tell me the truth," I said, impatience creeping into my voice.

I was getting annoyed.

"Remember that family from before? They have a son, about your age. Since you don't have a boyfriend, why not meet him and see how it goes?" Gina said.