Chapter 3

I didn't go home. Instead, I headed straight to the recycling center on the west side of the city.

When I arrived, Taylor was sorting through a fresh batch of electronic waste.

He saw me and handed me a bottle of water. "What's wrong? You look like crap."

I took the water and took a sip. "Nothing. Got into it with someone."

Taylor laughed. "Who's so stupid that they'd dare mess with Kingsford's biggest landlady?"

I leaned against a mountain of old cardboard boxes. "Someone who claims she's a tycoon's daughter."

I gave him a quick rundown of what happened at the Sinclair residence.

After I finished, Taylor spat on the ground. "What the hell? They're living in your villa, getting treated in your hospital, and they have the guts to talk shit about you?

"Eliza, you're too soft-hearted. You never should've rented the land to them in the first place."

I didn't say anything.

My parents died when I was young, so I grew up eating at other people's tables and picking through trash for a living.

From a young age, I knew that I could be broke, but I couldn't be landless.

To me, every bottle and cardboard box people tossed out was money waiting to be picked up.

With the first money I made from collecting scrap, I bought a patch of wasteland on the outskirts of Kingsford.

As the city expanded, that land turned into one of the most exclusive villa districts around.

After that, I ended up with more and more land, so much, in fact, that I lost track of how many plots I actually owned.

That was when Charlie came into my life.

He was handsome, gentle, and completely devoted to me.

He said he loved me.

I looked into his eyes and believed him.

I thought I'd finally found a safe harbor to anchor myself.

But now, that harbor was pushing me away.

My phone buzzed. Charlie was calling.

I hit decline.

He tried again.

I hit decline again.

The third time he called, I blocked him.

Not long after, Riley called.

I picked up.

"Eliza, so you think you're tough now? You dare ignore Charlie's calls?" Riley snapped. "If Pierce got worse because of you, you can bet I'll make you pay."

I replied calmly, unbothered, "Next month, the property fees are due. The total fees for all three buildings are forty thousand dollars. Be sure to transfer it to my account on time."

There was silence on the other end.

After a few seconds, Riley's voice grew gentler. "Eliza, that's not what I meant. Come back. Let's talk things over. Luciana didn't know any better. I've already given her a talking-to."

I hung up on her.

That night, I headed back to my own little courtyard.

As soon as I reached the gate, I saw a familiar Bentley parked outside.

Charlie was leaning against the Bentley. His shadow stretched long under the streetlight.

When he saw me, he came straight over. "Eliza, you finally decided to see me." He looked pretty rough. "I called you so many times. Why didn't you answer?"

I walked around him and headed for the gate. "Didn't want to."

He hugged me from behind. "Come on, Eliza. I know you're hurting. I'm sorry for what Luciana and my mom did. Will you come home with me?"

I pulled his hands off me. "Charlie, do you have any idea what I saw at the recycling center today?"

He froze, looking confused. "No."

"I found a menu written in a foreign language. It was tossed out by a Michelin three-star restaurant, barely used. I couldn't make sense of a single word, but I could tell the paper it's printed on is worth a lot."

Charlie's frown deepened. "Eliza, what are you trying to say?"

I looked him straight in the eye and said, enunciating every word, "What I'm saying is even if I can't make sense of that menu, that entire commercial street where the restaurant sits is mine.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to notify every shop owner that all the shop rents are getting doubled."

Charlie's face turned ghostly pale, like Luciana's had earlier.

Because that commercial street was the Sinclair Group's most important luxury business district.