The Real Heiress Is Overworked, Forget Love and Just Pay Her Chapter 08

The Real Heiress Is Overworked, Forget Love and Just Pay Her Chapter 08

“Enough.” Mrs. Shaw’s voice came from the doorway.

She walked straight up to Vera and slapped her hard across the face.

“Lewis gave this family thirty years. And he spent every single one of them drowning in guilt-because he

was the one who lost your sister.”

“He finally found Gemma. Finally got to go home, retire in peace, enjoy his grandkids. And you? You went

after his four-year-old grandson?”

Vera clutched her cheek, staring at Mrs. Shaw in utter disbelief. She had never been struck before.

“I called Mr. Lewis myself,” Mrs. Shaw said, her voice thick with disappointment. “You went to him. Promised

his grandson a spot at the best international school-all he had to do was play along with your little lie.”

“And if he said no? You threatened to send people after a four-year-old. Every single day. A four-year-old,

Vera. How could you?”

A dead silence swallowed the room.

Chase turned to Vera, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Vera… is what Mom said true?”

The question didn’t even need an answer. The proof was all there.

Vera suddenly burst out laughing, but tears followed instantly. “Fine! Yes, I did it! So what?”

She lifted her head and glared at Mr. and Mrs. Shaw. “I came to this family when I was five years old. Twenty

years. For twenty years, I’ve been your daughter. She’s been back for what, five minutes? Why does she get

so much?”

Her tears fell faster, but her voice only grew sharper. “Does blood really matter that much? Is DNA some kind

of magic spell? If you’re not blood-related, do you just deserve nothing?”

She was sobbing like the universe had wronged her.

I watched the performance and couldn’t help but laugh. Nobody answered her question, so I did.

“Yeah. Obviously. You’re not blood. Why would you ever think you’d get to stand on equal ground with me? Nice fantasy, though.”

Vera’s stunt had one intended effect: the transfer agreement didn’t get signed that day.

But that same night, she was thrown out of Shaw Estate.

She dropped to her knees, clutching the hem of Mrs. Shaw’s pants, crying so hard she could barely breathe.

“Mom, I know I messed up. Please, I’m begging you, don’t kick me out. I’ve been here since I was five. Where

am I supposed to go?”

Mrs. Shaw turned her face away. Her eyes were red, but her voice didn’t waver. “You’re twenty years old. It’s

time to take responsibility for your actions.”

“Everything you did to Gemma, it was cold. Calculated. And cruel. The only reason we’re not pressing charges? Those twenty years. That’s it.”

Mr. Shaw backed her up. “Go. If you want to come back for holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, I won’t stop you. But you can’t stay here anymore.”

Vera’s whole body trembled. She crawled on her knees toward Chase and grabbed his hand. “Chase, please. Say something. You’ve always had my back. You promised you’d always be on my side.”

Chase stared down at her, his throat working. He looked like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, he shook his head.

Her hand slipped from his grasp. She collapsed onto the floor, stunned, then staggered back to her feet.

The tears were still wet on her face, but her eyes had shifted from desperation to a numb, burning hatred.

“I won’t come back. You’ll regret this. All of you.”

She headed for the door and stopped dead in her tracks.

Two uniformed officers stood on the front steps.

“Vera Shaw? You’ve been named in a report for criminal mischief and using another individual’s account to spread false information, resulting in significant damages. You need to come with us.”

Vera spun around and locked eyes with me. “You called the cops on me?”

I shrugged. “Yep. They might have a soft spot for you, but I don’t. That laptop cost me three months of pay, $4,000. That clears the criminal threshold.”

“You-”

I kept going. “I’m petty, okay? I come from nothing, and I hold a grudge. So don’t expect me to settle this or let it go. Think about what you did while you’re sitting in a cell.”

When the officers led her away, Vera finally shattered. She screamed and swore, every filthy word spilling out, looking nothing like the gentle, soft-spoken angel she’d always pretended to be.

Chase stood frozen in the living room, watching the cruiser pull away. He never took a single step toward

her.

After that, the share transfer contract was redrafted. I signed my name and officially became a

twenty-percent shareholder of Shaw Holdings.

As compensation, Mr. Shaw set up a $3 million trust fund in my name.

The day after the paperwork was finalized, I used the money to buy myself a new house, a gorgeous, spacious place far from the estate. I moved out without a backward glance.

Mrs. Shaw watched the moving truck idle in the driveway but didn’t try to stop me. She knew she had no right. She just pressed another bank card into my hand and asked me to come home often.

After that, my parents visited me all the time. Sometimes they even took me on trips.

Chase avoided me for a long while. When we finally crossed paths, his expression was always tangled, part guilt, part too proud to apologize.

Once, I ran into him at the office, and he awkwardly handed me a cup of coffee, muttering something about picking it up on his way in. I didn’t call him out. I just took it and drank.

I knew they were trying to rebuild something.

Honestly, after everything they put me through, I wouldn’t exactly call it love. But I wasn’t about to slam the

door shut either.

After all, they really did have a lot of money.