I Was A Hopeless Gold Digger Protected By A Pain‑Linked Billionaire Chapter 04

I Was A Hopeless Gold Digger Protected By A Pain‑Linked Billionaire Chapter 04

The second the ice water went over my head, I almost stopped breathing.

It felt as if countless needles were stabbing into my bones all at once.

Two guards pinned my shoulders down, keeping me from surfacing. I clawed at the tank walls, lungs burning.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, Zane shoved the guards aside and overturned the tank.

Ice water flooded the ballroom. I crashed onto the floor and lay there in the water, coughing violently.

Zane draped his jacket over me. “Ms. Clarke — hang in there! Mr. Hale is almost here!”

Serena kicked him in his injured arm. He collapsed beside me with a muffled cry.

“Who do you think you are, messing with me?”

She pointed at me. “Drag her up!”

They pulled me onto the stage by my hair. My wet clothes clung to my skin — I was shivering violently.

Serena slapped the asset transfer agreement against my face.

“Sign it. Admit you’re a fraud, then crawl out of The Shaw Club on your knees. I might even let you keep breathing.”

I looked at the number on the paper. One point five billion.

I could put off worrying about my life, but I couldn’t let go of that money.

“I’m not signing.”

Serena laughed in disbelief. “You love money that much?”

“Yes. Why else would I have gotten close to Grant Hale in the first place?”

The room erupted in murmurs.

Serena’s eyes lit up. She motioned for the cameras to focus on me. “Finally admitting it?”

I nodded. “I always did. I want his money. He needs me alive. We both know exactly what we’re getting. It’s a fair, clearly priced transaction. You, on the other hand, keep saying you love him, yet everything you do drives a knife straight into his heart.”

Serena slapped me across the face.

“Still trying to drive a wedge between us?”

I turned my head and spat out blood. “I’m trying to save you. Let me go now — when Grant gets back, you’ll just get yelled at. Keep going — and you won’t just lose the chance to marry him. Shaw Pharmaceuticals will be buried with you.”

“Who do you think you are?” she hissed. “Grant Hale’s life?”

Finally. The right question.

I stared at her and smiled slowly. “Pretty much.”

Serena froze for a second.

Then she completely lost it. “Fine. Then I’ll take your life tonight!”

She raised her microphone to the guests. “This woman played the victim to deceive Grant, and how many of our families have suffered because of her? Anyone who has a grudge against her, come up here and settle the score.”

The crowd went silent for a few seconds.

Elena Ford came first. She grabbed a bottle and smashed it across my shoulder.

“This one’s for my father’s company!”

Another woman ran up and slapped me. “This one’s for my canceled endorsements!”

Then more followed.

They tore at my hair. Kicked my legs with their heels. They poured out all the resentment they’d been too afraid to vent over the years onto me.

I covered my head and memorized every single face.

Everyone who had walked into this room tonight, without exception, was going down.

Zane was on the ground, screaming. “Mr. Hale is here! Stop now — and you might still have a way out!”

Everyone froze.

Serena snatched a golf club from one of her guards. “What are you afraid of? I’m here. Grant won’t touch you.”

She pinned my wrist with her foot and raised the club high.

“Jade Clarke, aren’t these the hands you used to cling to Grant and beg him for money? I’ll smash them first. Then I’ll destroy that face.”

I looked at the ballroom doors. Faint footsteps echoed from outside.

I said quietly, “Serena. He’s back.”

She laughed. “Good. I want him to watch you become nothing.”

The club came crashing down with a sharp whoosh, aimed straight at my hand.

CRACK.

A dark figure kicked the doors open and stormed onto the stage, catching the club mid-swing with his bare hand.

He raised bloodshot eyes at Serena.

“Who said you could touch her?”