I Was A Hopeless Gold Digger Protected By A Pain‑Linked Billionaire Chapter 09

I Was A Hopeless Gold Digger Protected By A Pain‑Linked Billionaire Chapter 09

The police pinned Serena to the floor.

She was still thrashing. “Let me go! I’m the Shaw family heiress! Jade is the fraud! Arrest her!”

Victor rushed forward – Grant’s guards blocked him.

“Mr. Hale – Serena just lost her temper. She loves you so much – that’s why she did something

stupid.”

Grant checked my hands first. When he confirmed there were no new injuries, he finally looked up.

“Loves me? When she hurt Jade – did she spare even one second to think about

my life?”

Victor had no answer.

The police announced that Serena Shaw was charged with unlawful imprisonment, assault,

evidence tampering, and corporate crimes.

Elena Ford and everyone who’d joined the attack went down too.

Some families released public apologies overnight

Some offered money.

Some begged me to drop the charges.

I gave them all the same four–word reply: *Take the money. Do the time.*

Adults need to follow the rules. You can’t beat someone up in the morning and apologize in the

afternoon. There’s no such cheap deal.

Three days later, Shaw Pharmaceuticals collapsed completely.

Victor Shaw handed over evidence of Serena’s corporate crimes to save himself. He even publicly

disowned her.

When Serena heard, she cried in her detention cell, begging to see him.

He never came.

She’d always thought she was the family’s prized pearl. But to the Shaws, she was just a

bargaining chip for a marriage alliance. Once she could no longer bring them any benefits and had

become a liability, she was discarded.

Hale Group bought Shaw’s core patents and production lines at rock–bottom prices.

The Shaws were drowning in debt. Victor’s mansions, luxury cars, and collections – all auctioned

off.

Serena had always looked down on me for being a gold digger.

In the end, she watched her own family lose everything because of her.

When the news broke, I was still recovering in the hospital.

Grant sat beside me, peeling an apple. He hacked away at it – half the fruit ended up in the trash.

I winced. “With that technique, I’d recommend eating the skin directly.”

“Shut up.”

“It’s my apple you’re mutilating.”

“I bought it too.”

I shut up.

Rich people talk with authority.

He handed me the apple.

I took a bite and noticed he was staring at me.

“What?”

“The doctors found a way to temporarily block the sympathetic link.”

I stopped chewing. “Really?”

“Yeah.” His tone was light. “A round of neurological therapy – the connection between us should

gradually weaken.”

Wasn’t that a good thing?

If I stubbed my toe, he wouldn’t have to lie in bed all day. If I ate something bad, he wouldn’t end up

in the hospital.

But for some reason, my chest felt hollow.

I bit into the apple. “Then go ahead and get it. You won’t have to keep me anymore.”

Grant was quiet for a long time. “You want to leave”

“The whole deal was based on the link. If it’s gone and I keep taking your ten million a month

that’s just shameless.”

He laughed coldly. “Since when did you have any shame?”

“Grant – personal attacks are crossing the line.”

He leaned in suddenly, hands on either side of me.

“Jade. Do you really think I kept you here just because I was afraid of pain?”

I didn’t answer.

His eyes held mine. His voice dropped.

“I knew you before the link. Three years ago. Outside a hotel. You crashed a gala in a knockoff

dress and got thrown out by security.”

remembered.

I’d been starving for three days. I accidentally bumped into a man. Couldn’t afford to replace his

clothes so I gave him a lottery ticket instead.

The ticket won five dollars.

Grant pulled that same wrinkled lottery ticket from his wallet.

“Jade. I looked for you for a year. The link was just my excuse to keep you here.”