CHAPTER 2 — The Billionaire She Thought Was Broke
Victoria refused to believe it.
"No."
"This has to be some kind of prank."
She rushed after Lucas as he stepped into the private elevator.
"Lucas! Wait!"
The pilot instinctively blocked her path.
"I'm sorry, ma'am."
"You are not authorized to accompany Mr. Carter."
She scoffed.
"Move. That's my boyfriend."
The pilot didn't budge.
"Former boyfriend, according to what everyone here just witnessed."
A wave of embarrassed whispers spread through the crowd.
Several guests quietly lowered their phones.
Others kept recording, sensing the drama had only begun.
Victoria's father, Richard Ashford, had been dining in a private room upstairs with investors. Hearing the commotion, he strode onto the rooftop, irritation etched across his face.
"What is going on?"
One of Victoria's friends hurried over.
"Mr. Ashford... Lucas isn't poor."
"He... he owns Carter Aerospace."
Richard frowned.
"Carter... Aerospace?"
His expression changed instantly.
His face drained of color.
"You mean... the Carter family?"
The pilot answered calmly.
"Mr. Lucas Carter is the sole grandson of the late William Carter. Earlier today, the family trust officially transferred controlling ownership to him."
Richard staggered backward.
Impossible.
The Carter family was worth tens of billions.
Their aerospace company manufactured aircraft for governments around the world.
Even Richard's real-estate empire wasn't one-tenth their size.
He turned toward his daughter.
"What... did you do?"
Victoria forced a smile.
"Dad, relax. It's just a misunderstanding."
She hurried to the elevator doors just before they closed.
"Lucas!"
"I didn't mean those things."
"You know I was joking."
Lucas looked at her without emotion.
"Were you?"
"You called me contagious."
"You laughed at the ring I spent months saving for."
"You wanted everyone to believe I was beneath you."
Victoria's eyes filled with panic.
"I was angry!"
"I didn't know who you really were!"
Lucas gave a faint, bitter smile.
"And that's exactly the problem."
The elevator doors slid shut.
Victoria pounded on the stainless steel panels.
"Lucas! Please!"
But he was already gone.
Twenty minutes later...
A sleek black helicopter lifted off from the private rooftop helipad.
Victoria watched it disappear into the Manhattan skyline.
One of her friends whispered,
"Do you think he'll forgive you?"
She didn't answer.
Because for the first time in years...
She felt something she had never experienced before.
Fear.
Meanwhile...
Lucas landed at Carter Estate, where more than fifty executives stood in two perfect rows outside the historic mansion.
As he stepped out, every executive bowed respectfully.
"Welcome home, Mr. Carter."
An elderly attorney approached with a leather folder.
"Your grandfather left one final instruction."
Lucas opened the sealed envelope.
Inside was a handwritten note.
"If the woman you love values your heart more than your fortune, give her everything. If she values your fortune more than your heart... walk away before she destroys both."
Lucas closed his eyes.
His grandfather had known.
He had planned this test years ago.
Back in Manhattan...
Victoria sat alone in the dark restaurant.
She replayed every moment in her mind.
Not the proposal.
Not the pilot.
Not the helicopter.
But the look in Lucas's eyes...
The moment he realized she had never loved the man—
Only the money she believed he didn't have.
And she had thrown away the greatest love of her life...
For the price of a simple silver ring.
But Victoria had no idea...
Lucas's proposal wasn't the only secret his grandfather had left behind.
May you like
Hidden inside the Carter family trust was a condition so shocking...
It would force Victoria to face him one last time—and reveal a truth that neither of them had ever imagined.
