Chapter 2 - THE SHADOW EMPIREBrittany’s fake tears instantly dried. "You're lying! Dad paid for this venue!"
"Dad tried to pay for this venue," I corrected, pulling a sleek black smartphone from my pocket and tapping the screen twice. "But his credit card was declined twenty minutes ago because his account is severely overdrawn. Isn't that right, Dad?"
My father’s face drained of all color. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
The truth was, I hadn't just built a business over the last three years; I had studied my enemy. When I left home at eighteen with nothing but a single bag and $200 in my savings account, I discovered my knack for financial analytics. I worked twenty-hour days, slept on office floors, and built a tech-investment firm from scratch. Along the way, I kept tabs on the family that abandoned me.
I knew that for the past three years, my parents had mortgaged their home to the hilt to fund Brittany’s lavish lifestyle—her failed influencer career, her luxury trips, and her high-society wardrobe. They were living on borrowed time and stolen credit.
"Megan... please," Mom stammered, her tough exterior suddenly crumbling as she noticed the whispered judgment of our extended relatives. "We are family. You wouldn't humiliate us like this."
"You humiliated me on my eighteenth birthday in front of everyone I knew," I said, stepping closer to her. "You gave my cake, my music, and my entire night to Brittany while telling me to 'start acting mature.' Well, Mom... I grew up. And now I run the world you're desperately trying to fake your way into."
Brittany lunged forward, her nails painted blood-red, aiming straight for my face. "You ruined my life!" she screamed.
Before she could touch me, two large, suited security guards appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Brittany by the arms and forcing her back.
"Miss Brooks," the head of security said to me respectfully. "Should we clear the hall?"
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"Not yet," I replied softly, looking Brittany dead in the eye. "My sister has an engagement to announce, doesn't she? I'd love to meet the lucky man who agreed to marry into this family's debts."
At that exact moment, the doors at the back of the ballroom swung open, and a man in a tailor-made tuxedo walked in. But when he saw me, his knees literally buckled.
