The Forgotten Heir's Payback

Chapter 8: Begging at the Front Door

The white court document hit Beatrice right in the face. She stood frozen in the middle of the hall, her hands shaking like dry leaves. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the big red official stamp on the paper.

"Grand larceny?" Beatrice squeaked out, her voice high and thin. "No! This is a big mistake! I am a respected woman in this city! You cannot do this to me!"

The lead police officer did not listen to her cries. He gestured to the two officers standing behind him. "Take her into custody for questioning. The evidence submitted by the Grand Dragon legal team is crystal clear."

The two officers stepped forward, grabbing Beatrice by her arms. They snapped cold steel handcuffs onto her wrists with a sharp clicking sound.

"Chloe! Save me!" Beatrice screamed at the top of her lungs as the police dragged her down the center aisle. "Julian! Do something! Do not let them take me to jail!"

Chloe ran down the stage steps, her long yellow dress trailing behind her in a mess. Tears streamed down her face, ruining her heavy makeup. She grabbed Julian’s arm, pulling it hard. "Julian! Call your father's lawyers! Do something! They are taking my mother away!"

Julian pulled his arm away from Chloe’s grip, his face full of panic and anger. His security guards were still groaning on the floor, and his own family was facing bankruptcy. He could not afford to get dragged into a police case right now.

"I cannot help you, Chloe!" Julian yelled, backing away from her. "My father is already furious with me! If my family gets involved in a stealing case, our remaining business partners will leave us forever!"

"What?" Chloe gasped, staring at Julian as if he were a complete stranger. "She is going to be your mother-in-law! How can you just abandon her?"

"We are not married yet!" Julian shouted back, turning his body toward the side exit. "Fix your own mess!"

Julian ran out of the side door, leaving Chloe standing alone under the bright lights of the ballroom. The rich guests were still taking videos with their phones, laughing and talking about the Vance family's complete downfall.

Lucas walked past Chloe without giving her a single glance. He held the black velvet box containing his mother's green jade necklace safely in his hand. His personal bodyguards formed a tight shield around him as he stepped into his waiting black car and drove away into the night.

An hour later, Chloe sat inside a small room at the central police station. Through the clear glass window, she saw her mother sitting in a cold cell, weeping and banging her hands against the iron bars.

A police lawyer walked into the room, holding a thick file. He sat down across from Chloe and gave her a serious look.

"Miss Vance," the lawyer said plainly. "The evidence against your mother is solid. The green jade necklace was reported stolen from the Vance house records. Because the value of the necklace is ten million dollars, your mother is facing up to ten years in prison."

Chloe wiped her wet eyes with a tissue, her chest heaving up and down. "Is there any way out? Can we pay a fine?"

The lawyer shook his head. "No. The only way your mother walks free is if the rightful owner, Mr. Lucas Vance, comes to the station and signs a paper dropping all criminal charges."

Chloe felt a heavy rock sink into her stomach. Lucas. Everything came back to Lucas.

She remembered how she treated him for three long years. She remembered how her mother shouted at him every morning, making him wash dishes, clean floors, and eat leftover food like a servant. Now, her mother's freedom was resting entirely in his hands.

She left the police station and got into her small red car. Cold wind began to blow across the streets, and dark storm clouds covered the night sky. Thick droplets of rain started hitting her windshield.

Chloe drove straight to the Grand Dragon Private Estate, the most high-class housing area in the whole city. Lucas was staying at the master villa at the top of the hill.

When Chloe arrived at the front gate, two tall security guards blocked her path. Rain was pouring down hard now, soaking the ground.

Chloe stepped out of her car, holding her thin dress around her body to stay warm. She walked up to the iron gate, her body shivering from the freezing cold.

"Please!" Chloe called out to the guards, her voice trembling. "Tell Lucas that Chloe is here! I need to speak with him! It is an emergency!"

One of the guards checked his radio device and spoke a few words. He looked back at Chloe with a cold face. "Mr. Vance is aware you are here. He said you may wait outside."

Chloe felt a small spark of hope in her heart. She thought Lucas was just playing playing a small game with her. She believed that after three years of marriage, Lucas still cared about her deep down. She thought if she cried a little and offered him a small amount of money, he would feel bad for her and sign the release paper.

So, she stood beside the iron gate, waiting under the heavy rain.

One hour passed. The cold water soaked her hair and dress completely. Her lips turned blue, and her legs felt numb from standing on the wet concrete.

Two hours passed. The wind blew harder, shaking the tall trees around the driveway. Chloe's teeth chattering loudly. She hugged her arms tightly, looking at the bright warm lights shining from the top floor of the villa.

Three hours passed. The night grew darker and colder. Chloe was on the verge of fainting. Tears mixed with rainwater ran down her pale cheeks. She felt a deep, burning humiliation inside her heart. She had never suffered like this in her entire life.

Finally, at three o'clock in the morning, the heavy iron gates clicked open with a soft sound.

The front door of the grand villa opened. Warm yellow light spilled out onto the wet stone driveway.

Lucas walked out slowly, holding a large black umbrella over his head. He wore a warm bathrobe and comfortable indoor slippers. He walked down the long driveway with steady, relaxed steps, stopping just two feet away from Chloe.

Butler Thomas walked beside him, holding a hot cup of coffee for Lucas to sip.

Chloe looked up at Lucas with desperate eyes. She dropped to her knees right in the cold mud, clutching the edge of Lucas's pants with her shaking hands.

"Lucas!" Chloe sobbed out loudly, her voice broken and weak. "Please, I beg you! I waited for three hours in the freezing rain! I am so cold! Please forgive my mother! She is an old woman, she cannot survive in jail!"

She reached into her wet purse with shaking fingers and pulled out a small checkbook. "I can give you one hundred thousand dollars! Just sign the paper to release her! We can forget everything that happened!"

Lucas took a slow sip of his hot coffee. He looked down at his ex-wife kneeling in the dirt, his face as cold as the winter rain around them.

He pulled his pants away from her wet fingers, taking one step back.

"One hundred thousand dollars?" Lucas asked, his voice completely devoid of warmth. "You think my mother's honor and three years of my life can be bought with your cheap pocket money?"

Chloe wept louder, wiping her wet face with her hands. "Lucas, please! We were husband and wife for three years! How can you be so heartless to leave me out here in the storm all night?"

Lucas looked at her with a dark, sharp glare that made Chloe's heart freeze inside her chest.

Lucas opens the door, looks at his weeping ex-wife, and cold-heartedly tells her, "You spent three years making me sleep on the floor. You can spend the night on the driveway."