“Send the Poor, Ugly Girl—He’ll Reject Her!” They Laughed… Until the Millionaire Stood Up
Chapter 6
Adrian’s investigators traced the shell companies.
Money had been moving for years.
Equipment disappeared.
Businesses were bought cheaply.
Documents were altered.
But the final beneficiary wasn’t Vanessa’s father.
It was Vanessa.
Claire couldn’t believe it.
“She did all this?”
“Probably with help.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked at the ledger.
“Because she wanted control of the Bennett family’s remaining assets.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“We barely have any.”
“That’s what she wants you to believe.”
He turned the page.
There was a property deed.
An old warehouse.
A piece of industrial land.
Claire recognized the address.
“My father owned that.”
Adrian nodded.
“It was never sold.”
“But I thought the bank took it.”
“They didn’t.”
Claire stared at the document.
“How much is it worth?”
Adrian answered.
“About twelve million.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Twelve million?”
“Maybe more now.”
Suddenly everything made sense.
Her father’s business hadn’t simply failed.
Someone had manipulated the company records so the land could be acquired cheaply.
Claire had spent eight years believing she had nothing.
But her family still owned one of the most valuable pieces of industrial property in the city.
Vanessa had been trying to get it.
Adrian looked at her.
“This is why they wanted you at the dinner.”
Claire nodded slowly.
“They needed me to sign something.”
“Yes.”
“And they chose me because they thought I’d be easy to control.”
“Yes.”
She stood.
“I want my property back.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“There she is.”
Claire frowned.
“What?”
“The woman I met at the café.”
She smiled.
“What woman?”
“The one who doesn’t give up.”
They prepared for court.
But Vanessa moved first.
She leaked photographs of Claire and Adrian together.
The internet exploded.
People called Claire a gold digger.
A nobody.
A woman who had trapped a millionaire.
The old insults returned.
Worse than before.
Claire wanted to disappear.
Instead, Adrian called a press conference.
The room filled with reporters.
He stood at the podium.
Claire sat beside him.
A reporter asked:
“Mr. Cole, is Claire Bennett using you for money?”
Adrian answered calmly.
“No.”
“Are you dating her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked at Claire.
“Because I respect her.”
Another reporter asked:
“She doesn’t have the appearance of the women you’ve dated before.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“I didn’t hire a woman to decorate my life.”
Silence.
“I chose someone who knows what hardship feels like.”
He turned toward Claire.
“Someone who kept her family alive when nobody helped.”
Another reporter asked:
“Are you planning to marry her?”
Adrian smiled.
“That isn’t the public’s decision.”
Then he took Claire’s hand.
“It is ours.”
The video went viral.
For the first time, strangers weren’t laughing at Claire.
They were asking who she really was.
But that evening, Vanessa sent her a message.
You think he loves you? Ask him what happened the night your father died.
Claire stared at the screen.
Then looked at Adrian.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
His expression changed.
He knew exactly what she meant.
