Chapter 491
“You really didn’t know? Your little studio isn’t worth a dime-nobody wanted it, so I took it off your hands out of the goodness of my heart. Oh, and your parents’ clothing factory, the rehab center you started with Jonathan’s connections… I bought all of them at a tenth of their value. And let’s not forget your Ebonwood Hall house-I own that now, too. So, everything you have? It all belongs to me.”
As Niamh spoke with that cold, unshakable calm, Marina’s eyes widened, brimming with tears. Her mascara ran in dark streaks down her cheeks as she broke down completely.
She had never imagined she’d end up on the floor, staring up at Niamh.
Never thought that one day, Niamh would be standing over her, looking down with that air of invincibility.
Off to the side, Lily and Olive had been hesitating, wondering if they should step in to help Marina. But after hearing Niamh’s words, they made up their minds.
Marina had always seemed solidly middle class-her parents owned a factory, and thanks to Jonathan, she’d started a rehab center that raked in a tidy profit.
But now?
The factory was Niamh’s. So was the rehab center.
What did Marina have left?
Just a mountain of debt.
Lily and Olive exchanged a knowing glance. The silent agreement passed between them: Please, God, don’t let Marina ask to borrow money.
“Lily, didn’t you say you had some urgent family thing today?” Olive prompted, her voice a little too bright.
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“Oh-right! Marina, we really have to run. Sorry!”
and the two of them ducked out of Marina’s seized studio before she could even reply.
Niamh folded her arms, feigning surprise. “Huh. Weren’t those two supposed to be your best friends? Funny-one little bankruptcy, and they can’t even bother to help you up off the floor.”
Marina’s humiliation curdled into fury. “Don’t get cocky, Niamh! I’m not finished. I still have Jonathan-he loves me! The man you’ve been pining after your
whole life, he loves me, and that’s something you can never take!” Her voice trembled, but she held Niamh’s gaze, desperate for any advantage.
Niamh just scoffed. “How clueless do you have to be to think Jonathan’s coming to your rescue? If he really wanted to help, you wouldn’t be bankrupt right now. Besides, he’s barely holding himself together these days.”
She glanced down at the stack of drawings in her hand-Marina’s designs, every page the result of hours of work and imagination.
Without a hint of hesitation, Niamh used them to wipe her shoes, then tossed the entire pile into the trash.
“Niamh!” Marina lunged at her, but a tall figure stepped between them.
Elmer White shoved Marina aside, shielding Niamh with practiced ease. “You should’ve asked me to come with you.”
Niamh knew he wasn’t scolding her. “I didn’t want to interrupt your work,” she replied, managing a small smile.
He smiled back, all warmth and gentle confidence. “Nothing at work is ever as important as you.”
Niamh rolled her eyes at the cheesiness, but she couldn’t deny it sounded good.
“Oh, I saw the moving company’s truck just arrived. Want me to send
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Chapter 491
them up?”
“Please.”
Niamh had come prepared. She’d bought out Marina’s studio that
morning, and by that afternoon she was already moving her own things
All Marina could do was watch-watch as Niamh took over everything
that was once hers.
“Aren’t you going to leave?” Niamh’s voice was calm, almost bored. At her signal, Elmer nodded to the security guards. Two men stepped forward and ushered Marina out without another word.
As the city’s streetlights flickered on and the evening traffic thickened, Marina walked alone down the boulevard.
She had nothing left.
Her company, her house, her car-gone.
Even her parents, furious, had threatened to cut her off.
She walked along the endless stretch of pavement, her eyes fixed on the road ahead-a road that seemed as long and impossible as the debts
she now faced.
Suddenly, a white van pulled up and stopped just a few feet in front of her.
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