Chapter 3

A pack of delinquent teenagers, all riding souped-up motorbikes, pulled up at the orphanage gate.

They wore skinny jeans and loafers, their hair dyed in a garish mess.

The boy leading them was even worse—not only did he have a third eye tattooed on his forehead, he also had a row of lip piercings.

He looked just like an ancient criminal slave, branded on the face and sent into exile.

My brow tightened and my temples pounded.

But Vera jumped into the boy's arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.

She gave him a deep French kiss right in front of everyone.

The two of them kissed until their lips pulled apart in a slick string, and only then did Vera speak to him in a coquettish tone.

"Bryan, what took you so long?"

"Didn't we agree you'd come back me up, act like some big shot, and squeeze that old bag for a good chunk of cash?"

My brow twitched hard. I hadn't expected Vera to be even worse than I'd imagined.

She was actually scheming to bring in outsiders to swindle money out of the Sanchez family!

Bryan just grinned, slid his arm around her waist, and gave her side a hard pinch.

Only after he'd copped a good feel did he speak.

"Relax. From the time you were little till now, have I ever half-assed anything to do with you?"

He gave a whistle, and a dozen showy luxury cars immediately appeared at the orphanage gate.

I recognized those cars. They were the ones the Sanchez family used back when we first made our fortune.

A while ago I'd decided the old relics were taking up too much space, so I told someone to just get rid of them somewhere.

I never imagined my own great-granddaughter would buy them, refurbish them, and use them to con me.

I was shaking with rage, but Vera slipped into one of the cars.

When she came back out, she'd transformed—dressed in a business suit, carrying a Hermès bag, looking every inch the power businesswoman.

She even spun around in front of everyone and asked.

"How's this? Do I look like a big CEO pulling in ten million a year?"

Bryan's eyes lit up. He pulled her slender waist to him and bit at her lips several times, hard.

"So classy! Dressed like that, won't you con that old bag out of even her underwear?"

The younger guys around them shouted that Vera was amazing, too.

Only my face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and I tore through her disguise without mercy.

"Don't be stupid! You think the Sanchez family are all fools?"

"With that clumsy getup, you'll be exposed before you even reach the Sanchez door—thrown out onto the street!"

I was telling the truth.

The Sanchez family had been a great house for a hundred years. What kind of people hadn't they seen?

Her little tricks weren't even worth a second look!

Not to mention I was the great-grandmother of the Sanchez family myself.

Now that I'd seen this vile side of her, there was absolutely no chance of ever letting her set foot in the Sanchez home!

But Vera rolled her eyes at me.

"You old bag! I just parked my car at the orphanage gate, and you flopped down under my wheel to fake an accident."

"I get it—you must have heard I'm about to become the young miss of the Sanchez family, and you want to milk me for some cash!"

When had I ever faked an accident?

She was the one speeding at the orphanage gate—she knocked me down!

Yet Vera grabbed me by the collar and demanded two hundred thousand dollars to pay for her motorbike!

Never mind that I never carry cash when I go out.

Even if I had, I would never give a single cent to a piece of trash who'd extort her own great-grandmother!

My refusal angered Bryan. Straddling the motorbike, his face turned vicious.

"Vera, why are you wasting your breath on her?"

"Street code—no money, we take parts!"

"Seeing as she's so old, let's just leave her one leg!"

They'd gone mad!

This could get someone killed!

I struggled with everything I had, but Vera pushed me under the wheels with her own hands.

I watched as the roaring motorbike was about to run right over my legs.

My personal chauffeur, who had just come back, saw all this and instantly dashed over to stop it.

"Stop!"