Chapter 1

The richest family's youngest was a prodigal son who cared about nothing but the decadence life had to offer. I was one of his situationships who only took money from him.

When his smart and charming situationship was attending events and talking about investments with him, I was throwing a tantrum and siphoning his money.

When the situationship who graduated from a famous university was pulling an all-nighter helping him with his financial report, I was still busy siphoning his money.

His other situationships thought I was just a bimbo who only cared for short-term gratification and failed to see the big picture. I couldn't care less. After all, like how he wasn't exclusively mine, I also had many other gold mines to dig from.

One day, his family's enemies banded together and pulled the rug from under them. Their cash flow was destroyed, and bankruptcy loomed on the horizon.

Their enemies stood outside the Sawyers' mansion, forcing the patriarch, Philip Sawyer, to take the receipts and sign a share transfer agreement.

The other situationships made a run for it right away, worried that they would be dragged down with the Sawyers.

When his siblings realized I was the only woman who hadn't abandoned him, they removed their watches and jewelry and said, "Take these and leave."

The youngest son, Jonathan Sawyer, pushed me toward the back door. He didn't want me getting roped into this.

They didn't hesitate to give me something valuable even when they were facing a disaster. I turned to look back at them, my heart surging with a strange sense of warmth.

Just then, I heard the price their enemies wanted.

I darted back to the Sawyers. "Hey, will you guys sign with me if I can match that offer?"

Chapter 1 A Viper Comes

"Swyland Bank's loan hasn't been approved yet." Joseph Sawyer, the eldest son of the Sawyers, was sporting bloodshot eyes. His usual confidence that stemmed from being a financial bigshot was gone.

Irene Sawyer, the daughter, kicked her heels aside and massaged her forehead. She was exhausted as she muttered wearily, "The seven largest local banks refuse to take our calls. Our cash flow has gone to dust."

The Sawyers were one of the many families in Imperia's elite circle, but they were currently facing impending doom. I was curled up on a couch in the living room, scooping out the sweetest part of a sliced watermelon.

Jonathan was right beside me, carefully wiping the corners of my mouth. "Slow down."

He was the black sheep in a family of Icy League graduates and managers of multibillion-dollar projects. He was a prodigal son who cared about decadence, not success. I was one of his situationships, and I was the one who leeched off money the most.

I spent every single moment talking about money with him. To these elites, I was just their youngest son's plaything. I didn't mind. After all, they had no idea that I never let the wealth I gathered sleep in my account.

Instead, I had a penchant for tapping into my connections and amassing more wealth through various means.

Truth be told, Jonathan was just one of my sources of wealth.

Joseph couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his tablet on the coffee table and barked, "This isn't the time for you to be flirting around, Jonathan!"

Jonathan nearly jumped out of his skin as he pulled me behind him. "I don't even know how to run the business, man. So, why are you shouting at me?"

Irene sneered. "You might not know a thing, but you should know enough that the family's going to go bust! All your pretty little playthings have scurried away.

"The butler just told us that Melissa's desperately trying to sell the luxury condo you gave her, and that was just half an hour ago. I bet Felicia is only staying because she's trying to see if she can wring every last drop she could out of us right up to the last second.

"I can't believe you think she's that great."

Jonathan retorted matter-of-factly, "At least she stayed, unlike everyone else. The fact that she has means she really does love me. So what if she's also a gold digger? It just means she could've gone for any other rich guy!"

Joseph couldn't help but feel that his head was about to explode upon hearing those words. He was about to whoop Jonathan silly when a loud screech stopped him in his tracks.

A car had skidded to a halt.

Their butler, Boris, staggered in, and his face was white as he gasped, "Mr. Sawyer, Mr. Joseph, Ms. Irene, it's Zack Hempson! He's here."

The look on Jonathan and Irene's faces changed. Philip rocketed up from his seat, nearly losing his bearing in his haste.

The bodyguards unceremoniously flung the door wide open.

Soon, a man in a custom-made suit came in. Zack Hempson was a viper among capitalists and had seen a meteoric rise lately. He was cruel, ruthless, and showed no mercy to anyone who dared to get in his way.

"I hope you're doing well, Mr. Sawyer." A sardonic smile curled his lips as he swept his gaze across the Sawyers before him. A lawyer in a suit followed him, carrying a heavy suitcase.

"What are you doing here?" Jonathan stepped up and shielded Philip. "Get out! You're not welcome here!"

Zack snickered. It was obvious that he didn't even see Jonathan as a threat. Instead, he went to the main couch and made himself comfortable. The man even crossed his legs and acted like he owned the place as he drawled, "Temper, temper."

Then, he took a file from his lawyer and tossed it onto the coffee table.

He pointed at the file. "I'm offering you a lifeline. That's a share transfer agreement. Sign the papers, and your family walks away safely."

He paused as the look in his eyes darkened before continuing, "If you don't, then Sawyer Group is history come morning."

Chapter 2 No Mercy

The air itself nearly froze over as soon as those words fell from Zack's lips.

Joseph stared at the insolvency and restructuring files on the coffee table, the veins on his neck throbbing at the slight. "Don't push it, Zack. Sawyer Group is worth 100 billion. You don't have enough capital for it."

Zack leaned into the back of the couch and fiddled with his thumb ring. "That was yesterday."

Then, he looked at Joseph sharply. "The three Southeast Amarian deepwater ports you invested in have halted their construction this morning, and all accounts have been frozen. The good assets you mortgaged to the overseas conglomerate are now bad debt."

He spoke slowly, but every word landed like a thunderclap. "I've looked into your accounts. You don't have enough money to pay your workers' salaries next month."

Irene went white. All her experience in venture capital, the thing she was so proud of, had just been destroyed.

She pointed at him, her voice shaking with rage. "It was you? You worked with foreign capital and drained our cash flow!"

He didn't deny it. Instead, he only laughed harder at her reaction. "Business is war, Ms. Sawyer. Nothing is too underhanded as long as it gets the job done. Your family has been at Imperia's top for too long. It's time for someone else to take your place."

He leaned forward and clasped his hands over his knees. "All your debt collectors are under my control. One call is all it takes for all the banks to band together and start liquidating your assets tomorrow. You'll lose everything and be saddled with debt instead."

Zack looked at the ashen Philip, sounding like he was showing pity as he spoke. "Give up, and perhaps I can show you mercy."

Philip started hacking so violently that it sounded like his lungs might fly out of his mouth. Joseph hurried over and patted his back. Irene turned around and wiped her tears. However, I was mulling Zack's words over.

Honestly, he truly couldn't have pulled the plug at a more perfect moment.

He'd forced a multibillion-dollar empire to the verge of collapse through an information gap and a buffer from international investors.

I was still deep in my thoughts when Jonathan suddenly jerked to his feet.

He shielded me from Zack's eyes. "Don't look at Felicia like that." He glared at Zack, and his voice was filled with anger. That didn't happen a lot.

Zack blinked dumbly before bursting into laughter. "You're sitting on a sinking ship, and you're still protecting your little plaything?"

He stood up and approached Jonathan, sizing him up. "Everyone in Imperia's elite circle knows you're just a wastrel of a son who wastes his family's money, and this Felicia woman is just a plaything whose greed could never be satisfied."

Zack then turned his eyes to me. There was disdain and scorn in his gaze. "Aren't you a gold digger, Ms. Shaw? This family's going bust soon. Shouldn't you be hightailing it right about now? Why are you still here?"

"You overstep your boundaries, Mr. Hempson," I said calmly, a smile curling my lips. "I'm not leaving just yet. Jonathan still hasn't given me this month's allowance. He should compensate me for my time if we're breaking up. After all, that's what a man should do."

Irene shook with rage as she spat, "I told you she's a good-for-nothing who only cares about money! She still wants to sink her teeth into our dying flesh even after knowing our predicament!"

Jonathan's eyes had turned bloodshot in his panic, but he still continued to defend me, saying, "Don't yell at her, guys. I haven't given her enough, that's all…"

Zack sneered. "I'm not here to watch your family drama." He turned to Philip, his patience gone. "My time is precious, Mr. Philip. You have one hour. If you refuse to admit defeat, then you can wait for the authorities to liquidate your assets."

He sat back down and closed his eyes. The mansion fell into dead silence again, save for the ticking of the antique clock on the wall. Every click of the needle felt like it was bringing the Sawyers closer to their doom.

Chapter 3 A Heart

Time kept ticking. Joseph and Irene refused to admit defeat just like that. So, she grabbed her phone and went to the balcony. She called the relatives and bankers who called themselves her closest allies just to get a loan for this crisis.

In the past, they would immediately answer her call. But now, they would either refuse to take her call, or their phones were straight-up dead.

When her call did go through, they would make up a flimsy excuse and hang up right after they heard it was the Sawyers.

Joseph was in a corner in the living room, calling overseas venture capital firms. Alas, the answers he got only killed his hope bit by painful bit. All his financial avenues were blocked, so much so that not even the money from their mortgaged items could come through.

The business world was a cruel, merciless place. Everyone wouldn't hesitate to kick a dog while it was already down.

Zack opened his eyes and hummed an unknown tune. He looked like a predator perched on top of a roof, watching its prey squirm right before it swooped in for the kill.

He started sizing me up as well, like I was some sort of cattle. Irene put her phone down, her face white.

Eventually, she couldn't hold it back anymore as she crouched down and started quietly sobbing into her hands. Joseph walked up to the floor-to-ceiling window, forlornly looking at the night view.

Philip was leaning on the back of his chair, his eyes closed. He seemed to have aged ten years since the conversation with Zack began.

I remained in my corner, watching these elites fall from grace.

I thought they would point fingers at one another or get into a brawl for the last scraps.

After all, family meant nothing to these aristocrats, at least that was what I thought. So, what happened next surprised me. Joseph took a deep breath and turned around. He went to the coffee table and took off his watch.

Then, he took out his car keys and wallets and piled them up. Irene stopped crying and shakily rose to her feet. She then took off her sapphire earrings and put them together with Joseph's stuff.

Zack snickered. "What's wrong? Are you two going to sell everything you have on your person to scrape up some money, Ms. Sawyer and Mr. Sawyer?"

He kicked the coffee table with the tip of his shoe and mocked, "These only come up to millions at most. Do you really think that's enough to cover up a billion-dollar hole?"

Jonathan was confused. "Irene, Joseph, what are you guys doing?"

Joseph didn't look at him. Instead, he turned to me. "We aren't planning to fill the hole with this. Felicia, this might be it for our family."

I stared at them, utterly stunned.

Irene sidled up to him. She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and spoke with what was left of her pride. "You love money, don't you? You want one last payout before the breakup? Pawn these things off, then. You can get enough money out of them to last you for a while."

She inhaled deeply.

When she spoke again, there was resignation in her voice. "You can consider it as us pitching in for Jonathan to compensate you. Take it and leave. You'll only be leered at if you stay."

I didn't move. I looked at the pile of shiny items, my heart surging with a well of emotions. These people only saw me as Jonathan's plaything, but they didn't use me as a shield when the going got rough for them.

Instead, they gave me the last of their assets as compensation and told me to leave.

Zack found this scene before him utterly absurd. The mocking smirk playing on his lips deepened as he drawled, "Ah, rich people with a heart of gold. No wonder gold diggers are drawn to you lot."

He slowly approached me and declared arrogantly, "Felicia, what future will you have, staying with a loser like Jonathan, especially when he'll be saddled with debts? Why don't you become my woman?

"The Sawyers are doomed. You can be my plaything and bear me a child. Ah, but here's a disclaimer. I'm not as foolish as Jonathan. You won't be getting that much money from me. However, I will feed you. Just enough so you wouldn't starve to death, though."

Chapter 4 Money

The arrogant look on Zack's face made my stomach churn. I stopped, but I didn't comply with Jonathan's insistent urging to leave through the back door.

Instead, I smoothed out my dress, turned around, and looked straight at Zack.

"You seem to misunderstand how gold diggers operate, Mr. Hempson," I said. I wasn't loud, but it seemed to echo when the backdrop was a silent living room.

He froze. He didn't expect a comeback from me. I sized him up, my eyes filled with clear disdain for him.

"You're the typical rags-to-riches success story who relied on a rich woman to scrounge his way up. Money's more important than your own life. You flaunt your wealth a lot, but no one can actually get anything worthwhile out of you." I sneered.

"You want me to give you a baby in exchange for three meals a day? I'm not stupid. You're nothing like Jonathan."

I pointed to Jonathan, who had been restrained by Zack's bodyguards. "He might be a fool, but at least he's generous. He got me a luxury condo when he said he would. He wouldn't hesitate to give me cash when he said he would.

"Who even are you to play generous sugar daddy before someone like me?"

Zack jabbed Philip's chest with his finger, enunciating every word, "Do you know why your family fell so far? It's because of your damned kindness!

"It's one thing if you raised an idiotic, useless son, but you just had to let him keep a gold digger who'd gobble you up for everything you have."

Zack then swiveled around and glared at me. "Don't feel so smug, Felicia. How much have you taken from Jonathan? Do you really think you can keep your trail a secret?"

He sneered and said sardonically, "The money you siphoned from Jonathan might even be enough to cover Sawyer Group's debt! This family is ruined because of you, yet these people are still trying to give you more! What a joke!"

That hit Jonathan where it hurt. His eyes went red, and he lunged at Zack like an enraged lion. "Shut up! Don't you insult Felicia!"

The bodyguards darted ahead and pushed Jonathan down to the ground.

He thrashed and squirmed, but his face was firmly shoved against the cold, hard ground. Even so, he shouted at me, "Take the stuff and run, Felicia! Just leave us!"

Joseph and Irene tried to pull Jonathan up, but two other guards blocked them.

Zack looked down at Jonathan like he was a pitiful bug. "Run? Where could she even run to? She's a parasite who leeches off men. Once your family falls, she'll just crawl into bed with someone else tomorrow."

Then, he approached me. "Want to know how much I have to pay just to get their multibillion-dollar company?"

He held up a finger and smiled cruelly. "100 million. That's all the work generations of their family amounted to. Cheap, don't you think? Well, their cash flow's broken. They can't even pay their workers, which means I can do whatever I want."

Zack stood up straighter and looked at Philip smugly. "Hurry up and sign the papers. If you miss out on this offer, then that's it for you."

I was stunned. 100 million? That was it? I took a deep breath, fished my phone out, and checked the balance of my trust fund. I couldn't help but chuckle after doing some quick mental math.

Zack was right, but not entirely.

I might not have gotten that much from Jonathan, but if I added the money I got from the other rich scions and the profit from my trust fund? Well, I truly could cover the Sawyers' debt and then some.

So, I turned off my screen and looked up. Zack was still looking at me as though I was gum underneath his shoes.

I walked over to him and met his eyes. "Mr. Hempson, it's as you said earlier. I probably siphoned enough money from them to cover their debt."

I raised my hand and pressed Philip's hand down before he could sign. Then, I asked the Sawyers, "If I can match his offer, will you sign with me instead?"