They stopped giving me a chance to explain.
The staff grabbed my arms, dragging me
towards the door.
My son burst into tears. Terrified of hurting
him, I wrenched myself free.
“I’ll go myself. Just don’t touch my son!”
LI
<
Harkness‘ face changed, his eyes wide with
disbelief. “Lindsey, what did you say? This is
your son?!”
“Yes, he’s my son.”
“You’re married to someone else? No way, I
don’t believe you could get over me!”
I stared at him, baffled. “Why would I not be
over you? We broke up years ago.”
Harkness wouldn’t listen. His gaze dropped to
my wrist.
I looked down. My sleeve had ridden up,
revealing a bracelet.
Harkness smirked, a look of triumph on his
face. “Ha! Lindsey, you’re still lying. I knew you
couldn’t forget me. Why else would you wear the bracelet I gave you?”
<
The bracelet he gave me?
He’d given me a cheap silver chain that had
rusted years ago.
This was a platinum and diamond bracelet that
my husband, Jesse, had custom–made for me,
knowing how much I loved butterflies.
I was speechless. “Take a good look at these
diamonds. You couldn’t afford one of them!
Jesse gave this to me. It has nothing to do with
you.”
The diamonds glittered, obviously worth a
fortune.
Shannon snatched the bracelet off my wrist, her
eyes glittering with malice. “Lindsey, how could
you afford something like this? Everyone here is
loaded. You must have stolen it! If you’re broke
and hungry, you can always ask me for
leftovers at the banquet. But stealing? That will
<
affect your son, he won’t amount to anything”
Hearing her insult my child, I exploded.
“Shannon, shut your mouth! You don’t get to
talk about my son like that!”
Shannon opened her mouth to retort, but then
her eyes narrowed, focusing on my son. Her
eyes widened.
“That kid… that’s Jesse’s son! Lindsey, how do
you have him? Are you kidnapping him? You’re
insane!”
Jesse’s name silenced the room. Everyone
knew that Jesse was a global investment guru.
Everything he touched turned to gold. His
assets were worldwide, dwarfing even the
richest billionaires.
Everyone had clawed their way into this
summit, hoping to catch his eye.
11:48
85
My son wrapped his arms around my neck, his
little voice ringing out. “She’s my mommy!
Mommy! You’re mean!”
Shannon didn’t believe him for a second. She
lunged for him, her face twisted.
Getting on Jesse’s good side would be life
changing. This opportunity was too good to
pass up. “Lindsey, give me the kid. You won’t
get a penny for kidnapping him. You’ll just end
up in prison!”
People lunged for my son.
He screamed, burying his face in my neck. I
held him tight, trying to escape. “He’s my son!
Get away from us! We’re leaving.”
Shannon blocked my path, her voice shrill.
“He’s your son? Is Jesse your husband? Don’t
be ridiculous! You’re delusional! If you think I’m
Iving I’ll call the cons right now!”
<
lying, I’ll call the cops right now!”
I wasn’t afraid of the cops. “That’s right,
Jesse’s my husband. Call them. I’ll wait to see
who they arrest.”
Everyone thought I’d lost it.
“Real estate tycoon is your dad, Jesse’s your
husband? Lindsey, you’re having a breakdown!”
“Just wait. I’m calling the cops. Then we’ll see
who’s laughing.”
Shannon pulled out her phone, dialing 911.
Harkness grabbed the phone, stopping her. He
looked at me, conflicted. “Lindsey, come on.
We were together once. I don’t want to do this.
Just go before you make things worse. I’ll give
you money. How much do you want?”
Harkness thought I was after his money.
My dad was a billionaire. I hid my wealth to
have a normal college life.
Once I figured out Harkness was faking being
poor, I didn’t give him a second thought. His
nouveau riche fortune was nothing compared to
mine. And he was afraid I was after his cash.
It was laughable.
Shannon, jealous of Harkness‘ reluctance to
hurt me, sniped, “You should give her some
money, Harkness. She dumped you for money,
then ran off with some foreigner. Now she’s
been dumped and she wants your money.”
Harkness‘ hand tightened around the phone.
Everyone could hear the message. If he gave
me money, he was a sucker.
I didn’t expect that I’d been the subject of so
many horrible rumors after leaving the country.
<
But I wasn’t afraid of rumors. I was secure in
my relationship.
I revealed Shannon’s true self.
85
“Shannon, didn’t you sleep with rich guys while
you kept Harkness on a string, hoping he’d
make it big? He was too blinded by love and
greed to see you were a fraud.”
Shannon’s eyes went wide with fear. “That’s a
lie! I love you, Harkness.”
“You can’t say that! I don’t believe you
anymore. Are you one of those women that
goes for anyone that’s high profile?”
Harkness looked like he’d been punched in the
gut.
He was naturally suspicious. He narrowed his eyes at Shannon. “Is that true? Did you know about my money all along?”
11:48
<
85
Shannon went into full victim mode, her eyes glistening with tears. “Harkness, you don’t trust me? I fell in love with you at first sight! I did it for you when you were poor, when you weren’t
even rich!”
Harkness hesitated, but the doubt lingered. He
texted his assistant, ordering him to dig up
everything on Shannon’s college life.
Enraged, Shannon slapped me across the face.
Then, when I was still reeling, she snatched my
son from my arms.
He screamed for me.
