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Chapter 8%
Queenie’s face dropped. She clearly had no clue who the villa actually belonged to, but she wasn’t stupid, she knew I wouldn’t be waving around a fake property certificate. That thing was legit.
She tugged me aside and hissed, “Yesenia, come on… we’re sisters, right? Can you not make a big deal out of this? Just tell everyone you were joking or something. Don’t make me lose face in front of them.“%
I gave her a bored look and didn’t even bother answering.”
She gritted her teeth. “You seriously want Dad to hate you? You know he’s the boss of Luminate Group, right? That title could help you a lot if you’re not stupid about it.“%
I actually laughed at that. “Queenie, I don’t need the guy’s money, okay? You keep going on about him being the boss, but have you ever wondered who owns the company? Who’s sitting at the top as the chairman and majority shareholder?“>
I leaned in a little and said, “Also, did it never occur to you why my last name is Zielinski and not Santiago?“>
She stared at me like I had just spoken a foreign language. Then she snapped, “You’re full of it. You don’t have the Santiago name because you don’t deserve it! My dad told me I’m his only daughter. Me! Not you.
“And I bet you tricked Grandpa and Grandma into signing the house over to you, didn’t you? That’s the only way this makes sense.“>
I let out a breath and smiled. “Queenie, let me break it down for you. My mom is the chairman and the biggest shareholder of Luminate Group. Your dad didn’t build any of that, he married into money. All the power you think he has? It’s hers.”
Ucrossed my arms. “That’s why I don’t carry the Santiago name. Because I’m the heir of the Zielinski family and we don’t need the Santiago label dragging us down.”
“And that manor you’ve been so jealous of? Yeah, it belongs to my mom. Your dad can’t afford something like that. This little villa you’re clinging to? He had to mortgage it just so you could keep living here–to me.“}
I shrugged. “But hey, if you still don’t believe me, look it up. Luminate Group is a public company. All the info is right there, who owns what, who runs the show. It’s not hard to find the truth. You just never bothered to look.“}
Right after I said that, people started pulling out their phones. A few taps later, the room got weirdly quiet, then came the gasps and laughter.
“No way… plot twist of the century.”
“This is like watching a live drama, Queenie thought she was the main character and now she’s getting slapped by reality.“}
“This is gold. I’m posting this, everyone needs to see it.”
Some classmates even started livestreaming, recording everything without holding back. They zoomed in on Queenie like she was some rare creature at the zoo. No matter how shameless she was, she couldn’t take that kind of heat. Face flushed, she covered her face and ran off in total humiliation.
Next morning, surprise, surprise, Salvatore showed up at my place, dragging Queenie with him.”
He looked pissed. Queenie’s face was swollen like a balloon. Honestly, it was almost funny how obvious the act was. I could already picture her wailing in front of a mirror while smacking herself for dramatic effect.
Salvatore didn’t even wait to come inside before launching into his speech. “Yesenia! You’re her older sister, how could you hit her like this?! What happened between your mom and me is between adults! It has nothing to do with Queenie!“}
He kept going like he was on stage. “Your mom said she wanted a divorce, I gave it to her! You wanted money, I gave it! You took my job, I stayed quiet! What more do you want from me? Are you trying to push your own father to the edge?!”
Then he tried to sound all serious and threatening. “You’re going to apologize to Queenie, return the villa and starting this month, you’ll be paying 150 thousand dollars in alimony. Or else-”
I tilted my head and looked at him with a bored expression. “Or what? What exactly do you think you can do to me, Salvatore? Cut off my allowance? That’s cute. Bankrupt my family? Please. Got some secret weapon you’ve been hiding?”
I crossed my arms and gave him a half–smile. “Let’s be real, you’ve got nothing on me. You’re just mad because the little empire you thought you built was never yours to begin with.”
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