Claimed by the Powerful Billionaire (Charlotte and Matthew) novel Chapter 6

“That much money? Did your mom hit you up?”

If anyone could read Charlotte like a mind reader, it was Ruby. Years of being sisters hadn’t been for nothing.

Charlotte nodded. “Yeah.”

Ruby gave a soft, satisfied snort. “I knew it. Sooner or later she was gonna set her sights on you. She wants you to go to Matthew and ask him, right?”

Charlotte replied, “You guessed right.”

Ruby’s tone turned sharp. “All these years, you’ve swallowed every bit of humiliation in the Russell family and she acted like she couldn’t see it. The second something goes wrong, suddenly she remembers you exist.”

Charlotte sighed. “My dad’s been good to me.”

It was just that under Margaret’s forcefulness, he chose silence more times than not.

“Besides… she did raise me from when I was little. I’ll take it as paying her back.”

Ruby nodded. “Fair enough. If we owe someone, we pay it back.”

Charlotte thought, ‘And if we’re owed… we collect.’

Ruby was practical. “Just don’t go to Matthew with this. You’ll only embarrass yourself.”

Charlotte saw it even more clearly. “I might be enough to borrow one hundred from him.”

Six billion?

In her dreams.

Ruby spoke with her usual swagger. “Handle what you can first. Whatever you’re short, I’ll cover it.”

Charlotte smiled faintly. “Miss Morris is so bold. But I did the math. I probably won’t need it.”

Ruby came from a pharmaceutical family, but like Charlotte, she loved the life of writing code.

Back when she was picking a major, her family had forced her into medicine.

She refused and pushed it all the way—until she went on a hunger strike to prove her point.

In the end, her family compromised. They had no choice but to pin their hopes of inheriting the business on her little brother, who was still in middle school.

Ruby worked at a tech company now. Her salary was decent, but she didn’t have much saved.

That amount of savings would be nothing but a drop in the bucket.

So if Charlotte really asked Ruby for help, Ruby, for the sake of sisterhood, would have to bow her head to her family.

Charlotte didn’t want to drag her best friend into that.

Ruby said, “That big shot is seriously mysterious. I’ve never even seen him. It was his assistant who contacted me. I kept a number. Tonight I’ll reach out to him.”

Charlotte nodded. “Okay. No rush. Take it slow.”

The Smith Group wasn’t going to collapse in the next few days.

The moment she hung up, Anthony’s call came through.

Charlotte answered. “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Anthony hesitated. “Charlie, I’m sorry.”

Charlotte softened her voice. “Dad, we’re family. If something happens at home, then as your daughter, of course I’m going to face it with you.”

“I know. You’ve always been a good kid.”

Obedient. Sensible. Good grades. Never caused trouble.

But Anthony also knew.

The reason Charlotte was like that was because she had a wall between herself and this family.

And that wall was built by Margaret.

Anthony added, “Charlie, about that money… don’t worry about it. I will figure something out. Just live your life well. Nothing matters more than that.”

When he said those last words, guilt burned in his chest.

He knew exactly what Charlotte’s life in the Russell family was like.

But after being brainwashed over and over by Margaret’s line—‘a daughter who marries out is like water that’s been poured out’—he compromised again and again.

And as the company’s situation got worse, Anthony had even less backbone to stand up and go against the Russell family.

In Sunriver, the Russell family held a status that ranked at the very top.

Charlotte said, “Dad, leave the money to me. I’ll find a way.”

Anthony asked, “Six billion. How are you going to find a way?”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify