Chapter 202 He Promises To Ruin Us
Arthur did not move. He stared at me. He processed the rejection. He expected me to crumble under the weight of my poverty. He
expected the East Side charity case to snatch the money and run.
He underestimated my pride.
“You are making a massive error,” Arthur stated. The finality in his voice chilled the air inside the cabin. “You let teenage sentiment blind your intellect. You throw your mother’s future into the garbage for a boy who cannot even protect his own truck keys.”
“Ryder protects the things that matter,” I said. ‘He protects the truth. You only protect your brand.”
I turned away from the billionaire. I reached across the pristine leather seat. I grabbed the heavy chrome door handle.
I pulled it.
The electronic lock resisted for a split second. Then, a sharp click echoed through the cabin. The heavy door swung open.
The cold spring air rushed inside. It carried the smell of wet asphalt, exhaust fumes, and diner grease. It smelled like my life. It smelled
real.
I stepped out of the luxury car. My boots hit the cracked concrete of the sidewalk. The impact sent a jolt of pain up my shins, but it grounded me. I stood under the flickering yellow streetlamp.
The two corporate operatives stood near the front bumper. They watched me exit the vehicle. They did not move to stop me. Their boss
issued no command.
I turned back to look inside the dark cabin.
Arthur Steinmann sat in the shadows. He placed the white envelope on the seat beside him. His face looked like carved stone. He failed to buy his son’s compliance, and he just failed to buy mine. The realization hardened his features into something brutal and unforgiving.
I leaned down, resting my hand on the edge of the open door.
“Ryder is not
corporate asset, I told his father. “He is a good man. You spent seventeen years trying to turn him into a machine. You failed. He possesses a heart, and you cannot seize a heart with a legal document. We will fight the school board on our own terms. We do not need your money.”
Arthur pressed a button on his door panel.
The tinted window began to roll down. The glass slid into the door frame, exposing his face to the harsh glare of the streetlamp.
You misunderstand the situation, Miss Petrova,” Arthur said. The polished, calm facade vanished. A ruthless, destructive intent replaced
1/3
74
13:57 Fri, Jul 10
Chapter 202 He Promises To Ruin Us
“I reject your control.”
74
“Control is not a negotiation,” he countered. His frozen eyes locked onto mine. “You claim you want to fight on your own terms. You claim
you possess pride. Very well. I will show you the true cost of pride in the real world.”
He leaned closer to the open window. The distance between us closed.
“You think a ruined high school transcript is the worst thing that can happen to you?” Arthur asked. His voice dropped to a quiet, lethal whisper. “You think losing a medical scholarship is a tragedy? I build cities. I destroy companies before breakfast. You dragged my son into your mess, and you refused my generous solution. I will not ask you a second time.”
I tightened my grip on the edge of the heavy car door. “Do your worst.”
‘I will,” Arthur promised. The sheer conviction in his words sent a fresh wave of ice through my veins. “I will strip away every piece of safety you possess. I will dismantle your mother’s life. I will leave you with nothing but the concrete beneath your boots. By tomorrow morning, you will beg for the envelope you just left on this seat.”
He pressed another button.
The heavy car door pulled itself shut, slipping out of my grasp. The latch clicked. The tinted window rolled up, sealing the billionaire patriarch inside his dark fortress.
The two operatives climbed into the front seats of the town car.
The powerful engine roared. The heavy vehicle pulled away from the curb. The tires hissed against the wet asphalt. The sleek black car disappeared down the empty street, heading back toward the affluent hills.
I stood alone on the sidewalk.
The silence of the East Side returned. The flickering streetlamp buzzed above my head. The threat hung in the damp air, thick and
suffocating.
“Raisa!”
I turned around.
My mother stood on the concrete porch of Pete’s Diner. She wore her faded winter coat over her uniform. She held her worn leather purse clutched against her chest. She looked down the dark street, searching the shadows. She did not see the black town car. She missed the
confrontation.
I am right here, I called out. I forced my voice to remain steady. I hid the terror behind a calm mask.
2/3
13:57 Fri, Jul 10
Chapter 202 He Promises To Ruin Us
I walked toward her. I crossed the damp pavement. I reached the porch and offered her a small smile.
The trash is in the bins, I told her.
“Thank you.” She reached out and linked her arm through mine. She leaned her weight against me. The exhaustion radiated from her
VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy