I Became the Billionaire's Fake Lover to Get My Revenge
Chapter 105: Rock Bottom

Chapter 105: Rock Bottom

"I’m surprised you wanted to meet me at my house," Lillian said, nodding politely to the maid who held the door open for them.

Only one maid left, Anna noted silently, returning the woman’s nod with a polite smile. I suppose it makes sense since she lives here alone. But the Adler estate is enormous... One maid must spend every day dusting and polishing in an endless loop just to keep it all pristine.

"I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable with such an arrangement," Anna said aloud, offering her aunt a warm, slightly astonished smile as she let her gaze wander across the grand foyer.

"I’ve grown tired of the same supposedly chic restaurants and sterile lounge rooms. Besides," she added, lowering her voice slightly, "what I need to discuss with you is something I’d rather keep private."

And I also need to find a way to ask for my father’s ashes, she reminded herself silently.

"Oh, not at all!" Lillian exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "I’m absolutely thrilled to hear more about this investment plan of yours!"

She led Anna into an elegantly decorated living room, instructing the maid to bring coffee and some light refreshments. Wasting no time, Anna slipped a slim plastic folder from her bag and placed it on the coffee table, sliding it gently toward Lillian as an unspoken invitation to take a look.

"This is a business proposal for a startup project," Anna began smoothly. "I’m currently leading the investment group overseeing it. It’s a multidimensional product designed to cover various development sectors, and according to our insight team, it has strong potential to surpass the current market leader in its field."

Anna paused, offering Lillian a polished, professional smile. She had deliberately peppered her little speech with an array of impressive-sounding but ultimately meaningless jargon, carefully crafting it to sound convincing to an untrained ear.

She knew full well that her aunt didn’t have the faintest idea about business—let alone anything remotely related to software development. Anna could have fed her almost any story, and Lillian would eagerly swallow it whole, as long as the conversation kept circling back to the promise of money.

A phone security app? Lillian’s eyebrows arched slightly as her gaze fell on the product’s name printed at the top of the page. Wasn’t this the same niche Robert Hyde’s company specialized in? Is she suggesting that once this launches, it’ll overtake Robert’s company and push him out of the market?

A glimmer of excitement flickered in Lillian’s eyes, and for a brief moment, her heart gave a quick, anticipatory flutter.

Her expression is already changing, Anna thought, her gaze sharp and watchful, tracking every nuance of her aunt’s shifting features. Come on, Aunt Lillian. Let that greed swallow you whole. Just a little more.

As expected, Lillian barely skimmed through the dense pages of the proposal, her fingers turning them more out of habit than genuine interest. Her attention soon snapped back to Anna, her voice eager.

"So, you want me to invest in this startup, correct?"

Anna nodded. "Yes. Depending on the amount of your investment, you will be granted a certain percentage of the company’s shares, too. Trust me, this is a groundbreaking development. Once you get the return, that Cartier necklace you saw at the boutique will be nothing but a trinket to you."

"I like the sound of that!" Lillian laughed, clasping her hands together. "But... well, let me go and check something first. I need to make sure I have everything that is needed so that we can sign the papers today."

"Of course," Anna smiled, "take your time."

She is asking me for a lot of money. Lillian frowned once she turned around and started walking toward the stairwell. I am already in quite a dangerous debt, but this... I will only need to wait a month before the return begins to accumulate. With that, I am going to be rich again!

Her head began to throb from both excitement and agitation. I didn’t want to touch that money because it was meant for paying back my casino debt, but... I guess I can buy a bit more time.

Once Lillian finally disappeared upstairs, Anna shot to her feet and started frantically looking around.

She felt utterly overwhelmed with the feelings of nostalgia––she hadn’t been inside her real home for so long, that her heart was practically throbbing as the childhood memories began to pour in, and yet, there was no time to properly dwell on them.

The urn, she thought to herself as her eyes scanned the living room. Even if Aunt Lillian is a total bitch, she would never throw her brother’s ashes out because it’s an ungodly act. She was raised to fear God, and she continues to be a devoted follower. My father’s ashes have to be somewhere in this house.

Still, no matter how hard she looked, Anna could not find anything that could resemble an urn holding a dead person’s ashes.

She checked all the shelves and cabinets and even peeked into the hidden closet used as a storage room by the maids, but found absolutely nothing.

Prepared to resign, Anna let out a long sigh, when it finally dawned on her––there was a hidden little cabinet in the wall behind the fireplace. If someone wanted to hide something from the prying eyes, that place was perfect, as no intruder would think that someone would have a secret compartment in the main room of the house.

Let’s see... Anna took off one of her earrings and crouched before the fireplace. Since it was summer, the fireplace hadn’t been used in months, which was definitely to her advantage––no nasty stains or ash residue on her clothes.

Having found the tiny secret lock, Anna inserted the thin part of her earring into the tiny hole and pressed three times, her lips curling up as the secret compartment unlocked with a quiet click.

Then, she took off the thin metal cover and opened the shelf, her heart beating faster with each passing second.

To her disappointment, she didn’t find her father’s ashes here either. However, something else caught her attention right away––a quite tall stack of papers and paper folders.

Documents? Anna grabbed a few thin paper folders from the top of the stack and started flipping through the pages, trying to read as much as possible in the short time she still had.

These are the house ownership papers... Just a year old, huh? I guess she updated them once she crossed me out of the family registry. And what is this..? An investment contract?

Anna’s eyes grew wider as she scanned the contents of the folder she held in her trembling hands. There it was, the document that started it all––her late father’s investment in Robert’s dying business.

I had always thought it was simply a loan, but I was wrong. She thought as she finally reached the condition clause. My father invested in his company, and Robert promised to pay back the return, but... My father is not the one listed to collect the profit... It was me.

Anna couldn’t read more as she heard a slight commotion coming from the kitchen. Scared to get caught while snooping around, she quickly tossed the papers back into their hidden place and closed it again, dashing back to the couch, while struggling to compose her racing heart.

Once she had learned that her father had been poisoned by his own sister, Anna knew that money had to be the reason. She had been told that her father had left no will, which was hard to believe, but the countless lawyers she had hired after his death couldn’t find any proof of her suspicions.

I guess the hidden contract can explain why he wouldn’t leave anything behind. My father’s investment must have generated millions of profit over the years, but I was the only one legally allowed to receive it. Which means...

Anna swallowed hard, trying her best to suppress the tears that welled behind her eyes. Marienne killed me because she didn’t want me to get that money either. But how come Aunt Lillian is the one in possession of this document then?

Once again, the more she dug in, the more questions piled up. But she was determined to find answers for them all. No matter what.

"I’m sorry I took so long," Lillian’s voice rang through the space as she descended the stairs. "My accountant took too long to answer."

"That’s alright," Anna steadied herself again, forcing a pleasant smile to her lips. "Well, what is your answer, then?"

Lillian nodded, showing her a sleek black pen clutched between her fingers. "Where do I sign?"

Anna’s smile turned into a wide grin, her heart beating faster for an entirely different reason now. "You won’t regret this."

"Oh, I’m pretty confident about this."

With that, Lillian put her signature under her investor details and let out a sigh of relief, followed by a wide smile of satisfaction.

Yes, stay confident, Anna thought as she offered her aunt her hand for a handshake. This way, it will hurt you even more once you finally hit rock bottom.