TOP UP

Reading History

Sign out

Get the APP

Stolen Fortune, Stolen Heart: The Caged Ward

Chapter 9 9

Word Count: 883 | Released on: 30/01/2026

. It was one of those members-only clubs in Meatpacking wh

mbed the garden wall, ruined her manicure, and taken

dn't jus

ault? The one whose provenance I authenticated for that stolen Monet? Call him. Tell hi

ous-looking manager who led her not to the main floor, but to a small, dark security office

s hard to miss. It was the only booth wher

is tie. His top button was undone, exposing the hollow of his

s wearing a dress that was more concept than fabric. She

ull away. He ha

"paparazzi" who had

ist. He pulled her closer. It loo

en stabbed. She zoomed in on

tograph

fted away from Sasha, creating a distinct ga

art a cold lump in her c

thick manila envelope from Art

e was pa

and headed towa

into the ladies' room. Unseen." He nodded, po

asha was at the mirror, reapplying lipstick. Cinnamon slipped

tered to her reflection

d up behind he

. "Jesus! You scared me. Wait

nnamon

innamon up and down. "Oh. The ward

he paying you

t's not just pretending. It's crisis management. And to

sked, her voice b

r nails. "And having a fiancée whose father was a con artist doesn't lo

from her face. "He's... he's d

sweetie. A walking red flag. He's trying to k

her. To keep them

or swu

tly. He saw Cinnamon, and his face went dark

e barked

e. She grabbed he

Cinnamon, advancing on her until she

u break out to... what? Interrogate my paid dist

ack, shoving his chest. "I wanted to

is a

you kept me? Is that why you kissed me? Because I'm the password to some stolen fortune?" She subtly turned on the high-fidelity digita

l. The anger vanished, repl

shoulders. "Wha

she whispered

is hand. His eyes darted to

tion against her skin. "Never say tho

red at him o

n't de

t of losing her love

st like h

Chapter End

Claim Your Bonus at the APP

Open

Stolen Fortune, Stolen Heart: The Caged Ward

Jun Shangye Modern

“I stood in the corner of the grand ballroom, trying to stay invisible despite the massive diamond on my finger. As the fiancée of the billionaire Arturo Watts, I was supposed to be the most envied woman in the room, but the suffocating scent of lilies felt more like a funeral than a gala. A waiter's elbow clipped my arm, sending my clutch crashing to the floor and spilling its contents for everyone to see. Among my lipstick and phone lay a heavy, glittering brooch-the Pink Star diamond-that had just been reported stolen from the neck of a billionaire socialite. "Thief! Just like her father," the crowd hissed as cameras flashed like gunfire in my face. Tiffany Watts ground her heel into my bag, her eyes gleeful as she watched the "scammer's daughter" finally get caught. Just as security reached for my wrists, Arturo stepped out of the shadows, but he wasn't there to save me. He grabbed my face and kissed me with a brutal, bruising intensity, branding me in front of the news drones to turn my humiliation into a PR stunt for his company's stock price. I thought I was being protected, but I soon realized I was just a prisoner in a gilded cage with new locks on the windows. I discovered the truth Arturo was trying to shred: I wasn't his fiancée, I was his "key code." He was using my name to access fifty million dollars of my father's hidden money, and he had blocked my FBI application to ensure I'd never uncover the trail. "I did it for you," he whispered, standing over me with the same cold, unreadable eyes he used on his business rivals. He thought he could buy my silence with designer gowns and a fake romance, but he forgot that I am my father's daughter. I'm done being a liability in his corporate games. I've found the secret account and recorded his confession. If Arturo Watts wants to treat me like a target, I'm going to make sure I'm the one who hits the mark and takes every cent he's hiding.”