Page 18 of Reckless Billionaire's Ruthless Claim

Ellie entered the Stark house with a loud yawn, her stomach growling in protest. It had been a long, exhausting night. She hadn’t even had dinner yet. After literally running away from the restaurant, she came straight home.

“Ada, I’m so hungry! Please, give me anything to eat, I’ll literally eat these walls…” she trailed off, but then screamed and jumped back, dropping her bag to the floor as her heart raced in her chest.

“Jenelia?” she gasped, blinking quickly as her pulse hammered in her ears. "Wh-What... are you doing here?"

On the couch sat a woman who radiated sophistication, her arms folded over her chest. Her eyes were cold, staring directly at Ellie like she was an annoying fly that had buzzed into her house uninvited.

Ellie immediately turned around, making a dash upstairs to hide. "You must be here for Sawyer, right? I’ll leave you—"

"Get back here!" Jenelia snapped coldly.

Ellie halted in her steps, her heart jumping once more. Forcing a fake smile onto her face, she slowly turned around and walked toward Jenelia.

The woman was Sawyer’s sister, barely a few years older than him, but one look from her made Ellie feel like she might wet her pants. She was terrifyingly cold, and sharp and the way she stared at Ellie almost made her feel as if she should disappear from this world. Like Jenelia would snap her fingers, Thanos-style—but instead of half the world vanishing, it would be Ellie snapping in two like a twig.

With her best forced smile, Ellie stood in front of her. "I’m here. How are you? What are you doing here so late at night? You should be at home. It’s not safe to roam around other people’s houses this late."

"Shut up," Jenelia growled, clearly annoyed. Her cold eyes bore into Ellie. "You know Olivia is back, don’t you?"

"...yeah. I saw her," Ellie answered, keeping the forced smile on her face.

"Then it’s time for you to get lost," Jenelia snapped. "My brother only brought you into this house because he was upset over Olivia leaving. Now that she’s back, there’s no reason for someone like you to stay near him."

She slapped a document onto the table.

"Sign this agreement. It states that you can’t reveal anything about our family or Sawyer to anyone outside. Sign it and leave my brother right now."

Ellie glanced at the document. The words ‘Confidentiality Agreement’ were printed in bold at the top of the page. Then, she looked at Jenelia, who sat with a pen in her hand, staring at Ellie with growing impatience.

'These people are so damn heartless,' Ellie thought bitterly. 'First her brother, and now his big sister. The moment Olivia came back, I became useless to them. They can’t even wait a single day before kicking me out. Seriously, they’re a businessman’s family through and through—ruthless to the core.'

When Ellie made no move to sign the paper, Jenelia narrowed her eyes and let out a sharp breath. Then, she pulled a check from her purse and tossed it onto the document.

"Here. That’s two hundred thousand dollars," Jenelia said coldly. "It’s probably more money than you’ve ever seen, even on paper. Take it and get out of my brother’s life immediately."

Ellie’s eyes widened the moment she saw the check. In the next second, she rushed forward to grab it, but in her haste, her hand knocked into Jenelia’s. The check slipped from Jenelia’s grasp and fluttered to the ground—right along with Ellie, who lost her balance and fell with a thud.

Scrambling up quickly, her breath hitched as she propped herself up, her fingers trembling against the polished wood. A soft, choked sob escaped her lips dramatically, and a lone tear slipped from the corner of her eye, splashing onto the confidentiality paper beneath her hand.

“I know you don’t think I’m worthy of Sawyer,” she whispered, her voice quivering. Another sob wracked her body, shaking her shoulders as she wiped at her wet cheeks. “But I love him too much. How can your money buy my love for him? How can you just throw cash at me and expect me to walk away? That’s not fair.”

Her sobs grew louder, harsher, as she wiped at her tears. Then, with a determined sniff, she straightened, standing in front of Jenelia with an air of fragile defiance.

Jenelia’s jaw clenched, her sharp gaze piercing into Ellie. “You know what I’m saying. Don’t force me to do things I’d rather not just to get you out of our lives.”

Ellie didn’t flinch. Instead, she inhaled deeply and, before Jenelia could finish her sentence, she lifted her hand, spreading her fingers wide.

“Five hundred.” Ellie cut her off before she could finish. “Five hundred thousand dollars, and I’ll disappear. I promise. I won’t show my face to your family again. I’ll leave right now.”

Jenelia’s mouth fell open as she stared at Ellie, dumbfounded. Just a second ago, she had been crying, her face red and soaked with tears but now—there she was, standing tall, palm open, five fingers displayed.

"Okay? Deal!" Ellie chirped, then bolted upstairs.

Without waiting for an answer, Ellie spun on her heel and ran upstairs. Within five minutes, she was back, her suitcase in hand. Jenelia hadn’t even fully processed the situation before Ellie rushed forward, grabbed the check off the ground, and slammed it down on the table, thrusting a pen into Jenelia’s hand.

"Here." She panted slightly. "Price of my love. Quick, sign in this place. Right here."

Jenelia’s fingers tightened around the pen, her expression thunderous. Her glare alone could have set Ellie ablaze. “I knew it,” she spat through gritted teeth. "I knew it! I knew you were only after my brother’s money!"

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