I Hired Elite Tycoons as My Parents for Five Cents Chapter 03
“I’m not apologizing. And I’m not getting on my knees.”
I stood my ground, fists balled at my sides, and stared them down. I wouldn’t give them an inch.
That was all it took to set them off.
“Fine. You want to do this the hard way?”
Trenton’s jaw clenched. He snatched the phone off the driveway, grabbed my suitcase, and stalked toward the pool.
“You want to hold on to those lowlifes that badly? Fine. I’ll get rid of everything that reminds you of them.”
“Don’t!”
I threw myself forward, but I was already too late.
The suitcase and the phone hit the water with a heavy splash and sank.
I jumped in after them.
The cold slammed into me. I dove under, searching blind, kicking back and forth until my fingers finally closed around that ruined little bear.
By the time I hauled myself out, I was shaking so hard I could barely stand. My clothes were plastered to my skin, and my lips had gone purple.
Brooke stood over me, arms crossed, looking like she was watching a good show.
Then her eyes locked on something—a faint red mark on my neck. Her whole face lit up, like she’d found the weapon she needed.
“Hazel, is that a hickey on your neck?”
She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes wide with fake shock.
“Or wait… is it something else? I mean, considering the kind of people you grew up around, God knows what kind of diseases you could’ve picked up…”
Richard and Evelyn’s faces shifted the second the words left her mouth.
Evelyn physically stepped back, nose wrinkling like I was contagious.
“That woman who raised you, dressing like a cheap punk, running around with God knows who… you can tell just by looking at her what kind of trash she is. And you expect me to believe she raised you right?”
“Hazel, be honest with me. Have you been sleeping around?”
Richard’s face was stone.
“No. We’re taking her to a hospital. Right now. I want her tested for everything.”
Trenton grabbed one of my arms, Caleb grabbed the other. Their fingers dug in so hard it felt like my bones would snap.
I fought them. It didn’t matter. They threw me into the car.
“Stop fighting it. You’re getting tested today. End of discussion.”
The car tore through traffic, straight to the hospital.
The second they walked into the exam room, Evelyn grabbed the doctor by the arm and started talking loud enough for the entire floor to hear.
“Doctor, I need you to look at her neck. Is that a hickey or some kind of infection? She’s been living with street trash for years. I need a full blood panel. Screen her for everything.”
Every head in the hall turned.
The stares hit me from every direction—curious, disgusted, pitying. Each one felt like a needle.
I bit the inside of my lip until I tasted blood.
The results came back fast.
The doctor looked up from the report, his gaze settling on Richard and Evelyn. When he spoke, his voice was measured and deliberate.
“Everything’s normal. No infections. No STIs. In fact, she is perfectly healthy. The mark on her neck is a simple allergic reaction. I have to say, as her parents, you should watch your words. Accusations like that can ruin a girl’s reputation. You should be more careful.”
The room went quiet.
Not a single one of them looked guilty.
Evelyn had the nerve to look annoyed. At me.
“If there was nothing wrong with you, why didn’t you just say so? You made us drag you all the way here for nothing, and now the doctor thinks we’re the problem.”
My mouth barely moved. I looked Evelyn dead in the eyes and asked the one thing I actually needed to know.
“If you hate me this much, why did you even bother looking for me?”
