After becoming

Chapter 5

Their love had vanished completely. Little did they know, this ex–con had a hundred million in her

account.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit excited, wondering how they’d react when the daughter they despised most stood at the pinnacle of success one day.

The next day, I arrived at a hotel in the city center. This wasn’t just any hotel. It was a top–notch, sprawling establishment that catered to dining, lodging, banquets, and even business activities. It had eight floors and occupied an entire building. The location, surroundings, and foot traffic were all

excellent.

Before I went to prison, I worked as a hotel lobby manager. Naturally, I wanted to return to

my

old profession. Only this time, not as a manager but as the owner. I negotiated with the hotel’s owner for several hours and eventually bought the hotel from him. I took over management that very day. From then on, I lived and ate at the hotel, seizing every moment to learn and develop new management and operational strategies. Under my leadership, the hotel’s business flourished, becoming so popular that it was almost impossible to get a reservation. I soon became a bona fide wealthy woman in the city.

One evening, six months later, while inspecting the dining department, I overheard James in a private room. “This hotel is so popular! I had to book my son’s one–month celebration two months in advance just to get a table.”

“I’ve heard that only the crème de la crème get to dine here. James, you made it, bringing us to such a lavish place!”

I froze in place and realized James had brought our parents and a bunch of relatives to this private room for his newborn son’s one–month celebration. Melanie was busy showing off by recording videos on her phone. My face appeared in the frame when her camera panned to the door.

“Janina? What are you doing here?” Melanie put down her phone and frowned at me.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room turned their gaze towards me, standing at the doorway.

“Janina, have you no shame? You knew we were having a banquet here today and followed us just to scrounge a meal!” Greta rushed over and scolded me as if I were the plague.

“Who said I was here to scrounge for food?” I replied calmly.

“What are you here for if you’re not here to scrounge? Begging? This is a high–end place reserved for the wealthy. If you’re hungry, go dig through the trash outside. That’s where you belong,” she said, crossing her arms and looking at me with utter disdain.

The other relatives also frowned and glared at me, their expressions filled with disgust as if I were an annoying fly.

James spoke up, too, clearly unhappy. “Janina, when you said you wanted to cut ties with us, I thought you had some backbone. But now, you’ve stooped to follow us for a free meal. It’s really disgusting.‘ Before I could respond, Seamus chimed in, “Janina, I taught you from a young age to be self–reliant and have some backbone. Have you forgotten? How could you throw away your dignity for a meal?” I looked at them and sneered, “It’s just a meal. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“You’re really something, aren’t you? Sour grapes, huh? As if you, a penniless ex–con, could ever afford a meal here even if you worked your whole life,” Greta sneered.