Reckless Billionaire’s Ruthless Claim (Obsessed Billionaires, Cherished Brides #4)

Chapter 17 A Call

“Your girlfriend is at my hospital right now,” he said the moment the line connected.

There was a sharp silence before a chair scraped against the floor.

“What?” Sawyer’s voice was immediately sharp, demanding. “Is she alright? Is Ellie hurt?”

Damion smirked slightly. “Isn’t Olivia your girlfriend? Why did you assume I was talking about Ellie?”

"Don’t fuck with me right now, Damion," Sawyer snapped. "Tell me where she is. Is she hurt?"

“No, she’s not hurt. Don’t worry.” Damion’s tone turned serious. Sawyer exhaled sharply, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. His grip on the phone loosened slightly, but he was still ready to dash out of the office any second.

“Did you know she has an uncle? He adopted her a few years ago. He needed emergency surgery, so she’s here taking care of him."

Sawyer went silent. “No. She never mentioned an uncle.”

"Well, the operation is ongoing," Damion said. "It looks like it’s going well. He should be out in an hour."

Sawyer was silent for a moment before muttering, "Thanks. I owe you one." He ended the call.

But the moment the call ended, Henry, his assistant, spoke up hesitantly.

“Mr. Stark, Miss Ellie must be in trouble right now. How is she going to pay the bill? You blocked all her cards.”

Sawyer reached for his phone, instinctively about to call the hospital and Ellie, but his hand paused mid-air.

His face hardened, his fingers hovering over the screen.

Then, slowly, he put the phone down.

“She will call me,” Sawyer muttered, his jaw tightening. “She needs money, so she’ll have to ask me for it. And when she does, she’ll have no choice but to obey me. When I tell her to stay away from other useless men, she’ll have to listen.”

Sawyer was still furious at how she had chosen Jeremy over everything—how she had dared to talk to him. But knowing that the operation was already ongoing and things would be fine, he could use this as an opportunity to bring Ellie back in line. That foolish woman had surrounded herself with models drowning in reckless lifestyles and bad habits. And that Jeremy? He didn’t look like a saint from any angle.

Now, she would have no choice but to call him for money. And when she did, she would have to obey him.

His eyes flickered up suddenly, landing on Henry. He frowned.

"Come here."

Henry stiffened, then walked over with a nervous, toothy grin that didn’t reach his eyes. "Mr. Stark?"

Sawyer clamped a firm hand on Henry’s shoulder, his grip tighter than usual. His voice, deceptively light, carried a sharp edge.

"Why the hell do you remember more about my girlfriend than I do? Are you her boyfriend, or am I?"

Henry let out an awkward, forced chuckle. "M-Mr. Stark, how could that be? I was just helping you, sir. Just helping."

Sawyer narrowed his eyes, studying him, then turned him around and delivered a swift kick to his backside.

"Get out."

Henry scrambled away without a second’s delay.

Sawyer sat down, grabbing his phone. He turned the call volume all the way up, leaning back in his chair, waiting.

But the call never came.

Evening turned into night. He sat there, phone in hand, eyes heavy, until exhaustion won. He fell asleep in his office chair, waiting.

The next morning, the sharp sound of his office door bursting open jolted him awake.

"Mr. Stark!"

Sawyer groggily opened his eyes, his body heavy with exhaustion. He rubbed his face, then looked up with a tense, annoyed expression.

Sawyer’s eyes cracked open, thick with the weight of interrupted sleep. He scowled, straightening. "What?"

Henry rushed forward, shoving a file into his hands. "I took Ms. Olivia’s hair from her home and had it tested, like you asked. This is the report."

Sawyer’s gaze darkened as he flipped through the pages. His fingers clenched around the paper, his breath turning shallow.

"She isn’t Olivia," he murmured, his voice almost hollow.

Henry nodded quickly. "She isn’t. The suspicions were right all along. A person can’t just change that much—it never made sense. But now it does." He hesitated, then added, "Mr. Stark… I think the real Miss Olivia died in that fire three years ago. And the woman pretending to be her? She’s Olivia’s friend. Kelly Jones. The one who had a mad crush on you."

Sawyer’s grip on the file trembled. He planted his hands on the desk, grounding himself as the weight of the revelation hit him like a brick wall.

He had loved Olivia his entire life. Couldn’t imagine a world without her. And now—someone else had stolen her face, her name, and had been living right under his nose, pretending.

Fury coiled inside him like a viper. Grief and rage intertwined, making his chest tighten painfully.

"Are you sure she’s Kelly?" Sawyer’s voice was dangerously low, his jaw locked. "Do you have proof?"

"We don’t have solid proof yet," Henry admitted. "Kelly disappeared the same day as the fire. No one’s seen her since. She was an orphan—no family to trace. But if we can find anything from three years ago that belonged to Kelly, we can match her DNA with the woman claiming to be Olivia."

Sawyer’s fists clenched. "Then get to it. Don’t waste a second. Dig her damn DNA out of the ground if you have to." His voice grew colder. "And once we prove it, I’ll show her what it means to disappear. Since she loves fake identities so much, let’s see how long she enjoys them."

His hands were shaking with rage.

"Why the hell would she do this?" He ran a hand through his hair, chest heaving. "She changed her entire identity over a damn crush? Got her whole damn face reconstructed just because she was in love with me?"

"It might not have been just about you, Mr. Stark," Henry muttered. His brows furrowed. "Ms. Olivia was a wealthy heiress. She came from a powerful family. Kelly was an orphan who had nothing. Replacing Olivia might not have been a sudden decision. She could have planned this for a long time."

Sawyer’s blood ran cold. "You think this wasn’t a coincidence? That she didn’t just take Olivia’s place because the opportunity was there?" His mind whirred. "Look into it. Find out if that fire was really an accident. Or if Kelly planned that too."

Henry nodded and hurried out.

Sawyer stood there, the rage bleeding into something deeper. A crushing, suffocating weight settled on his chest. He clutched at it, struggling to breathe. His vision blurred.

He had known something was wrong from the moment Olivia came out of surgery. The way she spoke. The way she moved. The way touching her felt… off.

But he hadn’t listened to that feeling.

And now, it was too late.

He reached for his wallet with trembling hands, pulling out an old, worn-out photograph. It was of him and Olivia when they were kids. It had been her favorite picture.

"In this, you look so much in love with me," she used to say.

Now, there was nothing left of her to love.

***

"Ellie, get over here!" Jeremy shouted across the hall.

Ellie rushed toward him, slightly out of breath. Since she was short on money for Uncle Tony’s hospital bills, Jeremy had asked her to come over. He had a shoot at an event venue for a week and managed to secure a spot for her.

“She’s the girl,” Jeremy introduced Ellie to an older woman. “She’s incredible. My last Victoria’s Secret show—she helped pull it off. You saw the clip I sent, right?”

“I did.” The woman nodded. “She looks good. I’ll take her in for the day.”

“Great. I owe you one.” Jeremy grinned before turning to Ellie. “I gotta run. My walk’s in half an hour, and everyone’s probably losing their minds backstage. See you later.”

“Good luck.” Ellie smiled. “And thanks for the help. Really.”

"You owe me another kiss, then," Jeremy winked.

Ellie bit her lip, suppressing a laugh while trying to keep a straight face. "Don’t act smart now. Go away."

Jeremy pouted dramatically before running off.

Meanwhile, just across the street, Olivia and Jessica had stepped out of a high-end jewelry store. Olivia clutched a diamond set she had been obsessing over for weeks.

That was when Olivia spotted Ellie.

Immediately, Olivia’s eyes darkened, and without waiting for Jessica, she marched inside, leaving her behind.

Jeremy had already left, leaving Ellie alone with the older woman.

"I’ll be inside the hall," the woman told Ellie. "You need to change and be there in five minutes."

"Sure," Ellie nodded, turning to leave—only to find Olivia standing right in front of her, blocking her path.

"Oh my god," Ellie groaned, flinching back. "Don’t you have anything better to do than stalk me?"

Olivia’s lips curled into an ugly smile. “You better start calling me ‘Miss Olivia’ from now on, beggar.” Her voice dripped with condescension. “Sawyer isn’t your boyfriend—he’s mine. You’re just a maid living under his roof. Know your place and remember who your mistress is.”

Ellie scoffed. "Yeah, you sure are a mistress, alright. I can tell by the way you came rushing in here, whining about me when you were the one who left him and ran away."

Olivia scoffed, her lips curling in disdain as she dangled the diamond-studded bag in her hand.

"It’s none of your business what my boyfriend and I do. He loves me!" She sneered, her voice dripping with arrogance. "Don’t you get the fucking reality? You’re just a beggar scraping by."

Her gaze swept over Ellie from head to toe, eyes flashing with mockery. "You’re still penniless, aren’t you?" She let out a cold laugh. "No wonder. Beggars are always like this—walking around with their heads held high, acting proud, when they don’t even have a single penny to their name."

Olivia took a step closer, lowering her voice to a taunting whisper. "Look at you. Here you are, desperately begging people to give you work, to hand you money. Sawyer blocked you, didn’t he?" She let out another sharp laugh. "And now? You’ve finally become a real beggar, haven’t you?"

Ellie clenched her jaw, but before she could respond, Olivia’s eyes flickered to the reflection in a nearby car’s window. She spotted Jessica walking toward them behind Ellie.

A wicked thought struck her, and before Ellie could react, Olivia thrust the coffee cup she had in Ellie’s hands—then suddenly yanked Ellie’s hand forward, making it seem as if Ellie had thrown the coffee in her face.

The liquid splashed across Olivia’s skin, and in an instant, she let out an ear-piercing scream.

She staggered back, clutching her face as coffee seeped into her skin.

'Since this bitch is the real Olivia, I’m going to make sure she never gets near the Whitlocks again.' Olivia’s thoughts twisted with malice. 'She already snuck her way to Sawyer behind my back. Sawyer doesn’t know, and neither do Jessica or her husband. Before they find out, I’ll make them hate her. I’ll make them throw her out—and then, I’ll kill her again. It’s not that hard.'

Tears welled in her eyes as she let out a blood-curdling wail.

“Mom! Mom!” Olivia shrieked, clutching her face. “She threw coffee at me! Oh god, it burns! It burns—just like that fire all those years ago, Mom!”

Her sobs were heart-wrenching, filled with sheer agony.

Jessica’s heart dropped. Her daughter’s raw sobs struck deep, sending her running toward them in panic.

A sharp slap echoed in the air.

The force of Jessica’s palm sent Ellie sprawling onto the ground. Her hands scraped against the pavement, leaving raw scratches.

Jessica’s voice trembled with rage and disbelief. “What the hell are you doing?!”

From her angle, all she could see was Olivia in agony and Ellie standing there, coffee dripping from her hands. It looked like Ellie had attacked Olivia.

Jessica’s face twisted in grief. “My poor daughter…” She crouched beside Olivia, her hands trembling as she touched Olivia’s reddened skin. “She’s already suffered so much—she hasn’t even healed from her painful past! Why—” Jessica’s voice cracked, her eyes glistening with tears. “Why did you burn her?”

Ellie pushed herself up, her body aching.

She met Jessica’s devastated gaze and spoke blankly, "I didn’t hurt her, Mrs. Whitlock. But you’ll believe her anyway. So go ahead.”

Jessica's heart twisted as she stared at Ellie. The moment she got a proper look at her in the clear light, an unsettling realization hit—Ellie looked strikingly similar to Olivia. Her heart clenched with a strange ache she couldn't explain.

A few weeks ago, when a worker had come to the Whitlock house to deliver a painting, she had felt the same strange pull of concern. That girl had worn a cap, obscuring most of her face, so Jessica hadn’t thought much of it. But now, under the clear light, Ellie’s resemblance to Olivia struck her like a blow to the chest.

Her heart twisted painfully.

Her gaze flickered to Ellie’s cheek, where a clear handprint burned red from the slap Jessica had given her. The sight made her feel even more uneasy. And despite knowing she should be focusing on Olivia, a part of her couldn't shake the deep concern she felt for the girl standing before her.

The realization sent a fresh wave of unease crashing over her. Why was she feeling more concern for the girl standing before her than for the daughter sobbing in her arms?

The thought unsettled her.

And then, guilt clawed its way in.

Three years ago, she was helpless. She had been in France with Jack when she received that dreaded phone call—their house was on fire, and Olivia had been inside. By the time she made it back, after days of being stranded due to bad weather, Olivia had already been in the hospital, recovering from severe burns. She had cried, begged, screamed at the heavens to keep her daughter safe. Jessica had been powerless back then, forced to rely on fate to spare her daughter.

And now, seeing Olivia hurt again, that same helpless rage took over.

She tightened her arms around Olivia and spoke in a measured voice. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll take you to the hospital right now.” Then, her tone turned steely. “We can call the police. There must be cameras here. She needs to learn she can’t just attack people like this.”

“No, Mom, it’s fine.” Olivia’s voice turned sharp as she suddenly snatched Jessica’s phone, slipping it into her bag. “Just make sure she gets fired. Someone like her doesn’t deserve to work around decent people after attacking someone like me.”

Jessica hesitated only for a moment before nodding. “You’re right.”

She sighed and turned, but then her eyes landed on the discarded coffee cup lying on the ground. The label on the side read ‘Iced’.

Jessica’s expression froze.

So Olivia had lied? She hadn’t been burned?

Jessica’s fingers clenched as realization dawned—she had wronged Ellie.

And worse, she had hit her.

But the fear of failing Olivia again, of disappointing her and not being there for her just like in the past, made her swallow the truth. She stayed silent.

Meanwhile, Olivia smirked in satisfaction, already dialing Jack. “Dad, there’s a problem at the event. You need to get someone fired.”

Within seconds, Ellie’s phone buzzed with a message from the older woman: ‘Sorry, we can’t work with you anymore.’

Ellie read the text, then slowly lifted her gaze to Jessica. Her breath came heavy with restrained fury.

“If she’s so innocent in your eyes, maybe you should get your eyes checked.” Her voice was calm, yet cutting. “Even after seeing how terrified she looked the moment you mentioned the police, you still don’t think she’s guilty? You must be blind.”

Jessica’s expression remained cold, indifferent. She said nothing.

Ellie exhaled sharply, sidestepped them both, and stormed out of the event grounds without another word.

Jessica watched until Ellie disappeared into the distance, something unsettling and painful twisting in her chest.

Behind her, Olivia whined impatiently, “Mom, can we stop wasting time already? Let’s go home. I have a party tonight.”

Jessica didn’t respond right away. Instead, she glanced at the coffee cup again, her grip on Olivia tightening.

The nagging doubt that had always been there since the past three years, started to take root in her heart.

***

Sawyer stared at his phone screen, tension coiling in his chest.

No call.

No text.

Nothing.

Ellie had never asked him for help before, and now, when she needed it the most, she still hadn't reached out?

A full night had passed. An entire fucking night. And she hadn’t even bothered to send a single message?

“Henry!” Sawyer’s voice cut through the office like a whip.

Henry, already out of breath from rushing over, barged in, half-scared to death. “Mr. Stark?”

“Did you get any calls from Ellie?” Sawyer’s jaw was clenched, his expression thunderous.

Henry gave him a confused look. "Mr. Stark, Miss Ellie didn’t call you yet?"

The way Sawyer glared at him made Henry rethink his life choices. Maybe today was his last day alive.

"No, Mr. Stark! No calls!" Henry quickly clarified. "Do you want me to call her? I can do it right now—maybe she needs something!"

“Her bank account and cards are still canceled?” Sawyer interrupted, voice tight with agitation.

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Just as you had instructed."

“God damn it,” Sawyer gritted out, running a hand through his already-messy hair, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and frustration.

Why hadn’t she called?

If her adoptive uncle had suddenly fallen ill and needed surgery, Sawyer should’ve been the first person Ellie turned to.

But because of their fight, she didn’t even inform him she was at the hospital?

His agitation spiked, and without another thought, he called Damion.

"Hey, man," Sawyer said, forcing his tone to sound casual, not desperate. "It’s about Ellie. How much is needed for the surgery? Forward the bill to my office. Don’t bother Ellie with this—I’ll cover everything."

"I wasn’t going to charge her at all, brother," Damion answered. "But I checked the file. The surgery bill’s already paid."

Sawyer’s body stiffened. “What?”

“Yeah. Someone named Jeremy Nox covered the entire bill.”