Chapter 5

Scarlett POV:

The applause was deafening. Jax had not only stolen my family's moment, he had publicly given our legacy to her. He had used the resources and opportunities my father had given him to elevate his true love, right in front of my face.

Rage, pure and undiluted, burned through my veins. It scorched away the hurt and left behind something hard and sharp. I marched toward the stage, my head held high.

"That's a very generous offer, Jax," I said into the microphone, my voice dripping ice. "But the O'Connell family has a long-standing commitment to this hospital. We will not be outbid."

I turned to the auctioneer, a triumphant smirk on my face. "I pledge one hundred and fifty million."

A hush fell over the crowd. All eyes were on me. I walked to the payment table set up on the side and slid my unlimited black card across the polished surface. The attendant swiped it. And then swiped it again.

A polite, apologetic smile formed on her face. "I'm so sorry, Ms. O'Connell. The card has been declined."

"That's impossible," I said, my voice tight. "Try it again."

She did. The result was the same. Panic began to claw at my throat. I pulled out another card. Declined. And another. Declined.

The whispers in the room grew louder, turning from curiosity to open mockery. The O'Connell heiress couldn't pay her bills. The Golden Thorn was broke. My face burned with shame.

Then, a shadow fell over me. Jax stepped up to the table, his expression unreadable. He handed his own card to the attendant. It went through without a problem.

The naming rights were his. They were hers.

I was no longer just a woman who couldn't pay. I was a joke. A laughingstock who was publicly rejected and financially neutered, all for the sake of her adopted sister.

Wyatt leaned in close, his voice a furious whisper in my ear. "It was him, Scarlett. I saw him on his laptop just before the bidding started. He's a hacker. He had to have frozen your accounts."

The final piece clicked into place. This wasn't just him defending Daisy-Mae. This was a calculated, deliberate act of war designed to destroy me in the most public way possible. The world tilted, and I had to grip the table to keep from falling.