The Genius Heiress They Tried To Break

The Genius Heiress They Tried To Break

Luo Lijiang

5.0
Comment(s)
114
View
27
Chapters

I stood outside the Genovese estate in the freezing rain for two hours, waiting for the man I loved to let me in. I was Elena Russo, the brilliant forensic accountant who had just laundered forty million dollars for the family. I was the adopted daughter, the fixer, and the fiancée of the Underboss, Luca. But the moment Sofia, the "real" daughter, returned, I became nothing but a placeholder. Luca looked me in the eye, swirling his scotch, and delivered the blow. "I need you to hand your work over to Sofia. She needs the prestige to be accepted by the Commission." He demanded I give up my life's work-a complex laundering algorithm-so his new favorite could take the credit. When I refused, the humiliation began. Sofia faked a fall into the pool, and my adoptive father kicked me into the deep end to "teach me a lesson." I nearly drowned. Luca didn't save me. He handed me a diving mask and told me to find Sofia's lost ring at the bottom of the freezing pool before I was allowed to warm up. They stole my code. They ruined my reputation at the university. They slapped me in front of the press. They thought I was a stray dog with nowhere to go. They were wrong. Lying in the hospital bed, I dialed a number I had memorized years ago. "This is Asset 724," I whispered. "I'm ready to come home." The next day, the Russo empire began to crumble. And when a convoy of black SUVs arrived to collect me, Luca finally realized his mistake. My real father wasn't a nobody. He was Don Moretti, the King of the West Coast. And he was here to burn their world to ash.

Chapter 1

I stood outside the Genovese estate in the freezing rain for two hours, waiting for the man I loved to let me in.

I was Elena Russo, the brilliant forensic accountant who had just laundered forty million dollars for the family. I was the adopted daughter, the fixer, and the fiancée of the Underboss, Luca.

But the moment Sofia, the "real" daughter, returned, I became nothing but a placeholder.

Luca looked me in the eye, swirling his scotch, and delivered the blow.

"I need you to hand your work over to Sofia. She needs the prestige to be accepted by the Commission."

He demanded I give up my life's work-a complex laundering algorithm-so his new favorite could take the credit.

When I refused, the humiliation began.

Sofia faked a fall into the pool, and my adoptive father kicked me into the deep end to "teach me a lesson."

I nearly drowned.

Luca didn't save me. He handed me a diving mask and told me to find Sofia's lost ring at the bottom of the freezing pool before I was allowed to warm up.

They stole my code. They ruined my reputation at the university. They slapped me in front of the press.

They thought I was a stray dog with nowhere to go.

They were wrong.

Lying in the hospital bed, I dialed a number I had memorized years ago.

"This is Asset 724," I whispered. "I'm ready to come home."

The next day, the Russo empire began to crumble.

And when a convoy of black SUVs arrived to collect me, Luca finally realized his mistake.

My real father wasn't a nobody.

He was Don Moretti, the King of the West Coast.

And he was here to burn their world to ash.

Chapter 1

The iron gates of the Genovese estate loomed before me, a black metal barrier between me and the only man I had ever loved, while the freezing rain soaked through my silk blouse and turned my skin to ice.

I had been standing here for two hours.

I had been pressing the buzzer until my fingers went numb, knowing that Luca was inside. Knowing he saw me on the security monitors. And knowing he simply didn't care enough to press the button that would let me in.

I wasn't just a woman waiting in the rain. I was Elena Russo.

I was the adopted daughter of the Russo crime family, the fiancée of the Genovese Underboss, and the brilliant forensic accountant who had just laundered forty million dollars of their dirty money without leaving a single digital footprint.

But tonight, I was just a nuisance.

The buzzer finally sounded-a harsh, grating noise.

The heavy gates groaned open. I didn't run. I walked, my heels clicking on the wet pavement, shivering violently as I made my way to the massive oak front doors.

The door swung open before my fist could even graze the wood.

Luca stood there. He looked impeccable. His white shirt was crisp, unbuttoned at the collar to reveal the tanned skin of his throat, his dark hair perfectly styled. He held a glass of scotch in one hand and looked at me with an expression that wasn't hate, but something far worse.

Indifference.

"You're late," he said, turning his back on me and walking into the warmth of the foyer.

I followed him, dripping water onto the pristine marble floor. My teeth chattered so hard I couldn't form words immediately. I needed a towel. I needed warmth. I needed him to look at me and see the woman who had cleaned up his reckless tactical mistakes for eleven years.

"Luca," I managed to whisper. "It was the storm. The roads were flooded."

He didn't offer me a towel. He didn't offer me a drink. He sat on the velvet sofa and swirled his scotch.

"I need the ledger, Elena," he said, his voice smooth and detached. "The forensic accounting for the merger with the Triads. I need you to hand the access codes and the final report over to Sofia."

The cold in my bones suddenly felt insignificant compared to the chill in my chest.

Sofia. The Russos' biological daughter. The girl who had been kidnapped at birth and returned six months ago. The Golden Child who did nothing but cry and break things, yet was treated like porcelain.

"That ledger is my work," I said, my voice trembling. "It took me six months to build the algorithm. Sofia doesn't know how to read a balance sheet, let alone hide a transaction trail from the FBI."

Luca finally looked at me. His eyes were dark, devoid of the warmth they used to hold when we were children.

"Sofia needs the win, Elena. She needs the prestige to be accepted by the Commission. The families need to see her as capable."

"But she isn't capable," I argued, stepping closer, leaving a puddle of rainwater on his expensive rug. "If she messes up the encryption, the Feds will have a direct line to your father's offshore accounts."

"She won't mess it up because you will guide her from the shadows," Luca said, taking a sip of his drink. "You are strong, Elena. You are a survivor. You don't need the glory. Sofia is fragile. She has suffered enough."

I stared at him. I had suffered for eleven years in a family that treated me like a calculator with a heartbeat. I had taken bullets-metaphorical and literal-for this man.

"You're asking me to give her my career," I said.

"I'm telling you to do what is best for the Family," he corrected, his tone hardening. "Don't be selfish. It's unbecoming."

Selfish. The word struck me like a slap.

I looked at the engagement ring on my finger, a modest diamond that felt heavier by the second. I realized then that Luca didn't love me. He loved my utility. He loved that I was a tool that never complained, a weapon that never misfired.

"Fine," I whispered.

"Good," he said, standing up. He walked past me, the scent of his expensive cologne mixing with the smell of rain on my skin. "Go clean yourself up. You look like a drowned rat. We're going to the Amalfi Coast next weekend."

My heart skipped a beat. A trip? Just us?

"Pack for three," he added over his shoulder. "Sofia has never seen the ocean. I promised I'd take her."

He walked up the stairs, leaving me shivering in the foyer.

I went to the guest bathroom, turning the shower on so hot that steam filled the room instantly. I stepped under the spray, not caring as the scalding water turned my frozen skin bright red. I scrubbed at my arms until they were raw, trying to wash away the rain, the humiliation, and the lingering scent of his indifference.

I stepped out, wrapping myself in a robe, my body burning with fever. My head pounded. I collapsed onto the guest bed, curling into a ball.

An hour later, my phone buzzed. It was Luca.

*Sofia is having a panic attack. I'm going to her place. Don't wait up.*

He was in the same house as me. I was burning with a fever he had caused. And yet, he was leaving to comfort a girl who was likely faking it for attention.

I heard his car engine roar to life and fade into the distance.

I lay in the dark, the heat of the fever distorting my thoughts. I reached for my phone, my fingers trembling. I didn't call Luca. I didn't call my adoptive parents.

I dialed a number I had memorized from an encrypted file I had uncovered years ago. A number that belonged to the most powerful Syndicate on the West Coast.

The Moretti family.

The phone rang once.

"This is a secure line," a deep voice answered. "Identify."

"This is Asset 724," I rasped, my throat on fire. "Or... Elena. I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" the voice asked, sharp and alert.

"Extraction," I whispered, closing my eyes as a tear leaked out. "I'm ready to come home."

Continue Reading

Other books by Luo Lijiang

More
The Ruined Heiress and Her Ruthless Monster

The Ruined Heiress and Her Ruthless Monster

Modern

5.0

My fiancé cheated on me with a bottle service girl on the giant screen at our own engagement party. I woke up the next morning in a strange bed, smelling of sandalwood and expensive scotch, only to realize I was in the penthouse of Julian Blackwood—the man I had cruelly humiliated ten years ago. Before I could even process the shame, my world collapsed. My father suffered a massive stroke, and my half-brother Conrad immediately moved to seize the family empire, while a swarm of illegitimate siblings emerged to strip us of every cent. "You're a stain on my floor, Vivian," Julian told me, his eyes as cold as a stormy sea. He didn't just want me gone; he wanted to watch me go bankrupt. My stepmother hissed that I needed to get on my knees and beg him to be our lawyer, or we’d end up on the street. Then, a biker with a metal bat tried to kill me on a dark Hamptons road, proving my own family had already put a price on my head. I didn't understand why the boy I once called "the gardener's son" was now the only one standing between me and a shallow grave. Julian saved my life from the wreck, but his touch felt like a threat. Was he protecting me, or just making sure he was the one who got to finish me off? Standing in the lobby of Blackwood & Partners, I looked straight into the security cameras and told the biggest lie of my life. I told the world that Julian was obsessed with me, turning a restraining order into a scandalous affair. If I had to be a villain to survive my own family, I would be the most dangerous one New York had ever seen.

Betrayal's Sting: A Husband's Reckoning

Betrayal's Sting: A Husband's Reckoning

Romance

5.0

Tonight was supposed to be special. Our fifth anniversary. I' d booked our favorite restaurant, bought a new shirt Chloe loved. Then, scrolling through social media, a photo from her company' s group chat caught my eye. Chloe, laughing, her hand resting on the arm of her intern, Liam. The caption called it "burning the midnight oil." I called it a lie. I typed a reply, directly into the chat: "Looks like fun. Chloe, I\'m still waiting for our anniversary dinner. The reservation was for seven." My phone rang instantly. It was Chloe, her voice a furious hiss. "What the hell do you think you\'re doing? Are you trying to embarrass me?" "Embarrass you?" I retorted, her dismissive tone burning me. "I' m sitting here alone on our anniversary. You told me you were stuck in a meeting." She called me needy, childish, then hung up. All my sacrifices, my life savings poured into her startup, the sleepless nights coding her company' s foundation – for this? To be a ghost in her shiny, successful life? The truth was laid bare: I was just an afterthought. I looked at our wedding photo, so full of hope, then slowly, deliberately, turned it face down. Then I blocked her. The next morning, her company's lead engineer called, panicking. "It's the Genesis build. It's a complete disaster. Liam broke it." Chloe had brushed off my warnings about Liam's sloppy code. She called him a rockstar. Now, she needed me to fix her golden boy' s mess. She sent her assistant to drag me to the office. Then Chloe herself called from the assistant's phone. "Ethan Miller, you get down here right now!" She tried to smooth-talk me, sweet-talking about "us." And then I heard it. A soft, wet sound, a kiss. And Liam' s voice. "Is he giving you trouble, boss? Let me talk to him." Chloe' s hushed, affectionate whisper: "It's fine, sweetie. I've got this." My world stopped. "Sweetie?" I repeated, the word dripping with mock sweetness. "Is that what you call your interns now, Chloe?" The betrayal, concrete and undeniable, sliced through me. All that anger, all that pain, crystallized into one chilling realization: "You don't need me. You need my work. There's a difference." "Consider your contract terminated," she threatened. "Consider it terminated," I replied, and hung up. I finally felt nothing. Just a vast, empty space where five years of my life used to be. I was done.

Redemption's Echo

Redemption's Echo

Billionaires

5.0

The air in the penthouse reeked of success, a scent I barely remembered. Facing Liam Hayes, the tech titan I once knew as a struggling professor, I felt my nails dig into my palms. My design firm was ashes, my reputation ruined, and my father lay dying, all thanks to him. He offered me fifty thousand dollars-insulting, yet just enough for my father' s surgery-to marry a reclusive billionaire in his protégé's place. My pride was a luxury I couldn't afford. But as I clutched the check, a overheard conversation shattered everything: Liam' s revenge wasn' t heartbreak. He' d orchestrated my downfall, my company' s ruin, and even my father' s "accidents," wanting to see me broken and begging. Back at the hospital, fresh tests revealed the fifty thousand was a mere down payment; my father needed continuous, expensive care, or the surgery would only buy him months. Liam had known. He' d given me just enough hope to hang myself. Then, a friend revealed the final, devastating truth: Liam' s empire, everything he was, was built on my forgotten sacrifice-I' d anonymously funded his failing startup, selling my award-winning design to save him. The irony was a brutal blow, the realization that I had saved him, and in return, he had systematically destroyed me, my family, and even the child I didn' t know I carried, now lost to the stress he inflicted. My father' s life was still in Liam' s hands, a chilling reminder of my powerlessness. But when the call came, confirming my father' s death, Liam' s carefully constructed game shattered. He' d lost his leverage, and I, stripped of everything, suddenly found a terrifying, liberating freedom. The man who sought my ultimate suffering would now face my unyielding resolve.

You'll also like

Too Late: The Spare Daughter Escapes Him

Too Late: The Spare Daughter Escapes Him

SHANA GRAY
4.3

I died on a Tuesday. It wasn't a quick death. It was slow, cold, and meticulously planned by the man who called himself my father. I was twenty years old. He needed my kidney to save my sister. The spare part for the golden child. I remember the blinding lights of the operating theater, the sterile smell of betrayal, and the phantom pain of a surgeon's scalpel carving into my flesh while my screams echoed unheard. I remember looking through the observation glass and seeing him-my father, Giovanni Vitiello, the Don of the Chicago Outfit-watching me die with the same detached expression he used when signing a death warrant. He chose her. He always chose her. And then, I woke up. Not in heaven. Not in hell. But in my own bed, a year before my scheduled execution. My body was whole, unscarred. The timeline had reset, a glitch in the cruel matrix of my existence, giving me a second chance I never asked for. This time, when my father handed me a one-way ticket to London-an exile disguised as a severance package-I didn't cry. I didn't beg. My heart, once a bleeding wound, was now a block of ice. He didn't know he was talking to a ghost. He didn't know I had already lived through his ultimate betrayal. He also didn't know that six months ago, during the city's brutal territory wars, I was the one who saved his most valuable asset. In a secret safe house, I stitched up the wounds of a blinded soldier, a man whose life hung by a thread. He never saw my face. He only knew my voice, the scent of vanilla, and the steady touch of my hands. He called me Sette. Seven. For the seven stitches I put in his shoulder. That man was Dante Moretti. The Ruthless Capo. The man my sister, Isabella, is now set to marry. She stole my story. She claimed my actions, my voice, my scent. And Dante, the man who could spot a lie from a mile away, believed the beautiful deception because he wanted it to be true. He wanted the golden girl to be his savior, not the invisible sister who was only ever good for her spare parts. So I took the ticket. In my past life, I fought them, and they silenced me on an operating table. This time, I will let them have their perfect, gilded lie. I will go to London. I will disappear. I will let Seraphina Vitiello die on that plane. But I will not be a victim. This time, I will not be the lamb led to slaughter. This time, from the shadows of my exile, I will be the one holding the match. And I will wait, with the patience of the dead, to watch their entire world burn. Because a ghost has nothing to lose, and a queen of ashes has an empire to gain.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book