The Silent Heiress's Million Dollar Gambit

My stepmother’s bodyguards were seconds away from dragging me back to a life that was essentially a prison cell wrapped in silk. I couldn't even scream for help because the words always died in my throat—a clinical condition called selective mutism that felt like drowning on dry land. I had just discovered the sickening truth: my father was planning to sell me to a sleazy investor named Sterling to cover his company’s bankruptcy. They were going to drug me, ship me off to a private island, and strip away the only thing I had left—my late mother’s multimillion-dollar art trust. When I arrived at the manor, my stepmother Lydia handed me a glass of wine laced with bitter sedatives, her smile sharp as a razor. "Drink up, darling. It’ll make the transition to Mr. Sterling much easier." My stepsister Harper stood in the corner, wearing a dress bought with my mother’s stolen money, mocking my inability to speak. My father didn't even look me in the eye as he calculated my price tag, treating his own daughter like a piece of damaged, mute inventory. They thought because I didn't speak, I didn't hear them laughing about the "accident" that killed my mother or how they planned to burn her final restoration work. They assumed my silence was a sign of surrender, a white flag waved by a broken girl who would never fight back. How could the people who were supposed to be my family treat me like a commodity to be traded? Did they really think my silence meant I was weak, or that I didn't know every dirty secret they were hiding in their ledgers? I didn't drink the wine. Instead, I burst into the VIP suite of Carlisle Pierce, the most cold-blooded billionaire in New York, and slammed a crumpled napkin on his table with a desperate, last-second gambit. "MARRY ME. NOW. $1 MILLION."

Romance Revenge Contract marriage Billionaire Girl Power

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In a huge, dark blue-hued bedroom of a suburban villa, a scene about an R-rated play was unfolding, creating an ambiguous atmosphere in the entire room.

Cherry Shen had just returned from a business trip. She had exited from the airport and then hailed a taxi.

While in the vehicle, Cherry Shen gazed at the scenery outside the window, and a smile appeared on her face. At this very moment, she was feeling so excited. All she wanted to do was meet the man she had loved so deeply all along.

Cherry Shen pulled out the spare key John Ye had given her and opened the villa's door.

As soon as Cherry Shen entered the house, she heard a strange voice. It sounded like a woman's voice. Pushing open the door, the sight of her sister, Jean Shen, lying naked on top of John Ye greeted her.

"What is this? I can't believe my boyfriend is having sex with my sister!"

Standing in the doorway, Cherry Shen felt angry. She screamed, "John Ye, Jean Shen!"

Cherry Shen's voice brought their intimate act to an abrupt halt.

John Ye tensed at the sight of the incomparable wrath on her beautiful face. His heartbeat too quickened. He immediately picked up his clothes, which were lying on the ground, and put them on hastily.

Jean Shen was still in bed, pulling the quilt around her body to cover it up. But in her heart, she was cursing Cherry Shen. 'This bitch is definitely my nemesis. How dare she come here and sabotage my plans!'

John Ye put on his clothes, went to Cherry Shen and, nervously, explained, "Cherry, you are misunderstanding this. It is not what..."

But before John could finish his sentence, Cherry Shen raised her hand and slapped him across his face.

"John Ye, I will not let you touch me! You can now go find another woman. I am breaking up with you!" With these words, Cherry Shen turned and left, holding back her tears. She despaired at this deep insult and hurt.

Gazing at her receding figure, John Ye's heart was filled with anguish. He had never imagined that he would fail to resist temptation, and this will result in his beloved leaving him.

It was midnight. In the bar, neon lights shone all over the hall.

Cherry Shen was sitting in a chair in front of the bar counter. She was holding the wine that her friend Emily Xia had sent to her. She gulped it down and emptied the cup.

Emily Xia felt sad, watching her friend Cherry Shen drowning herself in alcohol. But she was at a loss for words that would comfort her. During their university years, this earnest senior could get down on one knee to express his dedication to Cherry Shen. But now, he has lived in society for so long, that his core values must also have changed. As for Jean Shen, her heart had always been filled with envy, while her enmity towards Cherry Shen had never decreased.

Cherry Shen was highly intoxicated. Staring at the last drop of wine in the cup, she said to Emily Xia, "Emily, do you think there is something I owe the world? Why did it have to be Jean Shen with John Ye? Why?"

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