The Heiress's Vengeance: A Poisoned Life

My doctor gave me weeks to live. But when I went to tell my family, they didn't care about my terminal cancer.

They were too busy comforting my adopted sister, Isabell, over her latest "flare-up."

They manipulated me into signing over my multi-million dollar company and my entire fortune to her.

Then, my husband announced he was renewing his wedding vows-with Isabell-to lift her spirits.

Even my eight-year-old son begged me to support them, for his "sick" Aunt Isabell.

Stripped of everything and left to die, I was a ghost in my own life, watching them celebrate my demise.

But as I collapsed in a hospital parking lot, I made one last call to the estranged best friend who had warned me about them all.

She rescued me, flew me to the world's best oncology center, and made a single promise.

"You're not dying. And when you're better, we will burn their world to the ground."

Chapter 1

Alondra Stein POV:

The doctor's calm voice tore through me, each word a physical blow. "Weeks, Alondra. At most."

My rare cancer, aggressive and silent, had finally screamed its presence. I walked out of that sterile office a dead woman walking. The world outside looked the same, but for me, everything had shifted into a grim, unyielding twilight.

I drove to my parents' house, a place that once felt like a sanctuary. Now, it was just a gilded cage. Their sprawling estate, "The Haven," was anything but for me. The laughter spilled out onto the manicured lawn before I even parked my car. It was the kind of joyful noise that squeezed my chest, a reminder of everything I was losing. And everything I never truly had.

Inside, the living room glowed with warmth. My parents, Glenn and Donia, sat on the plush velvet sofa, their faces alight. My husband, Hugo, was there too, his arm around Isabell, my adopted sister. Isabell, with her perfectly arranged curls and a soft throw draped over her, looked fragile and beautiful. Her hand was intertwined with Jaret's, my eight-year-old son, who was showing her a drawing. They were a picture of domestic bliss, a perfect family portrait. A portrait I was not a part of.

The air shifted the moment I stepped over the threshold. The laughter died, replaced by a sudden, jarring silence. Hugo' s arm dropped from Isabell' s shoulder. Glenn narrowed his eyes, and Donia' s smile faltered, replaced by a strained line. It was as if I had walked into their perfect tableau and shattered it just by existing.

"Alondra," Donia said, her voice laced with an irritation she barely bothered to hide. "You're late. Again. Isabell's pain flared up waiting for you."

My chest tightened. Isabell always had a "flare-up" when it served her. Her fibromyalgia, while real, was a convenient shield, a weapon she wielded with expert precision.

"I had an appointment," I managed, my voice a dry rasp. The words tasted like ash. I wanted to tell them. To scream the news. But their faces, already hardening, told me it would be futile. They wouldn't care.

"An appointment? More important than your sister's comfort?" Glenn interjected, his voice stern, disapproving. "Isabell has been looking forward to this family dinner all week. She needs our support."

Isabell leaned into Hugo, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "It's alright, Mama. Alondra is busy. Her company, Innovatech, demands so much of her. I understand." Her eyes, however, met mine over Hugo's shoulder, a flash of triumph glinting in their depths. It was a victory dance, silent and cruel.

"Busy? Or just inconsiderate?" Donia muttered, fixing me with a look of disappointment. "You always put work before family, Alondra. Isabell, despite her illness, always makes time."

This was a familiar refrain. My success, the multi-million dollar company I built from nothing, was never a source of pride for them. It was a failing, a sign of my neglect, especially when compared to Isabell' s perceived frailty and endless need for care. They saw my drive as a flaw, my independence as defiance.

I wanted to scream. To tell them that the work, the company, was my sanity, my identity. It was where I found purpose when their love was so conditional. But the words caught in my throat. How could I explain a lifetime of trying to earn their affection, only to be constantly overlooked for a girl they adopted to polish their image?

I remembered countless similar scenes. My achievements met with lukewarm praise, followed by a pivot to Isabell's latest minor ailment. My struggles dismissed, while Isabell's smallest sniffle garnered a flurry of concern. I had tried to explain, to plead, to make them see me, but it was like shouting into a void. They simply didn't hear. They didn't want to.

"It's fine," I said, the words hollow, devoid of any real emotion. The fight had long left me. There was no point. Not anymore. I was too tired. Too sick.

Glenn clapped his hands, a forced cheerfulness entering his voice. "Excellent! Now that we're all here, we have something important to discuss. Something for the good of the family." His gaze flickered to Isabell, then back to me. A cold dread settled in my stomach. I knew what this was about. They always wanted something when they used that tone.

"I'll sign it over," I said, the words surprising even myself. My voice was calm, steady.

They all froze, their expressions a mix of shock and suspicion. Glenn's brow furrowed. Donia's eyes widened. Hugo stared, a flicker of something unreadable in his gaze. Isabell, for once, looked genuinely stunned, her perfect facade cracking.

"Sign what over, Alondra?" Glenn finally managed, his voice cautious.

"Innovatech. The company. And my trust fund. Whatever you want," I clarified, my gaze sweeping over their faces, seeing only greed and surprise. It wasn't about love anymore. It was about survival. About peace. And I had so little time left. What was money to a ghost? My voice remained flat, emotionless. "I'll transfer everything to Isabell. She can manage it."

A stunned silence filled the room. Then, Donia gasped. "Alondra! Are you serious?" Her voice held a note of bewildered excitement.

"Perfectly," I replied, a bitter smile touching my lips. Let them have it all. Let them gorge themselves on my empire. It no longer mattered. Nothing did. My life was draining away, and with it, any desire to fight for material possessions or the hollow affection of a family that saw me only as an asset. It was easier this way. To simply let go.

Glenn cleared his throat, his expression quickly shifting from suspicion to a paternal warmth that felt utterly false. "Alondra, that's incredibly... generous of you. Very well-adjusted, considering... everything." He shot a glance at Isabell, then back to me, a smug satisfaction now evident in his eyes. Don't worry, my girl. Your sacrifice would not be forgotten. At least, not yet.

The next few hours blurred into a surreal haze. The lawyers were called, documents were drafted, and I signed away my life's work, my entire fortune, with a detached calm. My hand moved steadily, each stroke of the pen severing another tie, another piece of my identity. They watched, a silent, expectant audience, their faces a mixture of barely concealed glee and feigned sympathy.

As the final signature was witnessed, Isabell leaned back, a triumphant, almost predatory smile playing on her lips. She thought she had won. And in their eyes, she had.

I had lost. Lost the battle for my family' s love, lost my company, lost my future. My defeat was absolute. An emptiness settled in my chest, a vast, cold expanse where hope used to reside.

"Alondra, dear, you must be exhausted," Donia said, a sudden concern lacing her voice, now that I had given them everything. "You look so pale. Have you been taking your medication?"

I just nodded, a noncommittal gesture. The medication. The experimental treatment that was supposed to give me more time. But what was time when all I had was betrayal?

"Go home, get some rest," Hugo said, a fleeting expression of concern crossing his face. "We'll call you tomorrow."

I just wanted to be alone. I wanted to disappear. Not a single one of them had truly looked at me. Not one of them had seen the impending doom in my eyes.

I drove home, the familiar streets foreign and blurry through my tears. The house, my house, felt like a tomb. I opened the door, and the warm scent of baked lasagna hit me, a cruel joke.

Jaret was at the dining table, his small face lit up as he chatted animatedly with Hugo. Hugo was laughing, a genuine, hearty sound I hadn't heard directed at me in weeks. He was helping Jaret with a complex origami figure, a majestic dragon taking shape in their skilled hands. Jaret had always been clumsy with his hands. I never knew he had this talent. I never had the time to notice.

Their heads snapped up as I entered. The laughter died, just as it had at my parents' house. Hugo's smile evaporated. Jaret's face, usually so open and loving towards me, now held a guarded expression, a subtle wariness.

"Mom," Jaret said, his voice quiet.

"Alondra," Hugo added, his tone flat. "You're back."

My heart ached. They didn't miss me. The thought echoed in the cavern of my chest. I had been gone for hours, signing away everything I had ever built, and they hadn't even noticed my absence until I appeared. My own son, my blood, seemed to prefer the company of his father and...

I looked at the half-finished origami dragon. It was intricate, beautiful. Hugo, the marketing director of my company, the man who handled my brand, was suddenly a master craftsman. A talent he had never displayed to me, never shared with me. How many other secrets did he keep? How many other parts of his life was I excluded from? I had spent years building Innovatech, nurturing it, pouring my soul into it, convinced it was for our future, our family. But it had only distanced me, making me a workhorse, a provider, never truly present in the ways they wanted, or rather, the ways Isabell convinced them they wanted.

I just shook my head, walked past them, and started packing a small bag. A few clothes, my passport. Nothing else mattered.

"Alondra, what are you doing?" Hugo asked, his voice laced with confusion. He stood up, Jaret looking at him with wide, innocent eyes.

My hands trembled as I folded a sweater. "Leaving."

"Leaving? Where are you going?" he demanded, a hint of anger now. This was always his reaction when I deviated from the script he or my parents had written for me.

I looked at him, truly looked, and saw a stranger. His charm was a veneer, his loyalty a myth. "Away."

"Don' t be ridiculous," Hugo scoffed, stepping closer. "Don't you remember? We have the vow renewal ceremony tomorrow. For Isabell. To lift her spirits during her illness." The words hung in the air, thick with the stench of betrayal.

My breath hitched. The vow renewal. With Isabell. He was really doing it. My husband was going to publicly renew his vows with my adopted sister, the woman who had systematically stolen my life, while I was dying. And he expected me to just... accept it.

"For Isabell," I repeated, the words a whisper, tasting like blood. My hands instinctively clutched my chest. The pain. It wasn't just my cancer. It was a thousand tiny knives, twisting in my heart.

Hugo took a step back, his eyes narrowing. "It's not what you think, Alondra. It's just a gesture. For the family. To show support for Isabell. You know how sensitive she is." He glanced at Jaret, who was now staring at me, his small face etched with confusion and a hint of accusation. "Jaret, tell your mother it's for Aunt Isabell. She needs us."

Jaret looked at me, then at his father. "Mommy, Aunt Isabell gets sick a lot. Daddy said this will make her feel better." His voice was soft, conditioned. He was just a child. But he was asking me to validate their betrayal.

I felt a cold, crushing weight descend upon me. The betrayal was complete. My entire family. My parents, my husband, even my son, had been turned against me. They had chosen Isabell, her feigned illness, her manipulative charm, over me, their dying biological daughter, their wife, their mother.

I looked at Hugo, then at Jaret. My son, my beautiful, innocent son. He was a pawn in Isabell's game, a small soldier fighting against his own mother without even knowing why. And Hugo, my husband, the man who had promised to stand by me, was leading the charge.

A wave of nausea washed over me. My vision swam. I clutched the edge of the dresser, struggling to breathe. The experimental treatment, the one that was supposed to extend my life, felt like a cruel joke now. What was there to live for? I had nothing left. No one.

My strength drained out of me, replaced by an overwhelming, suffocating despair. The fight was over. I had lost everything. My company, my fortune, my family, my dignity. And soon, my life.

"I'm tired," I whispered, the words barely audible. "So very tired."

Hugo stepped closer, his face softening with a touch of pity, as if I were a stray dog. "Just rest, Alondra. We'll talk in the morning. Perhaps you can even join us for the ceremony."

Join them? To witness my own public execution? My own symbolic death? The thought was so absurd, so utterly grotesque, that a dark, hysteric laugh bubbled in my throat. I swallowed it back, forcing a mask of calm onto my face.

"Yes," I said, my voice eerily steady. "I'll be there."