Chapter 1 No.1

My husband witnessed the shattering of our future on the cold hospital floor and called it a "necessity."

He tossed a check at my feet, a paltry sum meant to erase me so he could welcome another woman into his life.

He thought I was a nobody, a stepping stone he could cast aside without a second thought.

I was adrift in a sea of personal disaster, my world collapsing around me, while his mistress, Clarabelle, watched with a triumphant smile. They had created an atmosphere of chilling isolation, turning what should have been a sanctuary into a stage for my despair.

Kenton glanced at the devastating silence that filled the room and his expression hardened.

"That chapter is closed, Kaylene. Now I can finally focus on my future with someone who matters."

He believed the lie I had maintained for eight years-that I was an orphan with nothing.

He had no idea that the "startup capital" he used to build his empire came from my trust fund.

Or that the VIP investor he was desperate to impress was actually my father.

Just as they turned to leave, the delivery room doors crashed open.

My father, billionaire Harold Mcneil, stepped in, his eyes burning with a terrifying fury as he saw his daughter broken and lost.

Clarabelle's face went pale as she realized who he was.

I wiped my tears and stood up.

The grieving mother vanished in that moment.

Now, only the heiress remains, and I will turn their world to ash.

Chapter 1

Kaylene Boyd POV:

The first thing I heard was a scream, not mine, but so sharp it sliced through the haze of my contractions. My body was already failing me. I was alone, confined to a sterile bed, the hope for my unborn son a frantic drumbeat beneath my ribs.

"Stop!" a woman's voice commanded, laced with an ugly triumph. "She's not getting any special treatment. The standard procedures will be... complicated."

Panic, cold and sharp, pierced through the pain. My breath hitched. My baby, my precious baby. What was happening?

I tried to push myself up, a guttural groan escaping my lips. My hands instinctively went to my swollen belly, a shield for the tiny life within. Every muscle in my core screamed in protest, but a primal urge, fierce and undeniable, surged through me. I had to protect him.

"What do you want?" I gasped, my voice thin and reedy, lost in the sudden chaos of the delivery room. The medical staff, moments ago bustling with calm efficiency, now stood frozen, their faces etched with fear. They glanced nervously at a figure framed in the doorway.

A woman stepped forward, her silhouette imposing. Even in my pain-addled state, I registered her perfectly styled hair and expensive suit. She was a predator in Prada. Two burly men, dressed all in black, flanked her, their presence a silent threat.

"What I want?" she sneered, her voice dripping with venom as she approached my bed. Her gaze, sharp and disdainful, raked over my body. "I want you to know your place. And for the world to see it."

Before I could process her words, a wave of profound emotional distress washed over me, triggered by her menacing proximity. My back arched, a cry of pure terror tearing from my throat.

One of the men in black loomed over me, his presence a suffocating weight, making me feel small and helpless. The sterile white sheets crumpled beneath me as a wave of weakness washed over me. My legs, heavy from labor, felt unresponsive.

The world seemed to tilt, a dizzying fall into a new dimension of despair. My head swam, and for a terrifying second, my thoughts scattered. A high-pitched ringing filled my ears, a sound born from sheer panic, drowning out the muffled sounds around me.

When my vision flickered back, the room spun. My body was a raw, throbbing mess. The contractions, already relentless, intensified, twisting my insides into a knot of fire. This wasn't normal. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"Please," I choked out, tears streaming down my face. "My baby... I need a doctor. Please, help me!" My voice was barely a whisper, swallowed by the sudden, suffocating silence of the room.

The woman in the suit knelt beside me, her designer clothes pristine against the stark, cold floor. Her eyes, cold and calculating, met mine. She leaned in close, her voice a venomous whisper that felt like a physical blow, yanking my hope away. The pain was excruciating.

"Help you?" she scoffed, her laugh brittle and humorless. "You think you deserve help? You think someone with your background can just waltz in here and claim the Mcneil name?"

My mind reeled. Mcneil? What was she talking about? My identity, my past, was supposed to be a secret. A carefully constructed lie for eight long years.

I stared at her, really looked at her. Her features, sharp and aristocratic, held a strange familiarity. A sense of unease, a cold dread, snaked through me. Was this a sick joke? Was she... one of them?

I remembered a traumatic event from my past, a cold, dark room, the endless days of terror. My parents, the powerful Mcneils, had moved heaven and earth to get me back. Afterwards, they'd buried my existence, created a new life for me, Kaylene Boyd, a quiet girl from a modest background. All for my safety, for a chance at a normal life. They controlled every public narrative, every photograph. Only a select few knew the truth, and they guarded it fiercely. They even went as far as allowing others to claim my identity, to redirect attention, to protect me. But this? This was beyond audacious.

A flicker of raw fury ignited in my gut, momentarily eclipsing the pain. "You have no idea who I am," I spat, my voice hoarse, but laced with a newfound steel.

"Oh, but I do." Her words twisted like a knife. "You're nothing. A placeholder. A convenient lie." Her voice grew tighter, her knuckles white as she clenched her fists.

With a surge of desperate strength fueled by pure rage, I lashed out, my voice rising in a defiant scream. She shrieked, recoiling from the sound.

One of her bodyguards immediately stepped forward, his shadow falling over me. His imposing presence was a silent, crushing force, and the world tilted again.

"You think you're the real thing?" she snarled, ignoring the ringing in her ears from my scream. She pulled a phone from her pocket, its screen glowing with an image. Kenton, my Kenton, stood beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist, a wide, confident smile on his face. They looked... happy. Too happy. The photo was recent. Too recent.

My heart plummeted, landing with a wet thud in the pit of my stomach. The image burned into my retina, colder than any ice.

"He chose me," she purred, her voice a cruel caress. "He always chooses status, Kaylene. And look at you. A nobody. In such a pathetic state."

A wave of nausea washed over me, not from the pain, but from the sickening realization. Kenton. He wouldn't... Not Kenton. My mind, even in its shattered state, tried to rationalize. It had to be doctored. A trick.

"Let me talk to him!" I screamed, the words tearing my throat. "Kent, tell me this isn't true!"

She laughed, a chilling, mirthless sound. "Oh, he's busy. Busy securing his future. A future without you. And soon, without this... inconvenience." She gestured dismissively at my belly, her eyes glinting with malicious glee. "Now, let's make this official, shall we?"

She straightened up, her eyes sweeping over the silent, terrified medical staff. "Start the broadcast," she commanded, her voice ringing with authority. "The world needs to see what happens when you cross Clarabelle Huff." Her gaze returned to me, a predatory gleam in her eyes. "Let's begin the show."