Chapter 1

On the day of our engagement party, my stepsister, Chloe, drugged me and locked me in the lounge.

By the time I woke up, she had already taken my place and secured an alliance with Ethan Vance, the golden boy of the elite high-society circle.

When I burst into the ballroom, Ethan was sliding a diamond ring onto Chloe’s finger.

Seeing me, he froze for a second.

"Stella, what do you want? Name it, and it’s yours."

Back then, I forced Chloe to sign an agreement renouncing all her shares in the Moore family estate, threw a check at her, and told her to get out of the city.

Over the next few years, I cleared every obstacle in Ethan’s path, crushing his business rivals one by one.

Yet on the night of the gala celebrating his official takeover as Chairman of the Vance Corporation, he abandoned the party and raced to a private sanatorium on the outskirts of town.

When he learned she had died of an illness, his eyes turned bloodshot, and his hands locked tightly around my throat.

"It’s all your fault! If you hadn't forced her out, she wouldn't have died alone in that place!"

"You kept Chloe and me apart for years! You're going to pay for her life with yours!"

Ethan pushed me off the high-rise balcony with his own hands, sending me crashing down into a bloody, shattered mess.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the engagement party.

"Chloe! Who gave you the audacity?!"

The heavy lounge doors were kicked open. Through the giant monitors broadcasting the party's live feed, every single guest in the banquet hall watched Chloe lying in Ethan's arms, her clothes completely disheveled.

"Mr. Vance!"

Chloe tumbled out of Ethan's embrace onto the floor.

She stared in sheer disbelief at me, standing calm and composed right behind Ethan's grandfather, Old Mr. Vance.

Vicious hatred flared in her eyes instantly.

"You... how could you..."

In my past life, I cared too much about family reputation, so I only brought a few personal bodyguards to deal with it quietly.

Chloe had banked on that. As the eldest daughter of the Moore family, I had promised my late mother on her deathbed that I would take good care of my stepsister.

She was certain I would never dare cause a public scene.

What she never expected was that I would take this straight to the patriarch himself—the most powerful man in the Vance family.

"Smack!"

A vicious slap landed squarely across her face. Old Mr. Vance was shaking with such fury that his walking cane trembled against the carpet.

"A cheap, illegitimate child dares to pull a sordid scheme on my grandson at an engagement party?!"

"I arranged this marriage personally! Do you think my word means nothing, or do you simply have no respect for the Vance family?!"

Terrified out of her wits, Chloe couldn't utter a single syllable.

Suddenly, a hand pulled her behind him, shielding her completely.

Ethan dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. His gaze was sharp, clear, and devoid of the panicked confusion he had shown in our past life when his scheme was exposed.

"Grandfather, I forced myself on her! It had nothing to do with Chloe!"

"You—!"

Old Mr. Vance froze.

Even I was caught off guard.

Looking at the calm, calculated look in Ethan's eyes—a depth that didn't belong to his current age—the truth hit me.

He was reborn, too.

Right now, his eyes held only the fierce determination to protect the woman he loved, paired with a burning hatred toward me, the intruder.

Old Mr. Vance gritted his teeth.

"Move!"

One of the family bodyguards stepped forward, but Ethan snatched a fruit knife from the table and held the blade against his own throat.

"Grandfather, my mind is made up. If you touch Chloe, you'll be burying me right alongside her."

"You insolent brat!"

Old Mr. Vance's hands shook uncontrollably.

"Mr. Vance!"

I fell to my knees beside Ethan with a loud thud.

"Let Ethan marry Chloe!"

Old Mr. Vance snapped his head toward me in shock.

Ethan also frowned, his eyes filled with suspicion and confusion.

I lowered my head, my voice soft yet steady.

"Things have already reached this point. If I drag this out, the morning headlines will scream that the heir to the Vance Corporation was trapped by an illegitimate daughter."

"Tonight's announcement only stated an alliance between our two families. No one outside knows whether the Moore signature belongs to me or Chloe."

"She is still a Moore. If Ethan marries her, the Vance Corporation still gets our family's backing."

"And I, Stella Moore, will still work faithfully for you, Mr. Vance!"

A flicker of mocking disdain flashed across Ethan's eyes.

In his entire life, he had played countless people.

Only I had loved him with a devotion that bordered on madness.

Old Mr. Vance's eyes welled with moisture.

"Doing this... it's far too unfair to you. Your grandfather and I went through hell and back together. When my time comes, how could I face him in the afterlife?"

"My grandfather's spirit would understand that protecting the family's honor comes first."

Seeing my composed, compliant smile, Old Mr. Vance nearly broke down in tears.

Facing the bigger picture, this was undeniably the cleanest way out.

To compensate me, Old Mr. Vance transferred a block of founding shares in the Vance Corporation to my name, along with dozens of high-end luxury assets.

A triumphant smile finally crept back onto Ethan's face.

For the first time, he took the initiative to come find me.

"Thank you for stepping aside. Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging."

"Chloe and I just got engaged, so handing you an executive vice-president role right now wouldn't look right."

"Give it two months. Once the dust settles, I'll make you my special assistant. You can manage my daily affairs and schedule."

I pulled my hand out of his grip.

"No need."

"You're not going to help me?"

I nodded.

He chuckled aloud.

"Without your help, who else in the Vance Corporation do you think could possibly take that throne?"

I looked up into his eyes.

Sure enough, he knew full well that we were both reborn.

Yet even with a second chance at life, standing beside the chairman's desk in his grand blueprint was still Chloe.

"You don't need to worry about me, Mr. Vance."

I turned to leave.

His lazy voice drifted from behind me:

"You have two months to think it over."

I didn't need to think about anything.

I already had a new candidate.

So what if Ethan was the unstoppable titan of high finance in our past life?

In this life, whoever I chose to back would be the one to rule the corporate world.

Vance Corporation, R&D Division.

It was past eleven at night, and the man inside was still working overtime.

The department supervisor offered an apologetic smile.

"Ms. Moore, Director Vance is a total workaholic. Would you like to reschedule for another day?"

I shook my head.

If my grandfather were still alive and heard that I was planning to ally with Julian Vance, he would probably rise right out of his wheelchair in fury.

Everyone knew that among the grandsons of the Vance family, Julian was the least likely contender.

Aside from burying his head in technical development, he wouldn't even offer a single flattering word to please his grandfather.

Yet in my past life, the rival I feared the most had been Julian Vance.

I knew he possessed every ounce of potential needed to tear Ethan's empire down.

Fortunately for me back then, Ethan had framed him and forced him into exile overseas, so he never became my ultimate headache.

My fingers brushed against the worn, scratched lighter in my pocket, and I let out a soft sigh.

To be honest, if Ethan hadn't played the "hero saving the damsel in distress" back when we were teens, I would have bet everything on Julian from the start of the Vance succession battle.

As midnight drew near, steady footsteps finally echoed down the quiet hallway.

Learning why I was there, Julian raised an eyebrow.

"Ms. Moore wants to partner with me?"

I nodded.

"And help me take over the Vance Corporation?"

I nodded again.

He took off his suit jacket and slung it casually over the back of his chair.

"I share the Vance surname, but at the end of the day, I'm just an antisocial technical director. I'm hardly leadership material."

"Ms. Moore is known as a ruthless strategist in the venture capital scene. Since when did your standards drop so low?"

"You're 'not leadership material' only because you choose not to be, and because no one has backed you with full force. If I'm willing to go all-in... do you really want to watch the cousin who drove your mother into exile run the entire Vance empire?"

Julian's hand paused as he poured water into a glass.

He looked up, an intense, razor-sharp presence instantly bearing down on me.

"Speaking ill of the heir apparent—aren't you afraid I'm recording this conversation?"

I lifted my chin slightly.

"In high-stakes corporate warfare, who isn't putting their life on the line?"

A moment later, the glass met the wooden desk with a crisp click. I held his gaze without flinching.

"Director Vance, do you have the guts to take the bet?"

He leaned in close, his tall frame casting a shadow over me as his cool scent enveloped my senses.

"If you're not afraid of losing every last penny you own, be my guest."

"You said it yourself!"

I slapped a performance-based partnership agreement onto his desk. His breath hitched slightly.