Chapter 1

When I was sixteen, my parents drugged me and offered me to an Ivy League board trustee.

All to pave the way for my brother’s admission into an elite university.

I fought with everything I had to escape and was miraculously rescued by the city’s most powerful billionaire.

For seven years, I poured blood, sweat, and razor-sharp intellect into earning my place as his sole heiress.

At twenty-three, I took over the investment division of his corporate empire.

Holding billions at my fingertips, I sat at the head of the boardroom table.

Sitting across from me was my biological brother.

Tall, handsome, tailored in an expensive suit, practically radiating smug confidence.

"As long as Ms. Sterling injects capital into the Vance Group, I promise you won't be disappointed!"

My face remained completely impassive as I tossed his proposal straight into the trash can.

"I wouldn't give a single cent to a piece of trash like you."

Julian Vance's smile froze instantly.

Beside me, my assistant, Maya, paled. She leaned in and whispered anxiously in my ear.

"Ms. Sterling, while Vance Group is facing a tight cash flow, their tech patents have real potential.”

“Besides, Julian Vance graduated from an elite Ivy League school with a stellar resume and an impressive industry reputation..."

"An elite Ivy League school?"

I let out a soft, mocking laugh.

A sharp, throbbing ache flared in my right wrist.

It was an old wound from seven years ago.

Seven years ago, my biological father had done the unthinkable: he offered to take me out to dinner.

In all sixteen years of my life, that was the very first time he had ever bought me a meal.

I was thrilled. I put on my best dress.

He led me into a luxury hotel and handed me a glass of water.

Without a shred of suspicion, I drank it. My head began to spin, the world blurred, and darkness swallowed me whole.

When I woke up, I was lying on the king-sized bed of a luxury hotel suite.

When the fat trustee pounced on me with a lecherous grin, the sheer terror forced me halfway awake.

I screamed with all my might: "Dad! Help me! Dad!"

The man just sneered. "Your own father handed you over to me. You really think he’s coming to save you?"

"Spend the night with me, and your brother gets his golden ticket to Harvard!"

In that horrifying moment, I finally understood why my cold, neglectful father had suddenly acted so kind.

Betrayed by my own flesh and blood, my heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

But I was only sixteen. I refused to let this be my end!

Agony and raw terror unlocked an explosive surge of strength inside me.

I bit hard into his shoulder until blood filled my mouth, grabbed a heavy crystal ashtray from the nightstand, smashed it across his skull, and bolted out the door barefoot.

He chased after me down the hallway.

When I reached the fire escape, he grabbed my hair and dragged me down.

Grinning savagely, he kicked me down the concrete steps and brought his heavy boot down hard on my right wrist.

The bones shattered on impact.

The excruciating pain nearly knocked me out, but I didn't shed a single tear, nor did I beg.

The second his grip slipped, I threw myself down the flight of stairs, stumbled out the back exit with my last breath of strength, and collapsed into the freezing rain.

When I woke up, I was in a private hospital room.

The man who saved my life was Arthur Sterling, the billionaire chairman of Sterling Capital.

He had been at that same hotel closing a multi-million-dollar deal and heard the commotion.

Later, he officially adopted me.

He told me that when he looked into my eyes at the hospital, beneath the fear and agony, he saw the ruthless, unyielding gaze of a wolf.

He said I reminded him of his younger self.

Arthur had four biological children, every single one of them a spoiled, useless trust-fund brat.

He had spent years searching for a true successor.

I seized that lifeline with both hands.

For seven years, I studied day and night, mastering everything from foundational economics to complex financial hedge models.

I graduated at the top of my class, earned every elite financial certification, and resolved massive corporate crises for Arthur.

He was immensely proud of me.

More than once, he offered to fly in the world’s top orthopedic surgeons to reconstruct my shattered wrist.

Every time, I refused.

"Leave it," I told him. "The pain keeps me sharp. It reminds me never to stop."

This year, I graduated.

Arthur asked me what I wanted to run.

"Investments," I answered.

He immediately handed me the reins of the group’s flagship private equity firm.

I knew the Vance Group was bleeding money. I knew Julian desperately needed this cash injection to cover the massive debts from his gambling and reckless spending.

This meeting was just the first move in my revenge.

Now.

I leaned back against my leather chair, my cold gaze sweeping over Julian's familiar face.

"Maya, you're still young. It's easy to get blinded by a flashy resume. Some people can be handed an Ivy League degree on a silver platter, and they still won't know how to be a decent human being."

Julian slammed his hands onto the table, his face twisted in fury.

"Ms. Sterling! What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you have any idea what rejecting Vance Group means?"

"Do you have any idea who stands behind me?!"