Guo Er

To save my father and our family's gallery, I was forced to marry the ruthless Caleb Wiley. He treated me like a commodity, his heart belonging only to another woman, Eva. When my father needed a life-saving surgery, Caleb made me a cruel offer. To get the money, I had to drink a fatal allergen during a high-stakes poker game. I drank it and nearly died. I woke up in the hospital to learn the money was never sent. My father was dead. Caleb had abandoned me to chase after Eva, later trading me to a lecherous judge like a piece of property. My life, my father's life-it was all worth less than his obsession. But then I found the proof. His mother had orchestrated everything-my family's ruin, my father's murder. My grief turned to ice. From the shadows, I began to broadcast every one of the Wiley family's crimes to the world.

I gave up my twenty-billion-dollar inheritance and cut ties with my family, all for my boyfriend of five years, Liam. But just as I was about to tell him I was pregnant with our child, he dropped a bombshell. He needed me to take the fall for his childhood sweetheart, Sophia. She'd been in a hit-and-run, and her acting career couldn't handle the scandal right before his company's IPO. When I refused and told him about our baby, his face went cold. He told me to terminate the pregnancy immediately. He didn't know the scars on my own back were from that same fire. He didn't know I was the one who pulled him out, not her. He had his assistant schedule the appointment and sent me to the clinic alone. There, the nurse told me the procedure carried a high risk of permanent infertility. He knew. And he still sent me. I walked out of that clinic, choosing to keep my child. At that exact moment, a news alert lit up my phone. It was a glowing article announcing that Liam and Sophia were expecting their first child, complete with a photo of his hand resting protectively on her stomach. My world shattered. Wiping away a tear, I found the number I hadn't called in five years. "Dad," I whispered, my voice breaking. "I was wrong. I'm ready to come home."

I walked out of the federal penitentiary with a terminal cancer diagnosis and exactly six months to live. Desperate for money to pay for a sky burial, I returned to the Vitiello family, the people who now wanted me dead. Dante, the man I had loved since childhood, looked at me with pure hatred. He thought I was the monster who killed his mother. He didn't know I had confessed to a crime I didn't commit to hide the ugly truth—that she had taken her own life. To punish me, Dante became cruel. He forced me to work as a servant, making me stand guard outside his bedroom door while he was intimate with his fiancée, Sofia. When the estate caught fire, I didn't hesitate. I ran into the inferno. I dragged Dante to safety, my back burning as debris fell on me, scarring me forever. But when he woke up, I hid in the shadows and let Sofia take the credit. I couldn't let him feel indebted to a "murderer." I thought that was the worst of it. I was wrong. On the eve of his wedding, Sofia had an accident and needed a blood transfusion. I was the only match. Dante didn't know my body was already shutting down. He didn't know my blood was poisoned with cancer markers. "Take it all," he roared at the doctors, ignoring my frail, trembling body. "Just save my wife." I died on that table, drained dry to save the woman who stole my life. It wasn't until the monitor flatlined that his right-hand man finally threw a file onto Dante's lap. "She didn't kill your mother, Dante. And she didn't just leave town. You just executed the only person who ever truly loved you."

I was Haylee Velasquez, a real estate heiress and Juilliard pianist, engaged to tech genius Joshua Cunningham. My life was a fairytale written in gold. Days before our wedding, I was kidnapped. The ransom was fifty million dollars. My fiancé refused to pay. Instead, he and my best friend, Giselle, used that exact amount to close a business deal, leaving me to be tortured for fifteen days. I lost our unborn child and the use of my hands forever. When I finally escaped and ran to him, bleeding and terrified, he accused me of being dramatic. "What in God's name are you doing?" he hissed. "Are you trying to ruin everything?" He had me committed to a mental institution for three years, stealing my inheritance and my sanity. Now, I'm out. A viral article celebrating their success just popped up on my phone, with a cruel comment from Giselle meant only for me. They think I'm still the broken girl they locked away. They're about to find out how wrong they are.

The two pink lines on the pregnancy test glowed back at me, a beacon of hope after two years of trying. My first thought was David, my husband, away at a tech conference. This was everything we wanted for our future. But when I video-called him, eager to share the joyous news, it wasn't his face that filled the screen. I heard his voice, cold and dismissive, telling someone, "I' ll tell her I want a divorce tomorrow." Then came the husky, triumphant voice of Emily White, his head of marketing: "You promise, David? You' ll leave her for me?" My phone slipped from my trembling hand as he promised Emily, "Tomorrow, it' ll be over. Then it' s just you and me. And our baby." The words "Divorce" and "Our baby" echoed in the silent bathroom, each a cruel twist of the knife. I stood there, stunned, the positive pregnancy test in my hand a mockery of my shattered reality. Returning home, I found David and Emily in our bed, in our perfect suburban home. Not only was he unapologetic, but he also physically shoved me, then stood there, naked and defiant, declaring our marriage over. When I, shaking, revealed my pregnancy, he snatched the test, snarled, "It doesn' t matter. I don' t want it. I don' t want you," and snapped the test in two, throwing the broken pieces at my feet. How could the man who promised me the world, the man I poured my life into, become this cruel stranger? How could he deny his own child, especially after knowing my struggles to conceive? The betrayal was compounded when I discovered, through a chilling message, that he had been with Emily, celebrating their "first big deal," on the day of my father' s funeral. The man I loved had desecrated my deepest grief. Now, a cold, hard resolve clicked into place. He would pay for every lie, every betrayal, every tear.

The world was broken, but Ava and Chloe had carved out a sanctuary, a humming city built on their code and trust. Then Jake and Noah arrived, charming visionaries promising to restore everything, and swept them into a future where love and sacrifice felt like the ultimate currency. Ava gave her heart, her expertise, and even her unborn child to Jake' s grand project, believing in a quiet life for them both after the chaos. But the day she nearly died saving Jake, and Chloe was brutally violated on Noah' s mission, Ava began to sense a discordant note in their heroic narrative. "We can restore everything," Jake had said, "Not just this city. The whole system." The truth, whispered in a dark hallway, ripped Ava's reality to shreds. "It's all for Olivia." Her love, her lost child, Chloe' s suffering-all meticulously planned sacrifices for Olivia Reed, a socialite they were installing on a new throne. The betrayal was an icy hand around her heart. The rage that replaced her grief was too raw, too dangerous to show. She had been a loyal soldier, Chloe a lab rat, and their every pain a strategic chess move. Now, with her children gone and Chloe dying in her arms, sacrificed again, one last time, to protect her, Ava heard the final, chilling whisper from Chloe's lips: "Go... home... Ava." There was no home left for Ava in this fake world. Not unless she burned it all down. And the monster who orchestrated it all was about to see just how alone he really was.

It was our ten-year anniversary, a celebration of the life Chloe and I had built, a life where her gallery thrived on the back of my secret, unique artistic ability. But then, I saw the name "Mark" flash across her phone, a ghost from her past that she claimed was long gone, and a cold dread settled in my stomach. Minutes later, Mark-pale, sickly, and utterly unwelcome-was being paraded into our party by Chloe, who then, to my horror, demanded I use my life-draining power to create a spectacular light show for his band's performance. I watched, hidden backstage, as my essence poured out, illuminating the man she adored, while she waved away my pleas to stop, her eyes fixed on him, a tenderness for him that she hadn't shown me in years. Left crumpled on the floor, my power spent, Chloe abandoned me for him, and I knew with a chilling certainty that the decade we' d shared was a lie, and there was nothing left but to walk away. But even fleeing her apartment, stripped of everything, wasn't enough to escape her cruel control. Mark, her "soulmate," staged elaborate deceptions, framing me for poisoning him, turning Chloe' s coldness into outright malice, and leading her to expose my deepest secret and imprison me for torturous "studies." Beaten, stripped, and emotionally ravaged, my only hope lay in a small, symbolic hearthstone from my true home back north, a stone Chloe had once dismissed as junk. When I crept back to reclaim it, only to be trapped and mercilessly tormented with ice-cold and scalding water, then forced to watch as she deliberately burned my painting and cast the stone, my last link to sanity, out the window, I understood: she owned me, and she was determined to break me completely. On her wedding day, Chloe still insisted I illuminate her triumph, only to find my hidden cell empty, and as she spiraled into a furious hunt for me, the truth about Mark' s cruel manipulations finally unraveled before her. Two years later, I found my new life, a new love, and a quiet strength she could never touch, and when she finally tracked me down, hoping for forgiveness, my calm, indifferent gaze was her final, crushing punishment: I was free, and she was utterly, unforgivably alone.

The final line of code compiled, my latest multi-billion dollar tech merger project complete. I, Chloe, had delivered. Then my phone buzzed with an urgent neighborhood alert from back home. "Chloe, your mother, is she okay?" Mrs. Gable asked, attaching a shaky video. It showed my elegant mother, a renowned art restorer, rummaging through garbage bins, disheveled and thin. This couldn't be true. I' d set up a trust, paid for everything-even a luxurious round-the-world cruise she was supposedly on. But the next image shattered me: my mother' s custom-made emerald gown and heirloom sapphire necklace on Brenda, our housekeeper, at a "charity gala." The sheer audacity ripped through me. They were symbols of my love, meant only for Mom. My stepfather, Mark, dismissed the video as Mom' s "new hobby" and claimed she' d lent Brenda the treasures. His lies were thin, but when I heard Brenda and Mark plotting to permanently confuse Mom with a "new mixture" in her tea and have her committed to steal everything, my blood ran cold. They had built a house of lies on my mother' s broken mind, and I was 10,000 miles away, powerless. Not anymore. I cancelled everything. I was flying home. They had no idea who they were dealing with.

For three years, I was Annabel Jenkins, the glamorous "personal assistant" to New York's powerful Wall Street Prince, Ethan Lester, living a life most only dreamed of. Then, at a Hamptons charity gala, I saw her: Sabrina Fuller, flashing a massive diamond and bragging about being "the future Mrs. Lester." My world shattered. I unleashed years of pent-up fury, scratching Sabrina' s face and shoving Ethan into the pool, finally fleeing a life I believed was based on a cruel lie. Back home in Ohio, branded a "psychopath" online by Sabrina' s viral victim video, my reputation was destroyed, my food blog ruined, and even my team betrayed me. I thought I' d lost everything, but then came the ultimate blow: a positive pregnancy test. And right after that, a $10 million wire transfer from Ethan, silencing me, confirming his cruel dismissal. So when a black Escalade pulled up to my humble family home, and Ethan Lester himself walked in, I was ready to defend my unborn child from the man who had discarded us.

The poison tasted like bitter almonds and the bitter truth of thirty years. I was Ash Vanderbilt, heir to a fortune, and I lay dying. My husband, Ethan Miller, stood over me, a mask of indifference I'd known for three decades. Thirty years shackled to a man I' d loved with fierce passion, then forced into a marriage he never wanted. Our life together was a wasteland of resentment, his heart always belonging to Brittany Larson. Now, he was finally free. With my last ounce of strength, I lunged, plunging a letter opener into his chest. His gasp was raw, his eyes wide, not with anger, but profound, heartbreaking sorrow. "Ash, no," he choked out, pressing a vial to my lips. "It wasn't me. I was trying to help you. Antidote… someone else…" He slumped beside me, the vial rolling away, his last words echoing as the world went dark. Misunderstanding. A monstrous, colossal misunderstanding. I had just killed the man who had been trying to save me all along. Then, I awoke with a gasp, the scent of salt air filling my lungs. My head throbbed, and the sunlight streamed through the familiar Hamptons beach house window. It was the morning after I had cornered Ethan, leveraging every Vanderbilt debt, forcing him to propose. Thirty years before I died. Rebirth. It was real. I was back. The crushing weight of that final, horrifying revelation pressed down on me. This time, I would break the cycle of misery. I would free him from a marriage he never wanted. And this time, I would choose myself.

Evie Winthrop, a Silicon Valley tech mogul, flew back to Boston after five years. Her return was meant to be purely for untangling a family trust. A quiet, familiar task in the city where her Winthrop lineage ran deep. But a forced social event at the exclusive Atherton Club shattered that peace. There, I watched my younger sister, Chloe, being publicly humiliated. Her fiancé, Bryce, and her stepsister Liv, were auctioning off her private images. They demanded money, turning intimate moments into a grotesque spectacle. Chloe stood ghostly, clutching a precious family heirloom, forced to pay. They mocked her desperate offerings, demanding she get on her knees. My assistant's whispered intel confirmed my worst fears. My mother, Margaret, illegally confined in a dubious "recovery center." Chloe's funds cut off, struggling, reduced to working odd jobs. Our family's legacy, systematically plundered by my stepfather, Arthur Sterling. A cold fury crystallized in my chest. How could my family, the Winthrops, be brought to this? Why was my mother imprisoned, her wealth stolen? My sister, a ghost of her former self, about to be forced into utter degradation. The arrogance of these vultures, picking apart our name. I watched, my blood boiling, as Chloe’s knees began to buckle. Then, a voice cut through the silence. “That won’t be necessary.” My assistant stepped in, placing a sleek black card in Chloe’s trembling hand. An Amex Centurion. No pre-set spending limit. I emerged from the shadows, every eye on me. “You wanted to auction my sister’s life?” I stated, my voice like ice. “I’m about to buy yours. And the price will be everything you have.” This was no longer about a trust; it was about reclaiming everything. And ensuring everyone remembered exactly who the Winthrops were.

Their story began with a mistake. Just when Christine thought she could finally stand on her own two feet to take control of her miserable life, her father forced her to marry Darren so he could keep everything Christine's late mother owned. Without a wedding nor any announcement, Christine quietly married the CEO of the number one company in the world. Even though Christine thought there wasn't any sort of affection in their marriage, Darren became addicted to her the very first night he tasted her.

Elliana, the unfavored "ugly duckling" of her family, was humiliated by her stepsister, Paige, who everyone admired. Paige, engaged to the CEO Cole, was the perfect woman-until Cole married Elliana on the day of the wedding. Shocked, everyone wondered why he chose the "ugly" woman. As they waited for her to be cast aside, Elliana stunned everyone by revealing her true identity: a miracle healer, financial mogul, appraisal prodigy, and AI genius. When her mistreatment became known, Cole revealed Elliana's stunning, makeup-free photo, sending shockwaves through the media. "My wife doesn't need anyone's approval."

"Stella once savored Marc's devotion, yet his covert cruelty cut deep. She torched their wedding portrait at his feet while he sent flirty messages to his mistress. With her chest tight and eyes blazing, Stella delivered a sharp slap. Then she deleted her identity, signed onto a classified research mission, vanished without a trace, and left him a hidden bombshell. On launch day she vanished; that same dawn Marc's empire crumbled. All he unearthed was her death certificate, and he shattered. When they met again, a gala spotlighted Stella beside a tycoon. Marc begged. With a smirk, she said, ""Out of your league, darling."

For three quiet, patient years, Christina kept house, only to be coldly discarded by the man she once trusted. Instead, he paraded a new lover, making her the punchline of every town joke. Liberated, she honed her long-ignored gifts, astonishing the town with triumph after gleaming triumph. Upon discovering she'd been a treasure all along, her ex-husband's regret drove him to pursue her. "Honey, let's get back together!" With a cold smirk, Christina spat, "Fuck off." A silken-suited mogul slipped an arm around her waist. "She's married to me now. Guards, get him the hell out of here!"

Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."

After five years of playing the perfect daughter, Rylie was exposed as a stand-in. Her fiancé bolted, friends scattered, and her adoptive brothers shoved her out, telling her to grovel back to her real family. Done with humiliation, she swore to claw back what was hers. Shock followed: her birth family ruled the town's wealth. Overnight, she became their precious girl. The boardroom brother canceled meetings, the genius brother ditched his lab, the musician brother postponed a tour. As those who spurned her begged forgiveness, Admiral Brad Morgan calmly declared, "She's already taken."

Sunlit hours found their affection glimmering, while moonlit nights ignited reckless desire. But when Brandon learned his beloved might last only half a year, he coolly handed Millie divorce papers, murmuring, "This is all for appearances; we'll get married again once she's calmed down." Millie, spine straight and cheeks dry, felt her pulse go hollow. The sham split grew permanent; she quietly ended their unborn child and stepped into a new beginning. Brandon unraveled, his car tearing down the street, unwilling to let go of the woman he'd discarded, pleading for her to look back just once.

In their previous lives, Gracie married Theo. Outwardly, they were the perfect academic couple, but privately, she became nothing more than a stepping stone for his ambition, and met a tragic end. Her younger sister Ellie wed Brayden, only to be abandoned for his true love, left alone and disgraced. This time, both sisters were reborn. Ellie rushed to marry Theo, chasing the success Gracie once had-unaware she was repeating the same heartbreak. Gracie instead entered a contract marriage with Brayden. But when danger struck, he defended her fiercely. Could fate finally rewrite their tragic endings?

Maia grew up a pampered heiress-until the real daughter returned and framed her, sending Maia to prison with help from her fiancé and family. Four years later, free and married to Chris, a notorious outcast, everyone assumed Maia was finished. They soon discovered she was secretly a famed jeweler, elite hacker, celebrity chef, and top game designer. As her former family begged for help, Chris smiled calmly. "Honey, let's go home." Only then did Maia realize her "useless" husband was a legendary tycoon who'd adored her from the start.

For seventeen years, I was the pride of the Carlisle family, the perfect daughter destined to inherit an empire. But that life ended the moment a DNA report slid across my father’s mahogany desk. The paper proved I was a stranger. Vanessa, the girl sobbing in the corner, was the real biological daughter they had been searching for. "You need to leave. Tonight. Before the press gets wind of this. Before the stock prices dip." My father’s voice was as cold as flint. My mother wouldn't even look at me, staring out the window at the gardens as if I were already a ghost. Just like that, I was erased. I left behind the Birkin bags and the diamonds, throwing my Centurion Card into a crystal bowl with a clatter that echoed like a gunshot. I walked out into the cold night and climbed into a rusted Ford Taurus driven by a man I had never met—my biological father. I went from a mansion to a fourth-floor walk-up in Queens that smelled of laundry detergent and struggle. My new siblings looked at me with a mix of fear and disgust, waiting for the "fallen princess" to break. They expected me to beg for my old life back, to crumble without the luxury I’d known since birth. But they didn't know the truth. I had spent years training in a shark tank, honing survival skills they couldn't imagine. While Richard Carlisle froze my trust funds to starve me out, my net worth was climbing by millions on an encrypted trading app. They thought they were throwing me to the wolves. They didn't realize they were just letting me off my leash. As the Carlisles prepared to debut Vanessa at the Manhattan Arts Gala, I was already making my move. "Get dressed. We're going to a party."

After two years of marriage, Kristian dropped a bombshell. "She's back. Let's get divorced. Name your price." Freya didn't argue. She just smiled and made her demands. "I want your most expensive supercar." "Okay." "The villa on the outskirts." "Sure." "And half of the billions we made together." Kristian froze. "Come again?" He thought she was ordinary-but Freya was the genius behind their fortune. And now that she'd gone, he'd do anything to win her back.