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Sold to a Dead Man, I Became a Billionaire's Heiress

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Modern

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For ten years, the Shaw family mansion was nothing but a cold prison for their adopted daughter, Ava Mckenzie. The illusion of family shattered completely when her adoptive father slammed a contract on the table, ordering her to marry a dead man just to secure a five-million-dollar investment for his failing company. At that exact moment, Ava looked out the window to see her fiancé passionately kissing her stepsister in a parked car. Megan strutted inside moments later, flaunting Ava's stolen diamond ring and mocking her "dirt-poor" biological roots. Her adoptive mother sneered, threatening to throw Ava out on the streets if she didn't agree to the posthumous marriage to repay her debt for being raised. They surrounded her like vultures, waiting for her to break down, cry, and submit to being sold off to a ghost. Looking at their greedy, expectant faces, Ava's ice-blue eyes held no tears, only a chilling emptiness. She had spent a decade being their obedient, invisible shadow, enduring their endless abuse. Did they really think she would just let them destroy her future for a dead man's money? Instead of begging, Ava stood up and delivered a crisp, echoing slap across Megan's smug face. "I'll sign it. But tomorrow, we officially terminate my adoption." Leaving her stunned abusers behind, she packed her single worn-out suitcase, walked out the door without a backward glance, and pulled out a heavily encrypted phone to track down her real bloodline-completely unaware that seven powerful billionaire brothers in Manhattan were already tearing the city apart to bring her home.

Sold to a Dead Man, I Became a Billionaire's Heiress Chapter 1

A heavy manila folder slammed onto the tempered glass coffee table with the force of a gunshot.

"Sign it, Ava," Richard Shaw commanded, his voice thick with unearned authority. "The Cooper family wires five million dollars the second your signature hits the paper. It saves the company, and all you have to do is fulfill the contract to marry the late Iverson Cooper."

Beside him on the floral armchair, Brenda Shaw set her porcelain mug down with a sharp clatter. "Consider it payback for the ten years we kept food in your mouth after dragging you out of the gutter."

Ava Mckenzie sat on the edge of the sunken sofa, completely still. Through her black-rimmed glasses, her cool, icy blue eyes drifted past the bold letters bearing the name of Manhattan's most infamous deceased heir.

Outside the bay window, a sleek blue Buick sat idling in the driveway.

Through the tinted glass, Ava watched Donovan Hayes-her supposed fiancé of three years-leaning across the center console, passionately kissing Megan Shaw. Megan's fingers were tangled in his hair, her red lipstick staining his crisp white collar.

Ava felt nothing. Not a tremor of grief, not a flicker of rage. Just the cold, mechanical detachment of an operative waiting for the board to align.

The front door banged open.

Megan breezed into the living room, smoothing down the rumpled silk of her designer dress, her cheeks flushed and chest heaving. She thrust her left hand directly into Ava's face, letting the afternoon sunlight catch a brilliant two-carat diamond ring.

Ava's mother's ring. The only heirloom left to her.

"Donovan and I are getting married next month, Ava," Megan purred, her lips curling into a vicious sneer. "Be happy for us. Honestly, marrying a dead billionaire is a massive upgrade for a stray like you. The Coopers have endless cash, while your real bloodline is probably rotting in a rural trailer park."

Donovan strolled into the foyer a second later, adjusting his cufflinks. He didn't even look at Ava. "Is it done, Richard? Don't let her stall."

Ava rose from the low sofa. Her posture was spine-straight, every line of her body exuding a quiet, lethal grace.

"Donovan gave me that ring three years ago," Ava said, her voice dropping into a dangerous, icy cadence. "You stole my ring, took my fiance, and now you come into this room begging for my blessing?"

"I took what belongs to a winner, you worthless-"

Crack.

The slap echoed through the room like thunder.

Megan spun violently on her heels, crashing against the credenza. A sharp scream tore from her throat as crimson welled at the corner of her swollen mouth.

"My face! Mom, she hit me!" Megan shrieked, clutching her jaw.

Brenda screamed, lunging to shield her daughter. Richard's face turned a violent shade of purple. With a roar, he raised a heavy, calloused fist, aiming straight for Ava's temple.

Ava didn't flinch. She didn't blink. She met his enraged glare with pupils as cold as frozen steel.

"I'll sign," Ava said evenly.

Richard's fist froze two inches from her ear, the draft rustling her dark hair. He trembled, his chest heaving. "What did you say?"

"I'll marry Iverson Cooper," Ava replied, her tone chillingly flat. "Dead or alive."

Brenda stopped wailing, raw greed instantly replacing her shock. Megan's mouth hung open in disbelief. Richard slowly lowered his arm, letting out a ragged breath.

Ava reached into her battered canvas messenger bag and pulled out a crisp, notarized legal document, dropping it squarely on top of the Cooper contract.

"Here is my deal," Ava stated.

Richard frowned, squinting at the page. "What garbage is this?"

"A formal petition for the immediate and irrevocable termination of adoption," Ava said, tapping the date at the top. "Drafted this morning. You sign it at City Hall tomorrow morning at precisely nine o'clock. As of tomorrow, my name is legally expunged from the Shaw lineage. I am Ava Mckenzie. I have zero ties to your family."

"You ungrateful little brat!" Brenda hissed. "After ten years-"

Ava picked up the silver Montblanc pen from the table and deliberately clicked the cap back into place. She turned toward the stairs.

"Keep your name, then," Ava said over her shoulder. "And find five million dollars by midnight to cover your margin loans. Because if you don't, the Cooper estate repossesses this house by dawn."

Richard stared at the blank signature line, his teeth grinding so hard his jaw ached. He looked at Donovan, who looked away. He looked at Megan's bleeding lip.

"Wait!" Richard choked out, swallowing his pride. "Fine. City Hall. Nine sharp."

Ava turned back, unscrewed the cap of the heavy black pen, and signed Ava Mckenzie in sharp, flawless cursive across the Cooper agreement. She tossed the pen onto the glass with a sharp clink, turned, and climbed the stairs without looking back.

Inside her second-floor bedroom, Ava locked the deadbolt. She walked to the window, watching Donovan's Buick speed down the road.

Pulling a military-grade encrypted burner phone from the lining of her jacket, her thumbs flew across the keys.

Leo, I need a favor.