Three years. That’s how long it had been. Stepping off the plane at JFK, the crisp New York air was a shock to the system. The first thing I did was call Leo. Then I called him again. And again. A dozen calls, each one swallowed by the dead air of his voicemail. Then, something impossible happened. Shimmering, translucent text began to scroll across my vision, like a glitch in reality itself. 【Oh, hell no. The villainess is back early. This is going to derail everything.】 【The timing couldn’t be worse. Chloe just had the baby. Leo needs to be focused on winning her back, not dealing with this obsessive ex.】 【Don’t worry, it’s part of the plan. He’s going to trick her into finding the baby and raising it as her own. She’s about to become the world’s most bitter nanny.】 I blinked, shaking my head as if to clear it. Just then, my phone buzzed to life. Leo. “Stella,” he said, his voice rushed, clipped. “Something’s come up. I’m at the old lodge upstate. Just meet me there tonight.” 【Here we go. The setup. The lodge is completely deserted. She’ll have no choice but to take the baby.】 Before I could reply, the line went dead. In that split second of silence, I could have sworn I heard the soft sigh of a woman in the background. My knuckles turned white on the steering wheel of the rental. For a long moment, I stared at the GPS, its cheerful line pointing me north toward the Catskills. Then, with a decisive twist, I spun the car around and merged onto the highway, heading in the exact opposite direction. 1 【Wait… what? She’s not going?】 【That’s not right. She’s his lapdog. He says jump, she asks how high. Why isn’t she obeying?】 【What about the baby?! Is she just going to let it die? A newborn, left alone in that empty lodge… it’ll freeze to death!】 Fat, heavy snowflakes began to drift down, blanketing the world in white. I watched the frantic text scroll past my eyes, my heart a cold, hard knot in my chest. So, that was it. I was the designated villain in some twisted romance novel. The plot, as laid out by my phantom commentators, was sickeningly simple. Leo, my Leo, gets drugged at a business meeting and has a one-night stand with a doe-eyed waitress, Chloe. She, of course, gets pregnant and vanishes. What follows is a dramatic cat-and-mouse game. He pursues her, she flees, their passion reignited with every clandestine meeting. Once the child is born, there’s just one inconvenient obstacle: me. His fiancée. So, he concocts a plan to leave the baby on a remote doorstep for me to find, saddling me with his illegitimate child. In this story, we would marry, but he would vow never to touch me, remaining faithful to his one true love. I would live out my days as a barren wife, pouring all my love into a child that wasn't mine. A son who would grow up to despise me. The ghostly text had shown me the finale: me, paralyzed by a sudden illness, helpless in my bed. My adopted son, the boy I raised, would be the one to poison me slowly, torturing me until my last breath. His revenge for the crime of standing between his parents. After my death, Leo and Chloe would finally unite their perfect family. Chloe, the story’s benevolent heroine, would look at my portrait with pity, forgiving me for “hoarding” her husband and child, and wishing that in my next life, I would be reborn as a beast of burden to atone for my sins. My hands trembled on the wheel, not with sorrow, but with a white-hot rage. I had defied my family for him. Turned my back on a strategic marriage alliance to sponsor a brilliant, destitute student I’d met in the city. When I found Leo, he was half-dead in an alley, beaten bloody by loan sharks. I paid for his recovery. I settled his family’s debts. I funded his mother’s life-saving surgery. I remember him looking up at me, his eyes wet with devotion. “Stella,” he’d whispered, “I’m yours for life.” When my own parents fell ill and I had to move overseas to manage the family’s international affairs, he held my hands, his gaze earnest and true. “Go take care of them, Stella. I’ll be here. This will always be your home. When you come back, we’ll get married.” I handed him the keys to my domestic operations, my entire portfolio of companies. I leveraged my connections abroad to secure him funding, to build his name. In three short years, he had become a titan of industry. And the first thing he did with that power was become the protagonist of a trashy novel—cheating, fathering a child, and plotting to ruin my life to complete his perfect little family. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. All those years of love, of support, of sacrifice… to him, they were just chains he was desperate to break. Fine, Leo. You want your freedom? You can have it. The Uber turned through the gates of my estate on Long Island. I hadn't been back in years, but even in the dead of night, the place was ablaze with light. My father had commissioned it for me, a masterpiece of modern architecture completed just before the New Year. This was the first chance I’d had to see it. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the grand hall, I saw the custom-made, eight-hundred-thousand-dollar crystal chandelier I’d designed, its light scattered like a captured galaxy. Ornate decorations draped from the vaulted ceiling, all centered on a massive birthday portrait. The girl in the photo, beaming like a princess, was not me. 【Chloe’s birthday party is stunning! So magical.】 【I heard Leo spent a fortune on this, flew in the world’s best chefs!】 【Forget the chefs, he’s giving her this entire estate! Talk about devoted…】 My estate. He was giving my estate to his mistress. Leo, you audacious bastard. There she was, Chloe, standing at the entrance like she owned the place. She was wearing one of my couture gowns and, around her neck, the emerald necklace that had belonged to my grandmother. “What is this? Do you know where you are?” she sneered, her eyes raking over the simple black car I’d arrived in. “You probably can’t even afford to replace the grass you’re standing on. Security! Get this trash out of here.” Her friends giggled, pointing at my Uber. I had told Leo I'd arrange my own transport, never imagining he'd stand me up so completely. To them, I was just some hired driver, an insect to be flicked away. I walked forward, my steps silent on the heated stone. Before she could react, I snatched the necklace from her throat and struck her across the face. The sound of the slap was sharp, clean, and utterly satisfying. “The only one getting out,” I said, my voice dangerously calm, “is you.” Chloe stared, her hand flying to her reddening cheek. The shimmering text in the air went haywire. 【HOLY SHIT! The villain just snapped! She hit the heroine at her own birthday party!】 【Where are the bodyguards?! Throw her out!】 【Uh… guys? Isn’t this technically… her house?】 That last comment was lost in the flood. Chloe let out a piercing shriek. Her friends swarmed around her, one of them pointing a trembling finger at me. “Do you have any idea who she is? How dare you touch her!” I just smiled, weighing the heavy emerald in my palm. The friend grew bolder. “You couldn’t afford a single stone in that necklace if you sold your pathetic life! Get on your knees and apologize to Chloe right now!” “What’s going on here?!” A figure burst through the doorway, shaking snow from his designer coat as he rushed to Chloe’s side, pulling her into a protective embrace. It was Leo. My boyfriend of three years, who I hadn’t laid eyes on until this very moment. He looked from Chloe’s tear-streaked face to me, and the anger in his eyes morphed into stunned disbelief. “Stella? What are you doing here?” At the sound of my name, Chloe stiffened. She gripped Leo’s arm, and they exchanged a look—a flicker of shared conspiracy. So, the little ingenue knew exactly who I was. How cold-blooded do you have to be to plan on handing your own child over to the woman you’re betraying? A security guard approached nervously. “Mr. Blackwood, do you know this woman?” Leo nodded, his eyes darting past me, scanning the car I’d arrived in. I knew what he was looking for. Chloe, ever the performer, composed herself. “It’s alright,” she announced to the crowd, her voice trembling gracefully. “She’s… an old neighbor of Leo’s. She’s always been a little obsessed with him. I heard she just got dumped. It must have unhinged her.” A wave of understanding rippled through the guests. Their expressions shifted from confusion to contempt. “A stalker? How pathetic.” “Chloe is too kind, honestly. Being so gracious to a desperate hanger-on.” “Leo and Chloe built their success together from nothing. This woman needs to accept that she lost and crawl back into whatever hole she came from.” I let out a short, sharp laugh that cut through the murmurs. “From nothing?” I locked eyes with Leo. He flinched, looking away. He knew. Without the money I’d poured into his education, his mother’s health, his first business venture, he wouldn’t have a penny to his name. He’s be a bloody smear in a back alley. He had sworn to make something of himself, and I had handed him every resource, every connection, every opportunity to do so. Even from halfway across the world, my support had never wavered. But his guilt was fleeting. “Chloe was the one by my side these last three years,” he snarled, his voice regaining its strength. “What have you done?” My face hardened. He took a step toward my car, his voice rising for the benefit of the audience. “Look, Chloe and I aren’t cruel people. We won’t abandon you. Even if you’re coming back with a kid, we’ll help you take care of it…” His words trailed off. His bravado crumbled into confusion, then raw anxiety. He had wrenched open the front door, then the back. He even popped the trunk. There was nothing. Only my suitcase. No baby. Leo’s face went chalk-white. He spun around, grabbing my shoulders, his grip bruising. “You didn’t go to the lodge, did you?” he whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying mix of fear and rage. The pain was sharp, and I shoved him away in disgust. “It’s a derelict building in the middle of nowhere. Why on earth would I go there on a night like this?” “I told you to go there!” he roared, his control finally shattering. “Why don’t you ever just listen! If something… if something happened, I will never forgive you!” Chloe’s eyes widened in horror. In an instant, she understood. Her face contorted into a mask of pure hatred, and she lunged at me. “You bitch! I’ll kill you!” I sidestepped her easily. Hampered by the tight gown, she tumbled down the short flight of stairs, landing in a heap. A dark stain began to spread across the pale fabric of her dress. She let out a guttural scream of pain. Leo’s head snapped toward me. He strode forward and slapped me, hard. My head rang, and a fiery pain exploded across my cheek. “If anything happens to Chloe or the baby, you’re dead,” he hissed, his face inches from mine, his eyes promising murder. He jabbed a finger at my chest, as if marking his sworn enemy. He scrambled for his phone, barking orders for an ambulance and sending his assistant racing to the lodge. I touched my tongue to the inside of my swollen cheek. It seemed a dog that won’t learn to heel must be put down. 【What’s happening? Isn’t the villain supposed to find the baby with him? Am I reading a bootleg copy?】 【OMG, their poor baby! Please be okay, please be okay! If the baby dies, that bitch deserves to burn!】 【Hold on… They’re the ones who left their own kid in the middle of nowhere and expected their rival to play babysitter. Are we sure they’re the heroes here?】 A fierce debate erupted in the shimmering text. I spat a wad of blood onto the pristine snow. Suddenly, a team of black-suited security guards swarmed me, pinning my arms behind my back. “You hurt Chloe, and now you think you can just walk away?” I struggled, trying to see who was speaking. A familiar silhouette stepped out of the light. “Julian?” I whispered. The text feed went wild. 【It’s the second male lead! The tortured one who loves the heroine from afar! He’s finally stepping up for her!】 【Yes! Get the villainess out of here! I’m ready for the love triangle drama!】 【Don’t worry, guys. The more arrogant she is now, the more pathetic she’ll be later.】 Julian? The second male lead? My parents were always working when I was young. I grew up with Julian, my father’s much younger half-brother. He was my uncle, but with only a few years between us, he was more like a best friend, a brother. I had always believed his affection was real. “You’re my guiding star, Stella,” he used to say, his eyes full of adoration. The man standing before me now, his face a mask of cold fury, was a stranger. The realization was a dull ache in my chest. He crouched in front of me, his fingers digging into my jaw, forcing my head up. His eyes widened for a second. “Stella?” Chloe, sobbing, threw herself into his arms. Seeing the blood on her dress, a wave of anguish washed over Julian’s face. He turned and kicked me hard in the stomach. “I can’t believe you’ve become this monstrous,” he snarled, his voice dripping with venom. “You want to hurt people? Let’s see how you like it.” The blow had been delivered with full force. It felt like my insides were shattering. I collapsed, coughing up a mouthful of blood. My fingers fumbled for the emerald necklace I still clutched in my hand. “Julian… do you remember this?” It was from our grandmother, the woman who had raised us both. My initials were engraved on the back. He hesitated. Chloe’s weeping intensified. “I was just borrowing it! She attacked me, she ripped it from my neck!” she cried, pointing to a scratch on her skin. Julian’s face hardened again. “It’s a thing, Stella. Grandma would never forgive you for hurting someone over a piece of metal.” Whispers erupted from the crowd. “She’s a Vance? I thought she was a stalker.” “The Stella Vance? She wouldn’t act this unhinged… would she?” “Wait, if Chloe is so worried about a baby… whose baby is it?” Someone’s voice cut through the noise. “Hang on, isn’t this the Vance estate?” Chloe’s face paled. In the next instant, she feigned a stumble, her heel coming down hard on my outstretched fingers. I cried out in pain as she let out a theatrical gasp and fell backward. Julian caught her instantly. And I watched, helpless, as her foot kicked the necklace from my grasp. It skittered across the stone and disappeared with a soft splash into the ornamental pond. “Call the police!” I screamed, scrambling to my feet. “This is my house! I want every single one of these bastards thrown out!” Hearing that I was, in fact, the lady of the house, the guards hesitated. I pulled out my phone, but Julian slapped it from my hand, sending it skittering across the floor. “Think carefully,” he hissed at the guards, his voice low and menacing. “Who holds the power at Vance Industries right now?” The ghostly text flared. 【Damn, he’s so protective! I’m officially shipping him and Chloe!】 【Too bad he’s just an adopted son. Otherwise, the villainess wouldn’t dare challenge him.】 【LOL who cares if he’s adopted? Once Stella’s dead, he’ll inherit half the Vance fortune anyway. It’ll all go to Chloe in the end!】 Of course. More than one snake in the nest. “Lock her up,” Julian commanded. “For disgracing the Vance name, she’ll be confined for forty-eight hours.” The guards looked at each other, then moved toward me. I pulled a small, folding knife from my belt—a gift from my father. “Stay back,” I warned, my voice shaking with rage and pain. “I’ll kill the first person who touches me.” They paused, wary of the desperation in my eyes. But then a blur of motion—Leo. He kicked the knife from my hand. His face was a thundercloud of grief and fury. “You killed my son,” he choked out. Chloe’s eyes fluttered open, wide with horror. “Leo… what did you say?”
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