Chapter 1

The wealthy tycoon, Stanford York, froze the moment he saw me.

I handed him the jewelry box. His hand trembled slightly as he took it.

From a hidden compartment, he pulled out a photo. It was a picture of two people together. The image had faded so badly that their faces were no longer clear. But he stared at it in silence for a long time.

"Where is she?"

"My mom passed away." I lowered my eyes. "Before she died, she gave this to me."

Stanford let out a long sigh. "When we broke up back then, I made her a promise. If one day her daughter came to find me with this, I would have my son marry her."

He called his assistant. "Call Kingston back."

My eyes widened. So, what the live comments had said was actually true. The wealthy man really was going to call his son back and have him marry me.

Kingston walked in, looking impatient. He hadn't even changed out of his black racing suit.

Stanford pointed at me. "I called you back to discuss your marriage with her."

Only then did Kingston glance at me and sneer openly. "Dad, which slum did you pick her up from? Another woman trying to use her looks to climb the social ladder?"

"Shut up." Stanford shot him a look. "You spend all day risking your life racing. Who knows when you might end up dead out there? Get married and leave behind an heir. After that, you can die however you want. If you refuse, every card under your name will be frozen starting today. And I'll shut down your whole racing team too."

He stood up, his tone firm. "Your choice."

The father and son stared at each other. Realizing Stanford wasn't joking this time, Kingston gritted his teeth and turned toward me. "Fine. It's just a marriage, anyway."

It only took half an hour to get the marriage license. When we walked out of the county clerk's office, I was still in a daze. Everything felt like a dream.

Kingston snatched my phone. When he handed it back, there was an extra ten million dollars in my bank account.

He warned me, "I'm going racing. Go back on your own. Take the money and keep your mouth shut. Don't even think about telling my dad."

I opened my mouth. "Actually…"

He frowned impatiently. "I knew it. Women like you are the greediest. Fine. I'll give you another ten million dollars. Stop clinging to me, and don't expect me to fall in love with you."

I tried to speak. "Actually, I don't need…"

My phone chimed again. A third transaction of ten million dollars had arrived. I immediately shut my mouth.

"Alright, Mr. York. Have fun."

After Kingston left, I hailed a cab and went home. The moment I opened the door, someone grabbed my hair and yanked me to the floor.

The man who attacked me blew a ring of smoke into my face. "So, you're the one who forged the will and stole Nina's house?"

My younger sister, Nina Henderson, leaned against him. Her eyes were red from crying. "Leah, my boyfriend already had someone verify it. The will is fake.

"Even if you're desperate for money, you can't go against Mom's last wishes. As long as you sign the property deed now and give the house back to me, I won't call the police."

Clutching my throbbing knee, I pushed myself up from the floor. "Fine, I'll sign it. But there has to be a lawyer present to confirm that you are the one who will inherit Mom's house."

Nina's rich boyfriend made a phone call, and soon, a lawyer arrived with the contract.

After I signed my name, Nina snatched the deed away, checked it carefully, then smiled. "Why couldn't you be this cooperative earlier?"

She leaned close and lowered her voice. "It's just a crappy house. My boyfriend's family has plenty of properties. But I just can't stand seeing you win, you know? You're supposed to be poor for the rest of your life and serve as a stepping stone for me."

My whole body trembled with anger. Even people in the live comments were speaking up for me.

"What kind of sister is this? When they were kids, whenever Nina made a mistake, their mom beat Leah instead. Now that they're grown up, all the money Leah earned was taken by their mom and spent on Nina. It feels like Leah isn't even the biological child."

"At first, I thought Leah stole Nina's life by taking that photo to Stanford. But now, it looks like Nina deserves it."

Reading those words made my nose sting.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Kingston. "Didn't I tell you to go home? Where did you run off to? The housekeeper didn't see you, and my dad called me again asking about it."

I froze. "I went back to my own home."

He clicked his tongue. "Why are you running around? You've got half an hour to get back to the villa. Gloria cooked a feast. If you're not there, they'll start asking me again. So annoying."

Right after he hung up angrily, another call came in. "Hello, Mrs. York. I'm the York family's driver. Where are you right now? I'll come pick you up and take you home."

I gripped my phone tightly. Something deep inside my chest suddenly trembled. So, it's not like I had nowhere to go, after all.

I gave him the address and went inside to pack my things.

Nina leaned against the doorframe, watching me. "No wonder you agreed so easily. You found a man to take you in. Which old guy is taking care of you? Or did you find another poor loser and plan to rent a place with him?"

I ignored her and picked up my suitcase. "Move."

"What's the rush?" She blocked my way. "Call your boyfriend up. Let me see what kind of man would want trash like you."

The York family's car definitely wasn't cheap. If Nina saw it…

Suddenly, I smiled. "Why do you care so much about my boyfriend? Are you trying to seduce him? After all, you've been stealing my things since we were kids."

Nina froze, then burst out laughing. "Are you out of your mind? With someone like you, the only kind of man you could find is old, ugly, and poor. I wouldn't want him even if you gave him to me. Leah, I think you're just too embarrassed to show him."

I pushed past her and walked out without looking back.