Rebirth of the Billionaire’s Substitute Bride

Kira’s POV The first thing I noticed moments before dying was that my sister was smiling as they walked away from my burning car. The rain was lashing against the windshield violently, sounding like handfuls of gravel being thrown against the glass. The mountain road was entirely dark, illuminated only by the beams of my headlights as my car drove out of control. My foot slammed against the brake pedal, pressing it flush against the floorboard. Yet nothing happened. Panic seized my chest immediately. I pumped the brakes, my breath hitching in my throat as the sharp curve of Dead Man’s Drop rushed toward me. "No, no, no," I chanted, gripping the steering wheel tightly. I yanked the wheel to the left, desperate to force the tires into the muddy embankment, but it was completely locked. The car didn't even slow down. It hydroplaned across the road, tearing through the metal guardrail as if it were made of paper. For a single second, I seemed to be floating in the air. Then

Kira’s POV The grand ballroom of the St. Regis Hotel was a sea of white roses. Thousands of blooms hung from the crystal chandeliers, their sweet scent masking the toxic reality of the room. The hall was packed to capacity. Rows of velvet chairs were filled with the city's most powerful business elites, wealthy socialites, and greedy politicians. Lining the walls were dozens of reporters. Their camera lenses were focused and ready, hungry for any sign of drama. They had not come to celebrate a union of love. They had come to witness a business transaction. Today, the legendary Lockwood heir was marrying the unwanted, useless daughter of the Myles family. I stood behind the massive doors at the entrance of the ballroom, waiting for the music to begin. My father, Edward, stood beside me, refusing to even offer me his arm. Through a small gap in the doors, I could see the front row. Zara was already there, holding court. She wore a pale pink designer gown that made her look like a

Kira’s POVI could not stop thinking about the shattered crystal on the floor. I paced the length of my massive bedroom in the Lockwood mansion. The sun had set, casting long shadows across the walls. But my mind was stuck on the entryway downstairs. Miss Peterson. The elderly servant had looked at me as if I were a ghost rising from the grave. In my previous life, she had simply offered a polite bow and walked away. I spent three years in this house without her ever speaking a word out of turn. What had changed? Was it the way I held myself? The lack of fear in my eyes? I walked over to the desk and opened my laptop. I needed answers. Before I became a docile, broken wife in my past life, I had taught myself to code. Over the years of isolation, that skill had sharpened into a weapon. The underground world would eventually know me as Nyx, a hacker who could breach any firewall. Right now, I was just Kira, warming up. My fingers flew across the keyboard. I bypassed the Lockwood

Kira’s POVMoney is the purest form of power.Sitting in my dark bedroom with a quarter of a million untraceable dollars resting in an offshore account, I finally felt like I had a shield. But a shield was only good for defense. I was ready to go on the attack.I pulled up a new terminal window on my laptop.My next target was my adoptive father. The stern patriarch who treated me like a disappointing stain on his perfect family portrait. He was the man who arranged my marriage to Aziel Lockwood, claiming it was a necessary sacrifice to save his fragile favorite daughter, Zara.In my past life, I believed that lie. I believed he was just a cold businessman trying to protect his favorite child. But as I watched him stand by my burning car, waiting for me to die so he could steal my Peterson family inheritance, I realized something important.He wasn’t a businessman. He was a monster. And monsters always have dirty secrets.I cracked my knuckles and typed in the backdoor access codes fo

Kira’s POVA violent thunderstorm rolled over the city the next afternoon, rattling the windows of the Lockwood estate.I stood at the top of the sweeping marble staircase, admiring the rain. I was still riding the high of outsmarting Aziel’s cyber division. For the first time in either of my lives, I felt completely in control.Then, the shouting started."Get your hands off me! I need to see him! Aziel!"A hysterical voice echoed through the grand foyer below.I paused, resting my hand on the smooth banister. I knew that voice perfectly. I had spent twenty-four years listening to it whine, manipulate, and lie.I slowly walked down the stairs.At the bottom of the steps, the front doors were wide open. Wind and rain whipped into the entryway, soaking the imported rugs. Two large Lockwood security guards were physically blocking the entrance.Standing in the pouring rain, trying to push past them, was Zara.She looked absolutely pathetic. Her expensive, pale pink designer coat was dre