All Chapters of Reborn as the Ruthless Heir’s Contract Wife: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The first thing I heard was the wedding march.The second was my father’s trembling voice.“Elara, are you ready?”My eyes flew open.I stood before two enormous oak doors, my hand resting on Gideon Mercer’s arm. White roses covered the entrance to the ballroom, their fragrance mingling with the expensive perfume of the guests waiting beyond it. Crystal chandeliers shone through the narrow opening between the doors.I looked down at myself.A white silk gown hugged my waist. A diamond necklace rested against my chest. In my hand was a bouquet of lilies tied with a silver ribbon.No.This was impossible.I knew this dress. I knew these flowers.I knew this day.“Elara?” Father asked. “What’s wrong?”I turned toward him so quickly that my veil shifted.Gideon Mercer stood beside me, alive.His silver-streaked hair was neatly combed, and his dark ceremonial suit made him look stronger than he had during the final months of his life. There were no hospital bruises on his arms. No shadows

At eight o’clock that evening, I entered Caelan Voss’s home with my lawyer beside me and a recording device hidden in my handbag.The Voss estate stood above the city like a fortress. Black iron gates surrounded acres of manicured land, and security cameras followed our car along the private road.In my first life, I had attended one reception here. Caelan had stood alone on the balcony while Lucien whispered that ruthless men eventually became lonely ones.I had believed him.Now I wondered whether Lucien had been afraid of the man he pretended to pity.A housekeeper led us into Caelan’s study. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city, while shelves of legal documents replaced the decorative books common in wealthy homes.Caelan sat behind a dark wooden desk.His lawyer, Helena Ward, occupied the chair beside him. A contract lay before them.“Ms. Mercer,” Helena said, “this document outlines a one-year marital arrangement between you and Mr. Voss.”“A year?” I asked.Caelan gestu

The transfer document was identical to the one that had begun my family’s destruction in my first life.I remembered the date because Father had blamed himself for years. Five million dollars had vanished from a Mercer development fund, forcing the company to borrow at punishing interest rates. The loss had been dismissed as an accounting error.It was not an error.It was the first cut.Dozens followed until Mercer Holdings bled to death.I carried the photograph to Caelan’s study. He sat behind his desk, reviewing files as though acquiring a wife had made no difference to his evening.He looked up when I entered.“You’re supposed to knock.”“You’re supposed to protect Mercer Holdings.”I placed my phone before him.He examined the image without visible surprise.“Where did you get this?”“An unknown number.”“And how do you know the receiving company belongs to Lucien?”I had not told him that.I silently cursed myself.“The company name resembles one associated with the Vale Group.

My hands went cold around the file.The photograph showed the same crushed windshield, twisted door, and black current that had filled my final moments.It was not a similar accident.It was mine.The date printed beneath the image was November 18, three years from now—the night I had died in my first life.I turned the page.ELARA MERCER VOSS—VEHICLE RECOVERY REPORT.Voss.Not Vale.According to the impossible report, I would die as Caelan’s wife.A red line had been drawn across the official cause of death: accidental drowning.Beside it, someone had written:BRAKE FAILURE CONFIRMED. DRIVER’S RESTRAINT SABOTAGED.Footsteps sounded outside the study.I closed the file but did not return it to the drawer.Caelan entered.He stopped when he saw what I held.Neither of us spoke.Then he closed the door behind him.“You violated the contract,” he said.“This isn’t the west wing.”“The file was locked.”“The drawer was open.”His gaze shifted toward the desk. “Someone searched this room.”

The drive to Mercer House took twelve minutes.It felt longer than the three years I had lived before my death.I remembered Father’s first collapse from my previous life. It had happened during dinner two weeks after my wedding. His doctor diagnosed an irregular heartbeat and increased his medication.He never fully recovered.This time, the collapse had occurred earlier because the timeline was changing.When Caelan’s car stopped, I ran before the driver opened my door.Father lay on the library floor. A housekeeper supported his head while Selene knelt beside him with a glass of water and two white capsules.“Don’t give him those!”I knocked the glass from her hand.Water spread across the carpet.Selene stared at me. “His doctor said he needs them.”“They may be poisoning him.”Father’s eyes opened weakly. “Elara?”I held his hand.“I’m here.”Caelan entered with a private medical team behind him. They moved Father onto a stretcher and attached monitors to his chest.Selene stood.