All Chapters of Ashes of My First Life: Enter the Tycoon: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The silence in the VIP lounge was suffocating.Julian’s smirk faltered as he looked between Adrian and Elena. He had expected Elena to beg. He had expected to humiliate her in front of the city’s most powerful man. He did not expect Adrian Vale to look at the child as if he were looking at his own flesh and blood.Elena’s heart pounded against her ribs. In her past life, she had hidden Lily’s true parentage from everyone, even Adrian. She had been too afraid of the power dynamics, too broken by Julian’s gaslighting to realize the truth. But now, seeing Adrian’s intense reaction, the pieces of the puzzle slammed into place.The silver birthmark on Lily’s tiny wrist—a perfect crescent moon—was the legendary mark of the Vale bloodline."I asked you a question, Elena," Adrian’s voice dropped to a menacing whisper. He stepped closer to the guard holding Lily, his shadow looming over the terrified man. "Why does this child carry my family's mark?"Julian burst into a harsh, nervous laugh. "

The darkness of the master suite was thick, broken only by the pale moonlight filtering through the balcony curtains. Elena’s back was pressed flat against Adrian’s solid chest. His palm was still clamped firmly over her mouth. The heat radiating from his body was an intense, dangerous contrast to the freezing fear running through her veins.On the balcony, the shadowy figure in the maid’s uniform finished pouring the liquid into the humidifier.Elena tried to twist out of Adrian's grip, her fingers tightening around the silver letter opener hidden in her sleeve. But Adrian’s hold only restricted her further. He wrapped his other arm securely around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides."I told you not to move," Adrian whispered directly into her ear, his deep voice sending a dangerous shiver down her spine.Elena bit down hard on his palm.Adrian let out a sharp, muffled hiss but didn't let go. Instead, he spun her around in the dark, violently slamming her back against the neare

Julian Vance’s dramatic face on the monitor screen was pathetic. He wept for the cameras, clutching a fake medical certificate for his bruised jaw, painting himself as a heartbroken father whose family was stolen by a ruthless billionaire."Look at him play the martyr," Elena said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. A cold, cynical laugh escaped her lips. In her past life, this exact media manipulation had ruined her. Julian had framed her as an unfaithful wife to cover up his own affairs.Not this time.Adrian didn’t even look angry. He looked bored. He pulled out his satellite phone, his fingers tapping the screen with absolute calm."Marcus," Adrian called his head of security without breaking eye contact with the television screen. "Contact the network directors of Channel 8, National News, and Global Media. Tell them they have exactly three minutes to drop Julian Vance’s live feed, or I will withdraw every single Vale corporate advertisement and bankrupt their broadcastin

The ballroom dissolved into pure, unadulterated chaos. Elites screamed, knocking over champagne towers and ice sculptures as they trampled each other to reach the emergency exits.Julian Vance stood in the center of the debris, his clothes torn, his eyes bloodshot and wide with insanity. The digital timer strapped to his chest was glowing a venomous, ticking red: 01:45... 01:44..."Elena!" Julian shrieked, raising the detonator high. "You think you won? You think you can just hand me to the cops, take my company, and sleep in Adrian Vale's bed?! If I am going to hell, you and your bastard child are coming with me!"Adrian didn’t hesitate. In a split second, he pulled Elena behind his towering frame, shielding her completely with his body. His hand slipped inside his tuxedo jacket, pulling out a sleek, suppressed firearm."Julian," Adrian’s voice was a low, terrifying rumble that cut through the alarms. "Take one more step, and I will put a bullet between your eyes before your thumb ca

The world slowed to a crawl. Elena saw the absolute madness in Chloe’s eyes and the muscle in her finger contracting around the trigger.There was no time for Adrian to aim away from the trap. There was no time to negotiate.Bang!The gunshot roared through the hollow warehouse.In that fraction of a second, Elena didn't think about her rebirth, her revenge, or the future she had carefully orchestrated. She only saw her daughter. With a primal scream, Elena threw her body across the concrete floor, launching herself directly in front of the wooden chair.The bullet tore through the flesh of Elena’s shoulder. The force of the impact spun her around, her blood splattering onto the dusty floor as she collapsed over Lily, shielding the toddler completely with her own body."Elena!" Adrian’s voice shattered the darkness, raw and filled with a terror he had never felt in his entire life.Before Chloe could pull the trigger a second time or collapse backward onto the tripwire, Adrian moved w