Inheritance Paolini

Elena's life has always been defined by hardship. Struggling to survive in a fast-paced city, she works two jobs while carrying the weight of an uncertain past. Her only connection to the life she’s never known is a mysterious locket, a relic of her mother’s secretive history. But when an unexpected summons from a prestigious law firm reveals that she is the illegitimate daughter of a recently deceased billionaire, Elena is thrust into a world of unimaginable wealth, power, and intrigue. Facing the truth about her heritage, Elena must prove her identity through a DNA test and contend with the family’s rightful heirs, including her cunning and jealous step-sister, Victoria. The world of the elite is nothing like she expected, and Elena’s struggle to fit in is made worse when a charismatic yet guarded businessman, Adrian, becomes entangled in her path. Despite their instant chemistry, trust is a luxury neither can afford, especially as the walls between them grow higher. As Elena’s inheritance becomes a battleground, Victoria’s ruthless schemes push Elena to the brink. Public humiliation, betrayal, and a tangled romance with Adrian force Elena to question her place in this new life—one that she never asked for but is determined to claim, not for the fortune, but to honor the memory of the mother who kept this secret from her. "legacy of secret" is a story of resilience, deception, and an unexpected romance. Elena’s journey is one of self-discovery, proving that sometimes, the hardest battles are not against others, but the ones we must fight within ourselves. Will she emerge victorious, or will the lies of the past tear her world apart? Only time will tell, as the truth begins to unravel and new alliances form in the most unexpected places.

Gaining wealth and having everything you ever wanted at such a young age was not really heaven when you needed to deal with your past trauma and intense fear of abandonment by your loved ones. Because money might allow you to impress someone temporarily, but without commitment, the other person might suffer and leave. That was the case for Nathaniel Anderson (Niel), a narcissistic young billionaire who became the sole heir of his late grandfather's inheritance, making him richer than his own parents who abandoned him when he was just a baby. He had a long crush on Haylee Johnson, his classmate during high school. During senior year, she got into trouble and her mother chased her away from home. Being deeply in love with her, Niel rescued her and sheltered her, giving her everything he could, except for one, his love. He couldn't give his love to her for fear that she might one day abandon him. So, to make her stay, he gaslighted her unintentionally, making her thought that she would be an ungrateful person if she ever leaves him. However, being young and wild, Niel couldn't resist the temptation of having a good time and playing around with the other girls. He dated a lot of them, but nothing lasted, which convinced him even more, that the same thing would happen if he ever date Haylee. So, he decided strictly to not date her despite knowing that she loved him too. Would Haylee stay inside such a painful meaningless relationship and convinced Niel to commit to her? Or would she leave and find a better man for herself?

For five years, Jessie Moore suppressed her personality, wore clothes she hated, and hid her staggering wealth. She did it all for one reason: to prove to her mother that true love could exist without a billion-dollar price tag. But on the day they were supposed to register their marriage, her boyfriend, Allen Walker, didn't show up. When Jessie went to find him, she didn't find an apology. She found a celebration. Allen was toasted by his friends for finally escaping "the fat girl" to get engaged to a "proper" socialite. “Take this million-dollar cheque and get out of my sight," Allen sneered, tossing the paper at her feet. Jessie didn't cry. She threw wine in his face, tore the cheque to pieces, and walked out—straight into the arms of the city’s most powerful, icy, and untouchable man: Stephen Harrington. Stephen is her best friend’s brother and a CEO who has never spared a second glance for any woman. He needs a wife to stop his family’s meddling; Jessie needs a husband to satisfy her mother’s inheritance demands. It was supposed to be a cold business deal. No feelings. No mess. But as Jessie returns to the Moore Empire to reclaim her throne, she realises the "Icy CEO" is anything but cold behind closed doors. And when Allen discovers the "penniless" girl he dumped is the very heiress he’s desperate to sign a contract with, he comes crawling back on his knees. He’s too late. “You had your chance, Allen.” Jessie smiles, leaning into Stephen's possessive embrace. “Now, I’m the one calling the shots.” Now Jessie is reclaiming everything that belonged to her…including the heart of the icy CEO.

They were never meant to fall in love. But fate doesn’t follow contracts. Kellynne Mea Morleigh never believed in settling. She’s waited her whole life for a love story worth telling. One that begins with butterflies and ends in forever. No boyfriend since birth, by choice. Because she knew what she wanted. But when her family’s company teeters on the edge of collapse, she’s forced into a marriage that feels more like a business deal than a dream. Her groom? Elias Callum Fenwick. Young, brilliant, and dangerously untouchable. Elias is a billionaire by reputation, a strategist by nature. Raised to chase power, not affection. To him, marriage is just another transaction. One that unlocks the inheritance left by his late grandmother. And Kelly? She’s the key. They enter the marriage as strangers. No vows of love. No promises of forever. Just a contract built on convenience, wealth, and legacy. But behind the facade of a cold, calculated union, sparks begin to fly. Arguments turn into conversations. Clashes reveal vulnerabilities. And slowly, Kelly starts falling—not for the idea of love she once held, but for Elias himself: his honesty, his quiet sacrifices, and the way he listens even when they fight. She never meant to fall. He never planned to care. But love doesn’t ask for permission. Just when she begins to believe in their story, a devastating truth shatters her world... Elias had a past with his secretary, a woman who still lingers in the shadows of their present. Seven years. That’s how long the contract binds them. But when hearts are broken and trust is betrayed… Will Kelly fight for the love she never expected—or walk away before it destroys her?

In my previous life, my brother took his sugarbaby to see a meteor shower because she said she wanted to. He drove to the countryside with all his bodyguards to create a perfect stargazing night for her. Unfortunately, business rivals whom my brother had bankrupted saw this opportunity and broke into our estate seeking revenge. My mother fought desperately to protect me, suffering severe injuries that left her fighting for her life. I called my brother repeatedly, begging him to return quickly and help us. He finally had to come back with his security team. The intruders were captured, but then terrible news came from the countryside. His sugarbaby had left a suicide note, her fate unknown. In her letter, she accused me of deliberately drawing my brother away, causing her to be tortured by his enemies before she took her own life. My brother coldly burned her letter and told me not to worry about it. Afterward, my brother was blamed for what happened, and my father promised to put me in charge of the company. However, after the celebration dinner ended, my brother brutally murdered me in my bedroom. His face showed no emotion as he coldly said, "Someone as treacherous as you should have died long ago. "You should have been the one to die, and the family inheritance should have been mine!" I died with my eyes wide open in disbelief, and when I opened them again, I could hear our enemies breaking down the front door of our mansion.

Even knowing that wailing at an Eravalen aristocratic funeral was considered disrespectful to the deceased, I let my husband's adopted sister make a scene anyway. In my previous life, my husband, Robert Baker, had a distant relative among the Eravalen aristocracy who passed away. A lawyer informed him that he stood to inherit the estate and invited him to attend the funeral. His adopted sister, Mia Carter, insisted on tagging along to see how the privileged few in another country lived. She wanted to rub shoulders with nobles and make herself look important, even planning to wail dramatically in front of everyone. I rushed to stop her. "Public mourning is taboo among Eravalen nobility. Forget inheriting anything. We'll all be thrown out!" Yet she burst into tears, accusing me of looking down on her and thinking she was not good enough to mingle with aristocrats. She stormed out and was killed by street thugs in a random attack. I thought Robert would fall apart, but he stayed silent through the entire funeral and collected his inheritance without a hitch. Six months later, on our wedding anniversary, he took me to the snowy mountains for a photoshoot. The moment we reached the peak, he shoved me into a sleeping bag and tied it shut. "If you hadn't blown everything out of proportion, Mia never would've run off and gotten herself shot." He buried me alive in the snow. I froze to death, and he used that aristocratic fortune to become the CEO of a publicly traded company. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Mia insisted on wailing at the funeral.

They killed me for an inheritance. The Moon Goddess gave me a second chance—and a dangerous mate. Lyra Stone died at the hands of the man she loved, murdered for the fortune her grandfather William left her. Jaxon—her foster brother, her husband, her executioner—stabbed her while his manipulative sister Aurelia laughed. The pregnancy that might have saved her died with her that night, along with every desperate hope she'd clung to. But when Lyra opens her eyes, she's back in her childhood bedroom on the day her nightmare began—the day the Stone family found their "real daughter" and Lyra became disposable. This time, she refuses to be their victim. Armed with the knowledge of their betrayal, Lyra makes a reckless choice: one night of freedom, one stranger in a club, one scorching encounter that awakens something she never knew existed. What she doesn't expect is to discover her one-night stand is Asher Greyson—the faceless Alpha whose identity no one knows, cursed to feel nothing until he finds his fated mate. And she's his. Asher needs a Luna within three months or lose his throne. Lyra needs protection from a family determined to destroy her. Their mating bond is convenient, combustible, and completely forbidden by the very people trying to steal everything William left her. But Lyra isn't the weak, love-starved girl who died begging for scraps anymore. She's their Luna now. And she's coming for everything they took—her inheritance, her dignity, her revenge. Let Aurelia play her games. Let Eleanor and Thomas choose their real daughter. Let Jaxon realize too late what he destroyed.

Amelia Carter has only loved one man in her entire life. And that's her husband, Noah Allen. But she received nothing but heartbreak for her love. On their second anniversary, Noah came home with her best friend, who was pregnant for him, and threw divorce papers at Amelia's face. "You're barren, and you have nothing to offer me. Lucy will be my wife from now.” He yelled while throwing Amelia's bags out of the house. Amelia begged with tears but her pleas turned on deaf ears, and she was thrown out to the streets. As she contemplated how to take her own life, a fleet of cars surrounded her, and the city's wealthiest billionaire, Damian Donovan, stepped out. "Amelia, will you marry me? I will give you everything you desire if you become my wife," he offered, extending his hand to her. "How do you know my name?" Amelia asked him, dumbfounded. "I know more than just your name," he replied. "In fact, I know everything about you, including your divorce. And I also know you want revenge on your best friend and ex-husband. I can help you." ************************* Damian didn’t believe in love, but he needed a wife to claim the inheritance his uncle left him. Amelia needed to take revenge on her ex-husband, and what better way to do it than a marriage of convenience with his worst enemy? There were only two rules in their fake marriage: no entanglement or sexual relationship, and they would go their separate ways after the arrangement was over. But their attraction for each other is more than they bargained for. When feelings start to get real, and Noah wants Amelia back, will Damian let her go? Or will he fight for what he believes is his?

My daughter-in-law cheated on my son behind his back, and I caught her. When I confronted her, she turned the tables on me, accusing me instead. I told my son everything exactly as it happened, but she broke down crying and accused me of bullying her. "Ever since I married into the Simmons family, you've never been happy with me," she sobbed. "If I’d known you’d slander me like this, I would’ve been better off dead!" She attempted to hurt herself to prove her innocence, but my son stopped her. "Mom, how could you accuse my wife like that? You're my own mother, but this is too much!" he shouted. Furious, he moved out with her. Later, I fell gravely ill and begged my son to come see me one last time. When he finally arrived, he brought her with him. To my horror, they removed my oxygen tube. As I struggled to breathe, I heard her smug voice whisper in my ear: "Old hag, if it weren't for you accusing me of cheating, Herman and I wouldn’t have gotten your inheritance so quickly!" She laughed coldly. "Oh, and next time you accuse someone, make sure you have evidence. Did you really think your word alone could ruin me?" I died choking on my final breath. Afterward, they lived happily, spending my money without a care in the world. But then, I woke up. It was the day I caught her cheating again. This time, I went straight to work. I replaced the lubricant at home with industrial-strength glue. She wanted proof? Fine. I’d give her proof.

Someone pushes me off a cliff when I'm eight months pregnant before taking their life on the spot. Meanwhile, blood pools underneath me as I'm rushed to the hospital. As despair washes over me, I hear Jacob Langley's voice come from outside my hospital ward. "Are you sure it'll work this time?" "Yes, Mr. Langley. Mrs. Langley has taken good care of herself during her pregnancy, but the branch pierced her belly. There's no chance of the baby surviving this, and she won't ever be able to conceive again." "Good. Make sure the culprit's family has been sent away. I won't let anything go wrong before the Adkins agree to adopt Clara." "Yes, sir. Still… why did you need to push Mrs. Langley off a cliff if you wanted to adopt Ms. Jennings' daughter? Mrs. Langley is kind; I'm sure she would've treated the child well." Jacob snorts. "What do you know? Why would Selene agree to adopt Clara if she had her own child? She'll only treat Clara as her own once she can't have children and leave everything she has to Clara. I couldn't marry Kaia back then; this is all I can do to make it up to her." The voices slowly fade away, but they reverberate loud and clear in my mind. I've spent six years by Jacob's side, yet all I've gotten in return are lies and betrayal. His so-called love for me is nothing but a trick to steal my inheritance for someone else. Since this is what he wants, I'll make his wish come true.