Jilted Ex? I'm The Lost Heiress

The flashbulbs of dozens of cameras erupted like a lightning storm, illuminating the hotel's grand ballroom as bright as day.

Lana stood alone in the dim wings of the stage. Looking at her fiancé, Wayne, who stood in the spotlight looking immaculate and charismatic, her eyes brimmed with exhausted but sweet tears.

"Today, Meridian Pharmaceuticals is on the verge of a historic partnership with Delta Lab!" Wayne's passionate voice echoed through the microphone. "But all of this glory would be impossible without the silent dedication of one specific woman."

Lana's breath caught. A shy, expectant smile touched her lips. She instinctively took a step forward.

"When everyone else doubted me, she gave me the crucial financial backing I needed. She gave me the tenderness and adoration a man desperately craves," Wayne continued, his eyes sweeping the crowd with deep affection. "Please, give your loudest applause to the future Vice President of Meridian, and the only soulmate of my life-Jessica!"

Lana's smile died instantly. Her foot, suspended in mid-air, felt like it had been nailed through the bone. The pain was paralyzing. A sharp, agonizing ringing pierced her brain, drowning out the thunderous applause of the crowd.

In the front row of the VIP section, Jessica-Lana's best friend of five years-stood up gracefully.

Draped in an exorbitantly expensive custom red gown, she looked like a queen. Before stepping onto the stage, Jessica deliberately turned her head, looked through the crowd, and shot Lana a cold, victorious smirk loaded with pure provocation.

Then, she fluttered into Wayne's arms like a fragile bird. Right there, in front of hundreds of investors and reporters, Wayne cupped her face and kissed her deeply, feverishly.

A violent wave of physical nausea surged up Lana's throat. She had to grip the heavy velvet curtain with a deathly tight hold just to keep from vomiting on the spot.

Ten minutes later, the heavy door of the VIP dressing room was slammed shut, completely cutting off the noisy celebration outside.

"Since you saw it all, I won't pretend anymore. The engagement is off. We're breaking up." Wayne's voice was devoid of any warmth. He stood in front of Jessica, guarding her as if Lana were a thief.

Lana stared at the man she had been willing to die for, her heart feeling like it was being shredded in a meat grinder.

To help him build Meridian Pharmaceuticals, she had spent three years inhaling toxic fumes in a sunless basement. She had worked herself into three bleeding stomach ulcers just to perfect the groundbreaking Class-A drug formula. Today, the company secured a massive Series A funding. Tomorrow was supposed to be their engagement party.

Yet now, the man she had given half her life for was ruthlessly handing all her blood, sweat, and glory over to another woman!

Before Lana could answer, Jessica stepped out from behind him. The smugness from earlier was entirely gone. Her eyes were bloodshot, and tears fell like broken pearls as she put on a sickening display of agonizing guilt.

"Lana, it's all my fault, please don't blame Wayne," Jessica cried pitifully, reaching out to grab Lana's hand. "That night, I was just so lonely and in so much pain, and Wayne was just trying to comfort me. We had too much to drink... I swear I never meant to ruin your relationship!"

Lana violently slapped her hand away as if she were a disgusting virus. "Don't touch me! You climbed into my fiancé's bed behind my back, and now you have the nerve to cry in front of me?!"

Jessica immediately collapsed weakly against Wayne's chest. She protectively cradled her flat stomach with both hands, her voice trembling heartbreakingly. "I was really going to leave forever... but the doctor said I'm already twelve weeks pregnant. It's a boy, and he has a heartbeat! My body is too weak. If I get an abortion, I might never be a mother again..."

She looked up with wide. "Lana, you're so strong, so brilliant. You can live perfectly fine without Wayne. But my baby and I have nothing! We can't live without him! Please, be merciful, can you just let our family of three be together?"

Lana's chest heaved violently. Every breath felt like inhaling shattered glass.

"If you want to act crazy, come at me! But Lana, take a look in the mirror. Do you have even a shred of femininity left in you?!"

Wayne's words were like poisoned daggers, each one lethal. "You live in the lab! Your hair is dry, and you constantly reek of harsh chemicals! You're cold-blooded, boring, and you barely even let me touch you. You're nothing but a lifeless, haggard machine!"

"Jessica is young, beautiful, and she gives me my dignity as a man! Her family's billions and connections are my only stepping stone to going public! And you? You're a stray orphan that even your own parents threw away! Besides your book-smart brain and your stubborn, mule-like temper, what the hell can you offer me?!"

Lana completely stopped breathing.

Just then, the dressing room door was shoved open roughly. Wayne's mother, Patricia, and his younger sister, Whitney, swaggered in. There was not a trace of guilt on their faces, only sickening snobbery and cruelty.

"What's all this yelling? There are VIPs outside!" Patricia looked Lana up and down with deep disgust. "Don't think putting in a little work means you can become a phoenix. Know your place! Sign this relinquishment agreement, and Wayne will graciously give you a fifty-thousand-dollar severance. Take the money and get lost. Don't bring your bad luck to our family!"

Whitney couldn't wait to twist the knife further. "Exactly! Jessica got me an executive position at the company with just one word. And you? You only told me to study for my exams! Looking at your pathetic, poor orphan face makes me sick! Don't even dream of getting a single penny from the massive Delta Lab deal!"

In that suffocating, dead silence, Lana suddenly smiled. It was a low, mocking, chilling laugh.

Calmly, she slid the engagement ring-which had left a red indentation on her finger-off and tossed it like garbage into a half-empty champagne glass on the vanity. It landed with a pathetic clink.

"Keep that cheap, fifty-dollar cubic zirconia you bought off Amazon, Wayne," Lana said, her eyes as cold as looking at a corpse. "Are you planning to save it as a family heirloom for your noble new baby mama?"

Wayne's face instantly flushed an ugly, furious purple. Having his cheapness and hypocrisy exposed stripped him of his pride, instantly morphing into roaring, impotent rage.

"You are completely unreasonable! You incurable psycho! Don't bother coming in tomorrow. You're completely fired!"

"Lana, don't be so stubborn," Jessica continued her fake, instigating act. "Even if you leave, Meridian is about to get Delta Lab's core license. The future is limitless, and you'll just be left with absolutely nothing..."

Delta Lab. The undisputed absolute pinnacle of domestic research institutions.

The only reason Meridian Pharmaceuticals secured this Series A funding, the only reason investors were throwing money at them like crazy, was because the entire industry believed they were about to acquire Delta Lab's core technology license.

Looking at this family-so devoid of a bottom line, so arrogant it was borderline idiotic-Lana felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity, but also profound relief. She was incredibly lucky to have seen the true faces of these leeches before stepping into the hell of marriage.

"Left with nothing?" Lana stood up. Her aura shifted instantly, radiating the untouchable dominance of a queen. "I've been sick of your foul, garbage-filled dumpster for a long time."

"Did you actually think I cared about your worthless, pathetic shares?" Lana said softly, every word hitting like a blockbuster bomb. "What I'm taking with me are all of Meridian's core patents-which have been registered entirely under my personal name from the very beginning. Oh, and of course, that includes the core licensing agreement with Delta Lab."

Wayne's furious expression froze instantly, replaced by deep shock and absurdity. "What... what nonsense are you spouting? What does Delta Lab have to do with a researcher like you?"

Lana didn't answer. She didn't spare them a single extra glance. She turned around, kept her spine perfectly straight, her heels clicking sharply and coldly against the marble floor, and walked out of the dressing room without looking back.

Stepping out of the hotel and into the biting night wind, Lana took a deep breath, completely emptying her lungs of the toxic air.

Her phone vibrated in her palm. It was a text message from Greg - Vice President of Delta Lab.

[Standing by for your instructions, Miss Day.]

An extremely dangerous, bloodthirsty smile curled Lana's lips. Her fingers flew across the keyboard without half a second of hesitation:

[Terminate all patent licenses immediately. Cut off their entire supply chain. I want Meridian Pharmaceuticals completely bankrupt before the sun rises tomorrow.]