The Monte Cristo Heiress

The Monte Cristo Heiress

Chen Ziluo

5.0
Comment(s)
129
View
11
Chapters

My family, the Thompsons, was crumbling, and I was paraded before the powerful elite, the Ashworths, Albrights, and Cartwrights, supposedly to secure a lifeline through a strategic marriage. My childhood friends-Caleb, Leo, and Julian-were the intended targets. But at a humiliating dinner, they didn't just reject me; Julian, the one I'd always trusted, dropped a bomb: it was a bet, a game to see if he could "rehabilitate the fallen Ava Thompson." Shattered, I fled, inventing a boyfriend, a lie that miraculously led me to Nate, a kind outsider who made me feel truly seen. Our fragile peace was my escape, until the day my past violently resurfaced. Nate wasn't just a quiet artist; he was Caleb's vengeful cousin, the mastermind behind the vicious cyberbullying that had nearly destroyed me last year, using my pain to further his own twisted agenda. The betrayal was a gut punch, realizing I'd walked from one manipulator's hands into a far more insidious trap. How could I have been so blind, so foolish, to be used and discarded again and again? But this time, the helplessness curdled into ice-cold rage; I wouldn't be a victim anymore, I would be the architect of my own fate. I meticulously exposed Nate' s dark scheme, watching his carefully constructed life implode. Yet, my father, in a last desperate gamble, drugged Caleb and me, staging a fake engagement scandal to seize control of the Ashworth fortune. Cornered, but seeing an undeniable opening, I turned to Julian, the original betrayer, and whispered, "It was always you." He swallowed the lie, becoming my unwitting protector and weapon. Julian tore down my father, rescued my mother, crushed Caleb, and ensured my absolute safety, believing it was for love. When everything was finally secured, I left him a single, symbolic book-"The Count of Monte Cristo"-and disappeared, finally truly free.

Introduction

My family, the Thompsons, was crumbling, and I was paraded before the powerful elite, the Ashworths, Albrights, and Cartwrights, supposedly to secure a lifeline through a strategic marriage.

My childhood friends-Caleb, Leo, and Julian-were the intended targets.

But at a humiliating dinner, they didn't just reject me; Julian, the one I'd always trusted, dropped a bomb: it was a bet, a game to see if he could "rehabilitate the fallen Ava Thompson."

Shattered, I fled, inventing a boyfriend, a lie that miraculously led me to Nate, a kind outsider who made me feel truly seen.

Our fragile peace was my escape, until the day my past violently resurfaced.

Nate wasn't just a quiet artist; he was Caleb's vengeful cousin, the mastermind behind the vicious cyberbullying that had nearly destroyed me last year, using my pain to further his own twisted agenda.

The betrayal was a gut punch, realizing I'd walked from one manipulator's hands into a far more insidious trap.

How could I have been so blind, so foolish, to be used and discarded again and again?

But this time, the helplessness curdled into ice-cold rage; I wouldn't be a victim anymore, I would be the architect of my own fate.

I meticulously exposed Nate' s dark scheme, watching his carefully constructed life implode.

Yet, my father, in a last desperate gamble, drugged Caleb and me, staging a fake engagement scandal to seize control of the Ashworth fortune.

Cornered, but seeing an undeniable opening, I turned to Julian, the original betrayer, and whispered, "It was always you."

He swallowed the lie, becoming my unwitting protector and weapon.

Julian tore down my father, rescued my mother, crushed Caleb, and ensured my absolute safety, believing it was for love.

When everything was finally secured, I left him a single, symbolic book-"The Count of Monte Cristo"-and disappeared, finally truly free.

Continue Reading

Other books by Chen Ziluo

More
Her Regret, His Peace

Her Regret, His Peace

Romance

5.0

They told me it was a contract marriage, a deal to save my mother' s life. In reality, it was my own slow death sentence. For three years, I was hired to be Chloe Davis' s husband, the man she blamed for ruining her life after her high school sweetheart dumped her. I endured her endless parade of boyfriends, her daily allowance of five dollars, and constant humiliation, all to ensure my ailing mother received the best care. Then, the day my mother died, Chloe' s assistant called, demanding I return home from the funeral to make snacks for a party. Chloe, my wife, had no idea my mother was gone. Days later, I learned the truth: my mother had committed suicide to free me, after Chloe' s cousin, Jake Stone, maliciously convinced her that she was an inescapable burden. That night, at a club, Chloe poured red wine over my head for Jake' s amusement. But the ultimate betrayal came when I collapsed from malnutrition and exhaustion. Chloe visited me in the hospital, not with concern, but to demand I take the fall for Jake' s drunk driving accident. The irony was suffocating; her own reckless driving had caused the power outage that shut down my mother' s life support, effectively killing her. "No," I told her, my voice finally firm after years of silence. "I want a divorce." Her shock was absolute; I had never defied her. Before I could escape, Jake ambushed me, confessing his role in my mother' s death, triggering a rage that landed me back in the hospital. Yet, Chloe watched as her bodyguards, on her command, broke my ribs and crushed my painting hand. Why had my life become this torment? Why had I, a quiet artist, become the target of such unbridled cruelty? I left with my mother' s ashes, leaving behind all the money, and promised myself I' d never look back.

His Penance, My Freedom

His Penance, My Freedom

Billionaires

5.0

Two years, Alex. It's been two years. My whisper was dry, lost in the cold, vast living room where I knelt on marble, gripping his expensive trousers. For two years, since his mother' s death, this had been my life, my prison. He blamed me, twisted a lie of grief into his truth: I' d hidden her sickness for his company' s IPO. Every week, a different woman. They wore my robes, used my perfume, slept in our bed. My task: welcome, serve, clean. I swallowed humiliation because my father was sick, his treatments astronomically expensive. Alex Thorne, my husband, was my only hope. But when I begged for money, for my father on his deathbed, Alex sneered, "Let him die." "It's what he deserves for having a daughter like you." Then the hospital called: My father was gone. He took his own life, leaving a note, not wanting to be a burden. I was on my knees, begging for a life already lost. "Problem solved," Alex chirped to his current paramour, tossing my phone aside. My world shattered. He was a monster who savored my pain. Something inside me snapped. The part that endured, that hoped, broke. "No," I said, rising on shaky legs. "I want a divorce, Alex." He laughed, demanding I apologize to his mistress, then commanded me to clean toilets with a toothbrush. He was mocking me. Humiliating me. Using my deepest wounds as his amusement. But as I knelt once more, a single thought crystallised: I wouldn't just leave him. I would erase him. And when he then shoved me, triggering a terrifying pain and a warm, wet sensation, I knew my silent revolution had just begun. He might have killed my father and our unborn child, but he had just awakened the storm within me.

You'll also like

HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION(An Erotic Billionaire Romance)

HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION(An Erotic Billionaire Romance)

Viviene
4.9

Trigger/Content Warning: This story contains mature themes and explicit content intended for adult audiences(18+). Reader discretion is advised. It includes elements such as BDSM dynamics, explicit sexual content, toxic family relationships, occasional violence and strong language. This is not a fluffy romance. It is intense, raw and messy, and explores the darker side of desire. ***** "Take off your dress, Meadow." "Why?" "Because your ex is watching," he said, leaning back into his seat. "And I want him to see what he lost." ••••*••••*••••* Meadow Russell was supposed to get married to the love of her life in Vegas. Instead, she walked in on her twin sister riding her fiance. One drink at the bar turned to ten. One drunken mistake turned into reality. And one stranger's offer turned into a contract that she signed with shaking hands and a diamond ring. Alaric Ashford is the devil in a tailored Tom Ford suit. Billionaire CEO, brutal, possessive. A man born into an empire of blood and steel. He also suffers from a neurological condition-he can't feel. Not objects, not pain, not even human touch. Until Meadow touches him, and he feels everything. And now he owns her. On paper and in his bed. She wants him to ruin her. Take what no one else could have. He wants control, obedience... revenge. But what starts as a transaction slowly turns into something Meadow never saw coming. Obsession, secrets that were never meant to surface, and a pain from the past that threatens to break everything. Alaric doesn't share what's his. Not his company. Not his wife. And definitely not his vengeance.

Marrying My Runaway Groom's Powerful Father

Marrying My Runaway Groom's Powerful Father

Temple Madison
5.0

I was sitting in the Presidential Suite of The Pierre, wearing a Vera Wang gown worth more than most people earn in a decade. It was supposed to be the wedding of the century, the final move to merge two of Manhattan's most powerful empires. Then my phone buzzed. It was an Instagram Story from my fiancé, Jameson. He was at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris with a caption that read: "Fuck the chains. Chasing freedom." He hadn't just gotten cold feet; he had abandoned me at the altar to run across the world. My father didn't come in to comfort me. He burst through the door roaring about a lost acquisition deal, telling me the Holland Group would strip our family for parts if the ceremony didn't happen by noon. My stepmother wailed about us becoming the laughingstock of the Upper East Side. The Holland PR director even suggested I fake a "panic attack" to make myself look weak and sympathetic to save their stock price. Then Jameson’s sleazy cousin, Pierce, walked in with a lopsided grin, offering to "step in" and marry me just to get his hands on my assets. I looked at them and realized I wasn't a daughter or a bride to anyone in that room. I was a failed asset, a bouncing check, a girl whose own father told her to go to Paris and "beg" the man who had just publicly humiliated her. The girl who wanted to be loved died in that mirror. I realized that if I was going to be sold to save a merger, I was going to sell myself to the one who actually controlled the money. I marched past my parents and walked straight into the VIP holding room. I looked the most powerful man in the room—Jameson’s cold, ruthless uncle, Fletcher Holland—dead in the eye and threw the iPad on the table. "Jameson is gone," I said, my voice as hard as stone. "Marry me instead."

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book