Rising From Shadows: The Billionaire's Cold Revenge

Author: Xi Yue

Chapter 1 1

Word Count: 936 | Released on: 22/01/2026

blood turn into slush in his veins. He watched his wife

ago, the world had been compressed i

the rhythm of the heart monitor next to the bed. Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound was cutting through Ephram's nerves like a serrated kni

ip, adjusted a valve, and then finally turned. He took the stethoscope from arou

said. His voice was low, professional, but

spital bed, the cold steel biting into his skin. He looked at the woman in the bed. She looked so small. The grandmother who had ra

Her breath fogged up the plastic oxygen mask covering her face.

ound hers. Her skin was ice cold. He leaned in

sound was a rattle in her che

s sternum. He swallowed the bile rising in his throat. He forced

said, his voice cracking. "

he screen was shattered, a spiderweb of cracks over the glas

ng. And ran

tared at the dark screen. His

wo. Three.

the speaker. "I told you I'm working la

whisper. "Erlene, please. You have to come to the hospital. Grandma

nd. Then, the sound of background

one shifted, becoming smooth, practiced. "The rain is insane out here. I

," a man's voice drifted throu

hone. Then Erlene's voice came back, sharper, higher pitched. "Look

lence that followed was lo

lack. He felt a burning sensation behind his eyes,

" he lied. "The rain is jus

emed to settle. He

ing. "I'm going to get coffee,"

He hit the button for the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor. The automatic

if the rain was really that bad. He stepped

as gleaming under the streetlights. Ephram knew that car. Erlene had boug

enger do

as wearing a black evening dress that clung to her hips, the

nson. The man who was supposed to be in Europe receiving treatme

the car and pulled Erlene close to him. He wrapped his arm a

deep, hungry, right there in the rain, under

Chapter End

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Rising From Shadows: The Billionaire's Cold Revenge

Xi Yue Modern

“I stood in the shadows of the hospital, watching my wife kiss another man while my grandmother lay dying upstairs. Just minutes ago, Erlene had snapped at me over the phone, calling me a "needy child" and claiming she was stuck at a business meeting across town. Now, she was stepping out of a red Porsche in a designer dress, wrapped in the arms of Andrew Hanson, the man who was supposed to be her "sick friend." "I'm not going up," Erlene said coldly when I confronted her in the rain. "I don't like watching people die. It's depressing. Tell her I came by." She looked at my soaked, cheap hoodie and my scuffed sneakers with pure disgust before turning her back on me to return to her lover's side. I had to go back to the ICU alone and lie to my grandmother with her final breath, telling her Erlene was waiting just outside the door. As the heart monitor flatlined at 2:14 AM, my phone buzzed with a call from my mother-in-law, who screamed that I was a "worthless loser" and demanded I sign divorce papers immediately so her daughter could finally be with a "real man." For three years, I lived as a ghost, a poor driver who endured their insults and hid my true identity just to have a simple life with the woman I loved. I sacrificed my future for a family that treated me like a stray dog, only for them to spit on me while I held my grandmother's cold hand. Why did I stay in the shadows for so long? Why did I let these people believe they could crush me under their expensive heels? I walked out of that hospital and threw my thick, black glasses onto the wet asphalt, watching a delivery truck grind them into dust. I didn't need the disguise anymore. I drove my rusted Honda to the towering iron gates of the George Estate, where the security team dropped their batons and snapped into a terrified salute. My father was waiting on the marble steps, but I wasn't there for a peaceful reunion. I was there to reclaim my inheritance and make sure Erlene realized exactly what she had thrown away.”