The True Heiress’s Vengeance: I Reclaim My Stolen Empire
Zara Thorne · Completed · 7.9k Words
Introduction
Now I'm back. At the exact moment they're celebrating my replacement's victory, I step out of the shadows and into the light of my own funeral.
Tonight, I will not beg. I will not cry. I will not give them the satisfaction of watching me break.
Tonight, I become the nightmare they've been running from. For twenty years, they treated me like I was invisible. Let me show them what happens when you ignore the one person who could destroy everything you built.
I am Serena Astor.
The rightful heir.
And I will have my revenge.
Chapter 1
The cold light above the operating table pierced my eyes. Without anesthesia, I watched helplessly as the scalpel sliced open my chest.
The one holding the scalpel was my fiancé, Julian.
Watching quietly from the doorway were my two adopted brothers—Liam and Noah. Liam, the oldest, even covered Chloe's eyes and coaxed her softly, "Don't be afraid. Once you have her heart, you'll be completely healthy."
Grandpa was the founder of the Astor Empire, and I was his only biological granddaughter. These two men, raised by his own hands, were supposed to be my only backbone. But on the night of the centennial celebration, they watched Chloe step onto the stage, taking my place and my identity, without uttering a single word. And I, crushed under the threats of my fiancé and stepmother, swallowed all my grievances time and time again.
In the last second before my consciousness faded, I finally realized that love and family were nothing but garbage in the eyes of these people.
In this life, when I opened my eyes again, I was standing back at the banquet of the Astor family's centennial celebration.
"Does a low-class nobody deserve to touch this haute couture gown? Get lost, don't pollute the air around a real heiress like me." Chloe wore the dress that should have belonged to me, smiling like a high and mighty princess.
I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.
Smack!
Chloe let out a scream and fell into the carpet.
The symphony stopped. The elites holding champagne flutes turned their heads, staring at me as if looking at a monster.
"You crazy bitch, how dare you hit me?" Chloe clutched her face, tears instantly welling up as she cowered weakly on the floor.
For twenty years, I had been trapped in this estate like a non-existent shadow. Meanwhile, Chloe had been attending various banquets under the identity of the Astor family's heiress; she was Grandpa's only biological granddaughter—this was the consensus of everyone.
"Chloe!"
Three figures simultaneously shoved through the crowd and rushed over.
My fiancé, Julian, roughly bumped me aside and pulled Chloe protectively into his arms. Following closely behind were my two adopted brothers, raised by Grandpa himself. For so many years, Liam and Noah had never looked at me first—when Chloe fell, someone would catch her; when Chloe frowned, someone would hand her a handkerchief. But from beginning to end, I was just a dispensable shadow in this house.
Before I could steady myself, Liam, the oldest brother, delivered a harsh slap across my face.
Smack!
"Serena, I think you have a death wish!" Noah, the second brother, grabbed me by the collar. "What do you think you are, daring to lay a hand on our sister?"
I pried Noah’s hand off and pointed at Chloe, whom they were shielding in the middle. "Sister? Sister? Hah, the one you're protecting has never been any sister. I am the only legally recognized heir to the Astor family."
"But right now, I don't even have the right to teach someone a lesson. It turns out this family never speaks by bloodline; it speaks by whoever stands closer to power."
Liam's expression drastically changed, and he shoved me to the ground.
"Shut her mouth." He turned to the head of security. "We are the current senior executives of this group. If you can't handle a lunatic, pack up and leave tomorrow."
The head of security went pale and approached trembling. "Miss Serena... you might be the heir legally, but right now, Madam Eleanor and the two young masters are in charge of this celebration. Please cooperate and leave with us."
Four security guards immediately surrounded me, reaching out to grab my shoulders.
I did not struggle. First, I feigned weakness, slumping down. The moment the man behind me slightly relaxed his grip, I slammed my heel down onto his instep. Taking advantage of his backward jerk from the pain, I backhanded the other man gripping my arm and retreated, my fingers curling perfectly around the neck of a champagne bottle.
I grabbed the bottle and hurled it straight at the champagne tower in the center of the hall.
Crash—
The sound of shattering glass, mixed with splashing liquor, drowned out the breathing of everyone in the room.
"Not only am I the eldest daughter of the Astor family, but I am also the sole legal heir to the hundred-billion-dollar trust!" I stepped on the broken glass. "If any of you three dogs dare lay a finger on me today, just try me!"
Three seconds of dead silence passed. Immediately after, the banquet hall erupted into a burst of mocking laughter.
"Even if she does look somewhat like the old master's bloodline, it's not the turn of a nobody who's never shown her face to inherit the group. With young masters Liam and Noah here, what does she count for?"
I simply stared straight at Liam and Noah.
"Are you sure that when Grandpa returns tomorrow, you'll still be able to sit securely in your current positions?"
A secretive glint flashed in Noah's eyes, but he quickly returned to his cynical look of disdain. He tugged at Liam's cufflink and lowered his voice, "Brother, today is Chloe's big day, and the investors are arriving soon. Why waste time talking to something that can't see the light of day?"
I was very curious about how these three vicious dogs would bite each other when the wealth clashed with the things they cherished.
Thinking of the knives they handed over for Chloe in my past life, my eyes grew colder by the inch.
"I'll ask you guys one last time." I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and asked, word by word:
"Who is the true heir of the Astor family?"
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