The Billionaire Wants My Blood

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back at the starting line of the nightmare.

My brother, Brad, always had a twisted obsession with playing God. He lived for the aesthetic of the perfect pair. To broadcast his whirlwind romance with Diana Blackwoodthe citys youngest tech billionairehe didn't just stop at matching His and Hers bathrobes or synchronized calendars. He decided I was the final piece of his collection.

"Its about symmetry, Nico," hed said back then, his eyes gleaming with a manic sort of pride. "The billionaire and her protg, and youmy brotherwith her right-hand woman. Its a match made in heaven."

In my past life, I folded. I let him push me into a marriage with Morgan.

For three years, she was the perfect wife. She was attentive, bordering on doting. She curated my life with such surgical precision that I actually let myself believe it was love. I believed the lie until the very end.

But when I was dying, lying in a sterile hospital bed and begging her over the phone to come sign the consent forms for a life-saving surgery, all I heard was a low, jagged laugh.

"You actually think youre worth my signature?" Her voice had sliced through the line like a scalpel.

I remember the coldness that seeped into my marrow as she dismantled our entire three-year history with a few sentences. "You loved playing house with your brothers little matching game, didn't you? But Cody is my only match. A man like you? You were only ever fit for the trashy girls I could pick up off the street for fifty bucks."

That was when the truth came out. On our wedding night, the woman in my bed hadn't been her. It had been a girl shed hired from a dive bar to humiliate me before the marriage even began. She had spent three years weaving a web of fake affection just to destroy me, all to avenge some perceived slight against her "precious" Cody.

I died on that operating table, my heart heavy with a hatred so pure it brought me back.

Brad wouldnt stop talking.

"Come on, Nico. What do you think of Morgan? Dianas chief of staff."

He shoved a glossy photo toward me. "Shes brilliant, shes gorgeous, and shes Dianas inner circle. Youre a catch, shes a catch. Its poetic!"

I stared at the photo, the phantom pain in my chest a sharp reminder that this was real. I was back. In my last life, Id agreed to this because I valued "loyalty" and "friendship." I didn't want to rain on Brads parade.

Morgan was a master of the long game. She had played the part of the gentle, cultured woman so well Id been fooled for over a thousand days.

The memory of her voice in that hospital roomthe sheer, unadulterated disgustmade bile rise in my throat. I pushed the photo away so hard it skittered off the mahogany table.

"Im not interested."

Brad blinked, his practiced smile faltering. "Wait, what? Nico, you usually go along with this stuff. Morgan is incredible. Shes exactly your type."

I looked him dead in the eye, my gaze cold enough to make him flinch. "If youre so desperate to find a 'match,' go to a shelter and pair up some Labradors. Im done being the accessory to your ego."

Brads face flushed a deep, embarrassed crimson. Sitting next to him, Diana Blackwood narrowed her eyes. "Nico, Brad is only trying to look out for you."

I grabbed my bag and stood up, the chair scraping harshly against the floor. "I can look out for myself. I don't need his brand of 'charity'."

I threw open the door to the private lounge and nearly collided with a woman standing in the hallway.

The scent hit me firstsandalwood and something expensive. It was Morgans scent. The same eyes that had deceived me for years were now staring directly into mine.

"Leaving so soon, Mr. Vance?" she asked, her voice a low, melodic purr.

I couldn't help it; I recoiled. The physical urge to get away from her was visceral. "Move."

Morgan arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow. My hostility clearly wasn't in her script. She took a step closer, invading my space. "You seem to have a very specific grievance with me, Nico. Have we met?"

I looked up, meeting her gaze with a sneer. "We haven't. But I know your type, and I don't like what I see."

She let out a soft, amused huff. "Youre quite the character. But don't you think snubbing Diana and Brad like this is a bit short-sighted? They have your best interests at heart."

"My interests aren't up for public debate," I snapped, sidestepping her and walking toward the exit.

I could feel her eyes on my back, heavy and calculating, all the way to the elevator.

I went straight to my apartment and started packing. I needed to disappear, to put as much distance between myself and that woman as possible. But an hour later, the doorbell rang.

Morgan stood there, holding a leather-bound folder. "Nico, we need to talk."

I tried to slam the door, but she wedged her designer heel in the frame. Her expression shifted from polite to predatory. "Its about your fathers estate. The venture capital firm he left you. Don't you want to know how deep in the red it actually is?"

I froze. That company was the only thing I had left of him. In my previous life, Id handed the keys to her right after the honeymoon. Shed gutted it and used the assets as a "dowry" for Codys start-up.

I let her in, my face a mask of ice.

She tossed the folder onto my coffee table. "The credit lines are frozen. If you don't get an influx of at least five million in the next seventy-two hours, the bank begins liquidation. Your father's legacy becomes a footnote in a bankruptcy filing."

She leaned in, her eyes locking onto mine. "And Im the only one who can write that check."

I actually laughed. It was a hollow, jagged sound. "And let me guess. Theres a catch."

Morgan moved closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Marry me."

"What could you possibly want with me, Morgan? Why this game?"

"I want you," she said, her voice dripping with a simulated sincerity that made my skin crawl.

I picked up the folder and, without breaking eye contact, tore the entire thing in half. Then I tore it again.

"Let it go bankrupt," I said, my voice steady. "Id rather beg for change on the street than spend a single second bound to you."

The moment she left, I called my CFO.

It was worse than shed described. Not only were the lines frozen, but several massive short-term loans were being called in early. It was a coordinated strike. Someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.

It had to be Morgan. It was her signature move: create a fire, then show up with a glass of water and demand a kingdom in exchange. It was exactly what shed done in my first life, and I had been too blinded by grief to see the matches in her hand.

Not this time.

I spent the next forty-eight hours listing my condo, selling my watch collection, and reaching out to old rivals to sell my shares at a loss. But every door was slammed in my face.

Word had gotten out. Diana Blackwood had made it known: anyone who helped me was an enemy of the Blackwood empire.

Brad called me, his voice thick with a fake, pitying concern. "Nico, just swallow your pride. Morgan is crazy about you. She went to Diana on her knees to get that funding approved for you. If you marry her, the company is saved, youre taken care of, and everyone wins. Why are you being so difficult?"

I hung up and blocked him.

Three days later, the process server arrived with a summons. The walls were closing in. I was sitting in the middle of my half-empty apartment when the door opened. Morgan stood there, silhouetted against the hall light, holding a black umbrella.

"Stop fighting, Nico," she said, walking toward me like a victor surveying a battlefield. "One word from you, and this all goes away."

I looked up at her. "Does it make you feel powerful? Backing someone into a corner just so you can play the savior?"

She frowned. "Im trying to help you."

"By cutting off every exit?" I stood up, closing the distance between us. "By telling Diana to blackball me? You don't want a husband, Morgan. You want a pet."

She reached out and gripped my jaw, her fingers digging in with surprising strength. "My patience is wearing thin, Nico. Youre going to marry me. You don't have another choice."

I felt a dark, twisted smile spread across my face. "Fine. You want a wedding? Well have a wedding."

She blinked, startled by the sudden compliance. She let go of my face, her expression softening into that practiced, "gentle" mask. "Good. Ill handle the arrangements."

I didn't say a word. I remembered the first weddingthe way she looked at Cody over my shoulder while we danced. This time, I wasn't an oblivious lamb. I just needed the money to hit the accounts. Once the wire transfer cleared, Id be gone before the ink on the license was dry.

On the day we signed the papers at City Hall, Morgan was radiant in a cream-colored suit. She took my hand as we walked down the stone steps. "Were family now, Nico."

I pulled my hand away and checked my watch. "Whatever you say."

A charcoal-gray sports car pulled up to the curb. The window rolled down to reveal Cody. In my last life, Morgan would have moved mountainsor killed mejust to see him smile.

"Hey, Sis. Congrats," Cody said, his eyes flicking to me with a smirk. "So this is the new groom? Handsome. No wonder you skipped my birthday dinner to handle his 'paperwork'."

Morgans shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly. She turned to Cody, her voice laced with a sudden, sharp anxiety. "Cody? What are you doing here?"

Cody climbed out of the car and draped an arm around her shoulders with a familiarity that was insulting. "Just wanted to see the man of the hour. Hey, Morgan, my stomach is killing me again. Can you take me to the clinic? I don't think I can drive."

He didn't even try to hide the provocation. He was marking his territory.

Morgan looked back at me. "Nico, Cody isn't feeling well. I need to get him to the doctor. Ill have the driver take you home."

In my last life, this was exactly how it started. On our first day as a married couple, she left me at the curb for a "medical emergency" that turned out to be a party. I had spent my wedding night alone, thinking I was being a supportive husband.

I nodded. "Sure. Have a safe trip."

Morgan seemed unsettled by my lack of emotion. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Cody pulled her toward the car.

As they sped off, I pulled out my phone and called the company controller.

"Did the wire hit?"

"Yes, sir. Five million, cleared ten minutes ago."

I felt the first real spark of joy in weeks. "Transfer it immediately to the offshore holding account. Then call the authorities. Were filing for Chapter 7 and reporting the company for suspected fraudulent investment. Freeze everything."

I went back to the penthousethe "marital home" shed bought.

I spent an hour taking every "His and Hers" item shed meticulously placedthe matching towels, the monogrammed pillowsand tossed them into the trash chute. Then I booked the first flight to London.

I was reaching for my suitcase when the front door was nearly kicked off its hinges.

Morgan stormed in. Before I could react, she had her hand around my throat, slamming me back against the hallway wall.

"You played me!" she screamed, the veins in her neck bulging. "The money is gone! You filed for bankruptcy? You liquidated the very thing I bought for you?"

I gasped for air, staring back at her with a defiance that fueled her rage. "Yeah," I choked out. "Your money it felt dirty. I didn't want it."

Her grip tightened. I saw red at the edges of my vision. "Youre dead, Nico. I will destroy you."

I managed a jagged grin. "Then do it. Kill me. But youre never getting that money back."

She abruptly let go. I slid down the wall, coughing and clutching my throat. She hovered over me, her face a mask of pure malice.

"You think you can just run?" she hissed. "I know where your fathers ashes are buried, Nico. You think I won't have that urn smashed and scattered in a gutter by tomorrow morning?"

I started to shake. In my last life, this was how she broke me. Shed used my fathers memory to force me to donate bone marrow to Cody.

I lunged at her, my palm connecting with her cheek in a stinging slap. "You monster!"

She didn't flinch. She just slowly turned her head back to me, her eyes burning. She swiped a thumb across her lip where Id drawn blood.

"Good," she whispered. "I like it when they fight back. Since you won't be a husband, youll be a prisoner."

She pulled out her phone. "Cancel all flights in Nico Vances name. Freeze his personal accounts. And put a guard at the cemetery. If anyone so much as touches his fathers plot, I want to know."

She looked down at me one last time. "From today on, you don't go anywhere without my permission."

The house arrest began. She confiscated my phone and my ID. I was locked in a gilded cage, a high-tech villa on the outskirts of the city.

By day, she was the powerful executive. By night, she came home to find new ways to break me. Shed order the cook to make things I was allergic to. Shed turn the AC down to freezing and take all the blankets.

Eventually, she started bringing Cody over. Shed let him lounge in her lap while I sat across the room, a silent witness.

"Look, Morgan, hes watching us," Cody would giggle, leaning into her.

Morgan would barely glance at me. "Hes just a toy that won't follow instructions. Don't mind him."

I sat there, watching the performance, feeling nothing but a profound sense of nausea. In my first life, this would have gutted me. Now, it was just pathetic.

I got up to leave the room.

"Stay right there," Cody called out. "Nico, get me a glass of water. Im parched."

I ignored him and kept walking.

"I said stop!" Morgans voice cracked like a whip. "Cody asked for water. Did you lose your hearing?"

I turned around. "Is this why you forced me to marry you? To be a waiter for your pet?"

Morgan was across the room in seconds. She grabbed a handful of my hair, forcing my head back. "Husband? You think you earned that title? Youre here for penance, Nico. Your father ruined Codys family. He drove them to the brink of extinction. Now, youre going to pay that debt back in blood."

I froze. "What are you talking about? My father was an honest man. He never hurt anyone."

"Lie to yourself if it helps you sleep," she spat, shoving me away. "But youre going to spend the rest of your life making it up to him."

She turned to Cody, her voice instantly turning sweet. "How should we punish him today, Cody?"

Cody stared at me, a cruel light in his eyes. "Ive been feeling so lightheaded lately, Morgan. The doctor said Im anemic. Maybe Nico should give me some of his blood?"

Morgan didn't even hesitate. "Done."

She called her private doctor. Two security guards pinned me to the dining table while they drew eight hundred milliliters of blood.

My vision went black. I felt colda deep, hollow cold that started in my chest and spread to my fingertips. I collapsed onto the floor, unable to move. Morgan looked down at me, her eyes devoid of anything resembling humanity.

"This is just the beginning, Nico. Im going to take everything you owe him, piece by piece."

The fever hit that night and didn't let go for days.

Morgan refused to call a doctor. She had a maid pour bitter, nameless herbal teas down my throat while I shivered under thin sheets. I was too weak to even crawl to the bathroom.

Cody would come into my room while she was at work, just to gloat.

"You look pathetic, Nico," he said, tracing a finger down my cheek. I tried to flinch, but I didn't have the strength. "Morgan doesn't love you. She feels sick every time she has to touch you. On your wedding night? She didn't even stay in the building."

He leaned in, whispering with a jagged grin. "She hired a girl from a street corner to sleep with you. Its a shame you ran away so earlyyou missed out on her favorite part of the prank."

I stared at him. Even though I knew the truth, hearing it out loud felt like being plunged into ice water. I forced myself to sit up, summoning every ounce of remaining strength to slap his face.

"Get out."

Cody shrieked and fell back onto the floor.

The door flew open. Morgan charged in, her face contorting when she saw Cody on the ground. She rushed to his side. "Cody! What happened?"

Cody started sobbing, clutching his cheek. "I just wanted to check on him, Morgan. I felt bad for him and he hit me!"

Morgan turned on me, her eyes wild with fury. "Youre asking for death, Nico!"

She lunged forward and delivered a backhand so hard I was thrown across the bed. My lip split, and my ears rang with a deafening hum.

"If you ever touch him again, I will kill you myself!"

I wiped the blood from my mouth and laughed. It was a wet, rattling sound. "Then do it. Kill me now. End the play."

Morgan gripped my chin, her nails drawing blood. "Kill you? Thats too easy. Codys kidneys are failing. And what a coincidenceyoure a perfect match."

My heart stopped. "No. You can't. Thats illegal."

She laughed, a cold, sharp sound. "In this city, I am the law. Next month, youre going under the knife."

The next few weeks were a clinical nightmare. I was force-fed supplements and injected with vitamins every day, like a pig being fattened for slaughter. They weren't caring for me; they were maintaining the hardware.

I tried to escape once. The maid had left the door unlocked. I made it to the kitchen and grabbed the landline, dialing 911 with shaking fingers.

"Help, Im being held against my will theyre going to harvest my"

The line went dead. I looked up to see Morgan standing there, the cord wrapped around her hand.

"You never learn, do you?"

She dragged me by my hair back to the bedroom and threw me onto the bed. "If youre so eager to leave, well move the surgery up. Today."

The guards strapped me to a gurney. The surgical lights were blinding. I thrashed against the restraints until my wrists were raw and bleeding.

"Morgan! Youll rot in hell for this! Let me go!"

Morgan stood by the operating table, her face a mask of indifference. "This is what you owe him."

She turned to leave as the anesthesiologist approached, but suddenly, a white-hot pain bloomed in my abdomen. Not the surgerysomething else. A deep, tearing agony.

"It hurts" I gasped. "Somethings wrong"

The doctor stepped forward, his face going pale as he checked the monitors. "Ms. Blackwell his vitals are crashing. Its a massive internal hemorrhagean old condition must have flared up from the stress and the blood loss. Hes too weak. If we take the kidney now, hell die on the table before we even finish the first incision."

Morgan froze. She turned back, staring at me. "What did you say?"

"Hes in critical condition," the doctor stammered.

I was slipping away, the pain so intense I could barely see. "Morgan please help me"

Morgans expression shifted, a flicker of somethingdoubt? Fear?crossing her face.

But then the doors burst open. Cody was being wheeled in on another gurney, gasping for air. "Morgan it hurts I can't breathe the doctor said if I don't get the transplant tonight, I won't make it to morning"

In my last life, she let me die in that hospital. In this life, she looked at my fading eyes, then looked at Cody.

"Hes just a piece of trash I picked up," she said, her voice like iron. "If he dies, he dies. Save Cody. Start the transplant now."

I felt the cold take over. "Morgan I hope you see my face every time you close your eyes"

Then, a deafening explosion rocked the building.