They Raised a Real Heiress to Be a Monster

I was born lucky. A psychic told my adoptive parents my fate was tied to great wealth, so at three, I was taken from the orphanage and delivered to the Hendrie family.
Back then, the Hendries were just entering high society. They treated me as their lucky charm, spoiling me endlessly—and over the next fifteen years, their fortune soared, making them one of New York’s most powerful families.
Raised as their charm, I grew fearless and sharp-tongued, with a famously bad attitude.
Then my biological parents, the Vances, found me. They were minorly rich compared to the Hendries, but hey—free inheritance. I reluctantly agreed to visit.
But when I arrived, no one greeted me. The whole family was crowded around a crying girl—the one who’d taken my place.
“Stella, don’t cry,” her mother soothed. “No one can replace you. You’ll always be our most precious daughter.”
I rolled my eyes. “God, this is annoying. That whining is worse than nails on a chalkboard.”

1
My words fell into a sudden, dead silence. Every head whipped around to stare at me in disbelief.
My biological parents, Mr. and Mrs. Vance, frowned in disapproval, their expressions screaming, This is what you get from the lower classes. No manners.
My supposed older brother, Ethan, stormed over to me, his finger jabbing at my face. “Who do you think you are, talking to Stella like that?” he snarled. “Did your dirt-poor family not teach you any respect?”
Ha.
Dirt-poor?
The Hendries could buy and sell the Vances’ entire pathetic fortune in the time it takes to make a phone call. But I couldn't be bothered to explain that to these people. I let out a cold, dismissive laugh.
“No respect? I wonder why that is,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe it’s because she stole the family that was supposed to teach me.”
I pointed a finger at Stella. “And the little thief has the audacity to stand there crying? What is this, the classic ‘villain plays the victim’ routine?”
Ethan’s bravado crumbled. He was clearly out of his league. His face turned beet red as he stammered, “You! You! You…”
I cut him off, bored. “Spit it out. If you have a stutter, go see a doctor. If you’re just stupid, try reading a book. Either way, stop wasting my time.”
Defeated, Ethan could only stand there, seething and breathless, his face a mottled purple.
Right on cue, Stella drifted over, her face a perfect mask of wronged innocence. “I’m so sorry, sister,” she whispered, her eyes welling up. “It’s all my fault. I’m the one who stole your life. You have every right to be angry. Please, don’t blame Mom, Dad, or Ethan. Take it all out on me.”
Ugh. The classic damsel-in-distress act. Zero originality.
I had no intention of playing along with her little performance. I stood up straight. “Look, I’m tired. Just have someone show me to my room. You all can continue your little melodrama without me. I don’t have time for this.”
Mr. Vance let out an indignant huff, but he still motioned for the butler to show me to a room.
The butler gave me a tour. Before I could even say a word, Stella started her act again.
“Sister, you should take my room,” she declared, pushing her bedroom door open with a grand, magnanimous gesture. “It should have been yours all along.”
The moment the door opened, Ethan had another fit. He lunged forward to block the entrance, his face etched with pain as he looked at Stella.
“Stella, don’t do this to yourself,” he pleaded. “She’s a charity case from the sticks. A storage closet would be too good for her. She has no right to take your room!”
Mrs. Vance, to her credit, had a sliver of conscience left. She shot Ethan a soft glare before turning to me. “Selene, you can choose any of the other rooms in the house,” she said gently. “But Stella is used to this one. Please don’t fight her for it, alright?”
I was honestly speechless. Had I said a single word about wanting Stella’s room? Why was everyone acting like I was the villain here?
Was this room really that special?
My gaze drifted past Ethan’s obstructive frame to peek inside.
Two words came to mind: That’s it?
My dog Lucas’s room back at the Hendrie estate was bigger than this.
I rolled my eyes and walked away, pointing to a much larger room down the hall with better light and a better view. “I’ll take this one.”
Ethan stared at me, his voice cracking. “Are you insane? That’s Mom and Dad’s room!”
I strolled in anyway, then turned to Mr. and Mrs. Vance with a bright smile. “Mother just said I could pick any room as long as it wasn’t Stella’s. You’re not going to go back on your word, are you?”
Mrs. Vance was clearly flustered, but she eventually nodded.
“Great. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to rest. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
With that, I slammed the door shut, leaving the entire dumbfounded Vance family standing in the hallway.

2
Finally, some peace and quiet.
I snapped a picture of the room and sent it to Ben Prescott.
[My life is so hard. I’m living in a place worse than Lucas’s doghouse.]
Ben was my boyfriend. Or, more accurately, my fiancé. In the elite circles of New York, few families were considered equals to the Hendries. The Prescotts were one of them.
[Come home, baby. The Vances’ entire net worth wouldn’t even cover your handbag budget.]
[If you’re short on cash, I’ll have my assistant transfer some more company shares to you.]
They say a man head-over-heels in love is the best kind of man to marry. Ben was living proof. As the current head of the Prescott empire, he was known for his ruthless, decisive nature in the boardroom. But with me, he was endlessly indulgent.
I smiled and texted back:
[I want your shares. And I want the Vance family fortune too.]
The second I hit send, my door swung open.
It was Stella. The meek, gentle facade was gone, replaced by a look of smug superiority. She tossed an invitation at me, her voice dripping with condescension.
“This is for the Prescotts’ birthday gala. Mom and Dad said I have to bring you,” she announced. “But a country bumpkin like you has probably never even heard of the Prescotts. You’ll just embarrass yourself if you go.”
I picked it up. It was an invitation for Nathan Prescott’s birthday.
Nathan was the younger Prescott son, and the polar opposite of his brother. While Ben was a poised and powerful leader, Nathan was a reckless, hedonistic playboy. The moment he was in the same room as Ben, he turned into a mouse cornered by a cat.
Seeing my silence, Stella continued her gloating. “The Prescotts are top-tier New York high society. Not just anyone can get close to them. But I’m Nathan’s girlfriend, so of course, I got an invitation.”
Girlfriend? I’d never heard about Nathan having a girlfriend. He had an endless parade of bedmates, but never a girlfriend.
“I know you’re probably desperate for a glimpse into the world of the elite,” she sneered. “But you don’t belong. I won’t have a low-class nobody like you dragging me down.”
With that, she snatched the invitation back from my hand and ripped it into tiny pieces. A malicious smile played on her lips as she tossed the paper confetti into the air.
The next second, she threw herself onto the floor and began to wail.
“Sister! I know you’re angry, but you can’t just rip up my invitation!”
I had to hand it to her. The girl was committed to the drama. Her first order of business should be to delete TikTok and stop reading those trashy long-lost-heiress novels. She was becoming a caricature.
As she predicted, her cries brought Mr. and Mrs. Vance and Ethan running. They huddled around her, their faces etched with concern.
Stella squeezed out a few more tears. “Mom, Dad, Ethan, don’t blame her,” she choked out. “It was my fault. She didn’t mean to push me. She just… she wanted to go to the Prescott gala by herself, so she destroyed my invitation.”
Ethan, ever the loyal idiot, immediately turned on me. “You are shameless! We wouldn’t even have an invitation if it weren’t for Stella! She’s Nathan Prescott’s girlfriend! You wanted to go alone so you could move in on her boyfriend, didn’t you?”
Hahahahaha.
If I tried to seduce Nathan, Ben would probably break all three of his legs.
Seeing that I wasn’t defending myself, Mr. Vance assumed I was guilty. “Your mother and I wanted to give you a chance to see how the other half lives, and this is how you repay us?” he said sternly. “How dare you destroy a Prescott invitation and attack your sister! Butler! Time for some family discipline!”
A moment later, the butler walked in holding a long, thin whip.

3
The second he swung the whip, I caught it mid-air. I yanked it from his grasp and drove my foot into his knee. He yelped and crumpled to the floor, kneeling before me.
I pointed the whip at a small camera I’d placed on the bookshelf.
“You probably didn’t notice, but I installed a little security camera when I first came in,” I said with a sweet smile. “I didn’t expect to use it so soon. Why don’t we all watch and see who really ripped up the invitation?”
As the video played, Stella’s face grew paler and paler. The rest of the family’s expressions shifted from anger to confusion to awkwardness.
Realizing she was caught, Stella dropped to her knees and clutched my legs, putting on a show of profound shame. “I’m so sorry, sister! I was just so scared of losing Mom, Dad, and Ethan. I was terrified they’d abandon me once you came back. It was a moment of weakness! Please, sister, hit me! Punish me! I’ll do anything if you’ll just forgive me!”
Tears streamed down her face, and I could see the Vances’ resolve beginning to soften.
But I wasn’t a Vance.
I grabbed a glass water tumbler from the nightstand and smashed it over her head.
The glass shattered. Blood immediately began to trickle from a gash on her forehead.
“You’re the one who asked me to hit you,” I said calmly. “I’ve been alive for over twenty years, and I have to say, that’s a new one. But since you insisted, I’m happy to oblige.”
Stella was stunned into silence. She stared blankly for a full five seconds before letting out a piercing shriek.
The rest of them snapped out of their stupor. Ethan scooped her into his arms and bolted for the door, yelling, “To the hospital! We need to get her to a hospital!”
Mr. Vance glared at me, his face contorted with rage. “How could you be so violent? What if you scarred her face? How is she supposed to attend the Prescott gala now?”
Ah. So that’s what this was about. He wasn’t worried about Stella; he was worried about losing his connection to the Prescotts.
So much for all that unconditional love.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, my voice light. “Worried your plan to sell your daughter to a rich family will fail if she’s got a scar?”
My words hit their mark. His face flushed a deep red. “Insolence!” he roared. “You will stay here and reflect on what you’ve done! You are forbidden from attending the Prescott gala!”
I just laughed as he and Mrs. Vance stormed out. An empty threat from a powerless man.
I had received my invitation to the Prescott gala ages ago. Ben had delivered it himself, begging me to come.
“Selene, I want to announce our wedding date that night.”
The thought still made me laugh. “Ben, are you serious? It’s your brother’s birthday party. You’re going to announce our wedding? That’s kind of stealing his thunder, don’t you think?”
“It would be an honor for him,” Ben had replied, completely serious. “Besides, I don’t care. There are too many vultures circling you. I can’t wait any longer. I want the entire world to know that you are my wife.”

4
On the night of the gala, the Vances left early.
I slipped back to the Hendrie estate, changed into the custom gown and jewels Ben had prepared for me, and made my own, leisurely way to the party.
When I entered the ballroom, I saw Stella surrounded by a flock of sycophantic girls.
“Oh, Stella, that sapphire necklace is gorgeous! Was it a gift from Nathan?”
“I’m so jealous! I heard the Prescotts are announcing an engagement tonight. It has to be you and Nathan, right?”
“When you’re Mrs. Prescott, you won’t forget about us little people, will you?”
The flattery was clearly going to Stella’s head. Then, someone spotted me—and the necklace around my neck.
“Stella! Look! Her necklace is exactly the same as yours!”
“But that’s a limited-edition haute couture piece. There’s only one in the world.”
Stella’s eyes narrowed as she marched toward me.
“How did you sneak in here without an invitation? And why are you wearing a cheap knockoff? You should leave before you embarrass the Vance family any further.”
I gave her a bored look. “Who said mine is the knockoff?”
Stella laughed, triumphant. “Mine was a gift from Nathan. It’s obviously real. Since there’s only one, yours must be the fake.”
Please. Nathan didn’t earn his own money; he lived off an allowance from his brother. With the number of girls he had on the side, there was no way he could afford to gift genuine high-end jewelry to every single one.
I smirked. “Yours is from Nathan. Mine is from Ben. You tell me which one is real.”
Before Stella could respond, the crowd around us erupted.
“What did she just say? Ben Prescott?! No way!”
“The head of the Prescott family is a notorious ice king. I’ve never heard of him having a girlfriend.”
“She’s obviously lying. How shameless can you be, making up rumors about the crown prince of New York society?”
Stella shot me a disdainful look. “You are nothing but a low-class copycat. Get out of here before you make a bigger fool of yourself.”
Then, she grabbed my necklace and yanked.
It snapped, falling to the floor. She stomped on it with her heel, then leaned in close, her voice a venomous whisper. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. First, you tried to ruin my face, and now you’re wearing the same necklace to seduce my boyfriend. I won’t let you win.”
“Get out!” she shrieked for all to hear.
I let out an annoyed sigh and slapped her hard across the face. Twice.
“You’re so loud,” I muttered.
Stella stumbled and fell to the floor, her eyes wide with disbelief and welling with tears. Just as she was about to launch into another tirade, a new voice cut in. “What’s going on here?”
It was Nathan Prescott.
Stella immediately grabbed his arm, her face a mask of tearful misery. “Nathan! She said the necklace you gave me is a fake! And then she hit me!”
“Who would dare?!” Nathan snapped, his gaze sweeping over to me with an air of authority.
I just smiled, a playful glint in my eye, and met his gaze.
The moment our eyes locked, the arrogant expression on his face shattered as if he’d been struck by lightning.
His voice cracked, rising several octaves in panic.
“Sis… Sister-in-law?! What are you doing here?!”

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