Chapter 1
Everyone in the Westbridge Elite Circle believed I was nothing more than a mistress the powerful business magnate Alexander Sterling kept on the side.
I splurged on designer couture and charged everything to his black card. Whenever I was in a bad mood, I would even smash antiques from his collection.
Even if all I said in the middle of the night was, "I'm hungry," the high-and-mighty mogul himself would drive out in his pajamas to pick up barbecue for me.
Gradually, the way those socialites looked at me changed from envy to contempt.
"That woman really doesn't know what's good for her. Mr. Sterling will throw her out sooner or later."
Then Alexander's fiancée, Victoria Bennett, showed up.
While Alexander was away at a meeting in the Sterling Financial District, she cornered me with a group of bodyguards and crushed the 10-million-dollar pink diamond I had just won at auction beneath her heel.
She covered her mouth as she laughed, looking down her nose at me.
"I'm so sorry. I thought this was just another piece of trash Mr. Sterling didn't want and tossed your way."
Then she pulled out her phone and projected the name Alexander had saved me under onto the big screen.
Debt Collector
Everyone there burst out laughing.
Victoria looked at me with satisfaction.
"Do you see it now? He doesn't care about you at all. You're just a woman he throws money at for fun. You shamelessly pester him for money every single day. Don't you find that embarrassing?"
She pulled out a voluntary agreement stating that I would walk away with nothing and slapped it straight across my face.
"Sign it."
She waved her phone.
"Or I'll send this photo of you wearing Mr. Sterling's shirt in the middle of the night and deliberately trying to seduce him to a gossip tabloid."
I stared at the photo of myself from behind, washing my hair in the bathroom while wearing a men's shirt, and fell into thought.
Wait.
Since when did a daughter wearing clothes her own father had accidentally bought too big count as seducing someone?
*****
I had taken my late mother's surname, Carter.
Alexander had always felt guilty toward me, so every now and then, he would send oversized men's clothing to my house.
Every time, he would say with complete confidence:
"An oversized boyfriend-style look. Young people wouldn't understand."
I had reminded him about the clothes countless times.
But he never listened.
As for why I hid my identity, it was entirely because Alexander was too troublesome.
If I went out with the identity of the Sterling heiress, forget about eating at roadside stalls. I probably couldn't even buy a latte without 10 bodyguards being sent ahead to check whether there were any potential dangers.
Now, Victoria had a weapon she could use against me.
I lowered my head and looked at the agreement on the floor.
A five-million-dollar check was tucked beneath it.
"Sign it, then leave Westbridge City."
Victoria crossed her arms, her face full of arrogance.
"You are never to see Mr. Sterling again for the rest of your life."
More than a dozen men in black blocked the exit of the auction venue, preventing anyone from leaving.
The wealthy guests and socialites around me whispered among themselves as they discussed me.
I bent down and picked up the check.
Five million dollars.
It was not even enough to buy a single case of Cuban cigars from Alexander, that old spendthrift.
The Bennett Family's finances had been strained for the past 2 years. They had been relying on a marriage alliance with the Sterling Family to ease their crisis.
I never expected that the standards of the dignified Miss Bennett would only be worth this much.
I picked up the signing pen on the table and wrote the name "Elena Carter" on the agreement.
Because I signed it so decisively, the humiliating speech Victoria had prepared in advance suddenly got stuck in her throat.
"What do you mean by that?"
I pushed the agreement back toward her.
"Five million dollars for some peace and quiet is a pretty good deal. I wish Miss Bennett an early marriage into the Sterling Family. I hope you won't regret it later."
I didn't cry.
I didn't make a scene.
I didn't even ask why Alexander hadn't shown up.
My calmness only made Victoria feel like I was provoking her.
Victoria pointed at me and shouted, "Elena, stop pretending to be noble! Don't play that push-and-pull game with me! Deep down, you're nothing but a cheap woman who relies on men to support her!"
Nathan Cole, who had been standing behind her the entire time, immediately started a live stream on his phone and pointed the camera directly at me.
"Everyone, look at this woman. She's already been thrown out, yet she's still pretending to be innocent. The clothes she's wearing were all gifts Mr. Sterling gave her, weren't they? Victoria, someone with such sticky fingers needs to be searched before she leaves. Who knows if she stole something from Mr. Sterling?"
Victoria sneered.
"Search her."
Two bodyguards immediately rushed forward and twisted my arms behind my back.
I lifted my leg and kicked one of them away. Then I took out the gold-embossed black card from my handbag and slammed it onto the table.
"Look carefully. From today onward, if I ever spend another cent from the Sterling Family, may misfortune follow me."
This card had been forced on me by Alexander.
Now was the perfect time to return it to him.
That way, he wouldn't be checking my spending records every day in the future.
Victoria stared at the black card, her eyes filled with jealousy.
Even she didn't have Sterling Family's unlimited black card.
Why did I?
She pulled out a stack of cash from her bag and threw it at my feet.
"Take this money, buy yourself a train ticket, and get back to the countryside. Later, if you go work at nightclubs and smile for customers, at least you won't starve."
I ignored her.
Instead, I took out the number saved on Claire Morgan's backup phone and prepared to message Sterling Family's private butler.
Elena: Stop working. Don't bother me anymore.
Just then, Victoria suddenly rushed over and snatched my phone away.
"Still trying to message Mr. Sterling for help? Keep dreaming!"
She turned around and viciously smashed the phone against the champagne tower beside her.
"Crash—"
Glass shattered across the floor.
My last means of communication was completely destroyed.
A wave of laughter immediately spread through the hall.
Victoria walked up to me, enjoying the sight of my humiliation.
"From today onward, you are dead in this circle."
I looked up at her.
"Then you'd better remember this. Even the dead can come back to life."
