The Heiress’s Secret Revenge

Chapter3

Ava stood before her father alone in the study, tears rolling down her cheeks, her voice trembled heavily.

“You can’t do this, Dad! You can’t just sell me off like I’m some pawn to save your empire!” Her hands trembled, fingers curling into fists.

Richard Sterling sat behind his desk as he watched Ava speak.

Sterling Enterprise was crumbling. The market had shifted, and the sterling name no longer carried its former weight compared to when Ava’s mother and her father used to run the company before he claimed the company from her after their divorce.

Their only hope was the Russel family and Blake Kingston. Camila had been the one to get married to Austin Russel until they discovered that Austin had a ruthless reputation and Blake's family empire was bigger and richer than that of the Russels.

“Ava”, her father called, “This isn’t just about the business. It’s about your mother. Her treatments… the hospital bills are in the hundreds of thousands. Her surgery is worth millions of dollars. Without this deal, you can’t pay them. You know what that means.”

The words hit Ava like a blow, ceasing her breath. Her mother, Kris, had been hospitalised for months, her vibrant spirit trapped in a hospital bed.

Ava could still feel her mother’s frail hand in hers, the faint warmth of her smile during their last visit, and a silent vow to keep fighting. The thought of her mother slipping away because they couldn’t afford her care broke Ava’s heart. She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to hold herself together as the pain was too much to bear.

“I’m not Camilla!” she cried, her voice cracked. “She was supposed to marry him! She was the one you chose for Austin Russel, but when she found out he was a ruthless monster, she ran! And now you’re throwing me to him instead?”

She’d never met Richard, but everybody knew he didn't have a good reputation. He is a cold-blooded playboy, a man who’d gambled away fortunes, broken hearts, and crushed businesses.

“You and the Russels are the same—greedy, using this marriage and their wealth to get what you want, no matter who it destroys!” Ava cried out.

Her father’s eyes narrowed, but her words didn't move him to change his mind. “Dominic Wolfe may not be a saint, Ava, but his family’s money is real. It will keep your mother alive. You’re not just saving the business; you’re saving her life.”

She saw her mother’s laughter, once bright, now taken by illness. She saw the nights she’d spent sketching, dreaming of becoming the greatest woman in the world, of a life where her creativity could define her, not a failing company.

Those dreams were fading, replaced by a future she hadn’t chosen for herself. It looks like she is slowly becoming a prisoner.

“Why me?” she pleaded, her voice rising, filled with anger and hurt. “Why can’t you find another way? Sell the estate, fire the staff – they are a lot – do anything but this! You’re tossing me to a man Camilla rejected because she saw him for what he is – ruthless, heartless! You’re all just greedy, Dad.” Tears poured down her face as she spoke.

“There is no other way,” he said. “The Russell insists on a marriage to seal this deal. They trust a family bond over a contract. If we don’t deliver, they walk away, and we lose everything: the company, the house, and your mother’s care. Everything.”

Ava sobbed uncontrollably in the silent room. She knew that her dream was gone. She now sees herself as a transaction. She thought of fleeing and starting over in another city, but then her mother’s face flashed in her head, looking pale and fragile on the hospital bed.

“I’ll do it,” she whispered. “For Mom. I have nothing to lose anymore. Camilla has Blake already, but don’t think this makes it right. You’re trading my life for your greed, for the Russels’ greed.

Her father’s shoulders relaxed. “You’re doing the right thing, Ava. Especially for your mother. The wedding is in three days. Everything has been arranged. Get ready to be Mrs Russel.”