Incubator No More: The Billionaire's Secret Heir

My fiancé, Jameson Blair, married my twin sister today. For five years, I was a placeholder, a substitute for the woman he truly wanted, and I pretended not to know. Today, she came back with a story of terminal cancer and a dying wish to marry him. It was a perfect lie, and he chose to believe it, shattering my world with three simple words: "She's Haleigh." They left me on the sidewalk, an outcast from my own blood. My brothers, who once promised to protect me, celebrated the woman who broke me. They moved my things to a guest room, making space for their prodigal sister. That night, Haleigh gave me a "welcome home" gift—a box with a brown recluse spider inside. As the venom coursed through me, my family rushed to her side, calling my agony "a little spider bite." They left me convulsing on the floor. Later, they whipped me for a crime I didn't commit, hung me off a cliff, and left me for dead. My body is a roadmap of their love. Each scar, each broken bone, is a testament to their betrayal. They believed her lies, but their real crime was never truly seeing me. As I clung to that cliff, bleeding and broken, a single thought consumed me: Isabella Douglas died here tonight. Now, Isabella Hale would be born from the ashes.

I was trapped under a massive oak bookcase, my leg shattered, dust filling my lungs. My husband, Dante, the Underboss of the Chicago Outfit, finally found me. But just as he lifted the heavy beam to free me, his earpiece crackled. It was news about Sofia, his childhood friend and the woman he truly loved. "She scratched her arm on the car door, Boss. She's hyperventilating. She won't board the jet without you." Dante froze. He looked at me, bleeding on the floor, secretly ten weeks pregnant with his child. Then he looked at the door. "It's just a broken leg, Elena," he said coldly, slowly lowering the crushing weight back onto me. "You are a doctor. You know it's not fatal. Sofia needs me." He ran to comfort a woman with a papercut, leaving his wife and unborn child to be buried alive in the rubble. I miscarried alone in the dark, tracing the number of a divorce lawyer on the floorboards in my own blood. Three days later, while he was peeling grapes for Sofia in a VIP hospital suite, I packed my medical degree and a single gym bag. I didn't go to a hotel. I boarded a military cargo plane to a war zone in South Sudan. By the time the Ice Prince realized his castle was empty, I was already thousands of miles away, and I wasn't coming back.

The last thing I remember is my fiancé, Cayden, toasting to our future. The first thing I hear when I wake up in a hospital is him telling the city's most feared Don to pretend to be my fiancé instead. A doctor says I have severe neurological damage. Amnesia. Then, my best friend, Vivian—the girl I considered a sister—walks in. Her hand is linked through Cayden's arm, her head resting on his shoulder. They look like a perfect, loving couple. I hear Cayden's frantic voice in the hallway, not even bothering to whisper. "Please, Liam," he begs the Don, Liam Hewitt. "Just do me this one favor. I need a break from all her marriage talk." Then his voice turns slick with temptation. "As her 'fiancé,' you can finally get her to sign the demolition agreement for the Owen manor. She'll do anything you ask." My heart turns to a pile of cold, dead ash. The man I loved and the woman I trusted didn't just betray me. They tried to erase me. When they all step back into my room, I steady myself. I look past Cayden, past Vivian, and fix my eyes on the most dangerous man in the city. A faint smile touches my lips. "Only you feel familiar," I say to Liam Hewitt, my voice a soft, broken thing. "Fiancé," I say, the word tasting like poison and opportunity. "I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten your name. Take me home."

For eight years, I, Chloe Davis, lived in the shadows, pouring my soul into Liam Stone's music, ghostwriting his hits, and supporting his every dream. I was his secret girlfriend, enduring hidden holidays and hushed dinners, all for the promise that one day, he' d reveal me as the woman he loved. Tonight was supposed to be that night. But as Liam stood on the glittering stage of the Starlight Music Awards, clutching the "Best New Artist" trophy, his eyes scanned the crowd not for me, but for stunning, famous Scarlett Blake. "My inspiration, my muse," he declared, beaming at her. Then, the crushing blow: "Scarlett, darling, once I solidify my A-list status, I' m yours forever." My world went silent. The eight years of sacrifice, my unseen labor, my unwavering devotion-all erased by a public declaration meant for another woman. He celebrated with champagne and victory, completely oblivious to the hollow ache in my chest, the numb limb that was finally acknowledged as dead. He called my quietness a flaw in his perfect evening. He thought a diamond necklace could fix it. He thought his casual affair, texting Scarlett the night of his triumph, would go unnoticed. He still believed there was an "us." I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I just packed. I was no longer the girl who loved him more than herself. That 18-year-old was gone. The 28-year-old Chloe, the one who just sold her entire song catalog, was done being a stepping stone. This was over. He didn't know it yet, but his secret weapon had just become his biggest threat.

My father, a titan of the tech industry, once saw me as his most valuable asset, meticulously grooming three of his brightest proteges-Mark, Jake, and Chris-not just for his company, but for me. I believed their ambition was for our shared future, a future orchestrated by my father, but a brutal truth shattered that illusion. In the cold silence of my car, after overhearing Mark' s cruel words, I discovered he saw me as nothing more than a spoiled princess, a necessary means to my inheritance, a prize to be endured for power. The realization left me numb, transformed from a hopeful romantic into a woman consumed by a chilling clarity: love was for the foolish. I died listening to Mark's laughter; the new Ava, resolute and cold, emerged from the ashes, ready to forge her own fortress, even if it meant a marriage devoid of affection, a strategic alliance with the formidable Liam Sterling, heir to a rival empire.

My summer internship was everything: a path to my dream career in marketing, years of hard work finally paying off. Then my parents dropped a bombshell. My estranged rockstar uncle was gravely ill, and I, his favorite niece, had been chosen to be his full-time caregiver. They spun a tale of liver problems, but a glowing blue text only I could see whispered a darker truth: "They' re not worried about his health, they' re worried about his royalties. Rick' s music just got licensed for a huge movie. They want to make sure they' re in his will." My refusal was met with a cold, hard slap across the face, and the devastating news: "It' s done, Chloe. There' s no internship to go back to." They' d sabotaged my future, then casually explained: "We' ve already made the arrangements." The email from my dream firm confirmed it: "rescind our internship offer…wish you the best in your recovery." Recovery? What were they talking about? They took my ID, my money, my car keys. Then I overheard my mother' s chilling words: "Rick' s viral load is extremely high… a little contact… a shared utensil… a simple solution. Once she' s sick too, she' ll have no choice but to be quiet." My own mother was planning to infect me with HIV. I bolted, running into the night, only to find my father' s mistress and instigate a chaotic scene, creating my escape. But they weren' t done. A viral video appeared, featuring my tearful parents. "Our daughter, Chloe, is very sick," my father stated, "She contracted HIV through a promiscuous lifestyle… she developed a severe gambling addiction. She stole all of our savings…" Hatred flooded the comments. My name, reputation, and future were completely destroyed. Who would believe me over my grieving, concerned parents? I was utterly alone, but one thought burned through my despair: they wouldn' t get away with this.

For three years, Deanna endured scorn in a one-sided marriage. When Connor forced her to choose between her career and a divorce, she didn't hesitate-she walked away. Determined to reclaim her birthright, Deanna returned as the brilliant heiress to a medical conglomerate. Her ex and his family begged for another chance, but it was too late. With a tycoon father, a legendary healer mother, a CEO brother who adored her, and a showbiz powerhouse sibling, Deanna's life overflowed with power. Even her arrogant rival, heir to billions, only ever had a soft spot for her.

Isabelle's love for Kolton held flawless for fifteen years-until the day she delivered their children and slipped into a coma. He leaned to her ear and whispered, "Don't wake up. You're worthless to me now." The twins later clutched another woman's hand and chirped, "Mommy," splintering Isabelle's heart. She woke, filed for divorce, and disappeared. Only then did Kolton notice her fingerprints on every habit. They met again: she emerged as the lead medical specialist, radiant and unmoved. But at her engagement gala, she leapt into a tycoon's arms. Jealous, he crushed a glass, blood wetting his palm. He believed as soon as he made a move, Isabelle would return to him. After all, she had loved him deeply.

Abandoned as a child and orphaned by murder, Kathryn swore she'd reclaim every shred of her stolen birthright. When she returned, society called her an unpolished love-child, scoffing that Evan had lost his mind to marry her. Only Evan knew the truth: the quiet woman he cradled like porcelain hid secrets enough to set the city trembling. She doubled as a legendary healer, an elusive hacker, and the royal court's favorite perfumer. At meetings, the directors groaned at the lovey-dovey couple, "Does she really have to be here?" Evan shrugged. "Happy wife, happy life." Soon her masks fell, and those who sneered bowed in awe.

The roasted lamb was cold, a reflection of her marriage. On their third anniversary, Evelyn Vance waited alone in her Manhattan penthouse. Then her phone buzzed: Alexander, her husband, had been spotted leaving the hospital, holding his childhood sweetheart Scarlett Sharp's hand. Alexander arrived hours later, dismissing Evelyn's quiet complaint with a cold reminder: she was Mrs. Vance, not a victim. Her mother's demands reinforced this role, making Evelyn, a brilliant mind, feel like a ghost. A dangerous indifference replaced betrayal. The debt was paid; now, it was her turn. She drafted a divorce settlement, waiving everything. As Alexander's tender voice drifted from his study, speaking to Scarlett, Evelyn placed her wedding ring on his pillow, moved to the guest suite, and locked the door. The dull wife was gone; the Oracle was back.

The sterile white of the operating room blurred, then sharpened, as Skye Sterling felt the cold clawing its way up her body. The heart monitor flatlined, a steady, high-pitched whine announcing her end. Her uterus had been removed, a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, but the blood wouldn't clot. It just kept flowing, warm and sticky, pooling beneath her. Through heavy eyes, she saw a trembling nurse holding a phone on speaker. "Mr. Kensington," the nurse's voice cracked, "your wife... she's critical." A pause, then a sweet, poisonous giggle. Seraphina Miller. "Liam is in the shower," Seraphina's voice purred. "Stop calling, Skye. It's pathetic. Faking a medical emergency on our anniversary? Even for you, that's low." Then, Liam's bored voice: "If she dies, call the funeral home. I have a meeting in the morning." Click. The line went dead. A second later, so did Skye. The darkness that followed was absolute, suffocating, a black ocean crushing her lungs. She screamed into the void, a silent, agonizing wail of regret for loving a man who saw her as a nuisance, for dying without ever truly living. Until she died, she didn't understand. Why was her life so tragically wasted? Why did her husband, the man she loved, abandon her so cruelly? The injustice of it all burned hotter than the fever in her body. Then, the air rushed back in. Skye gasped, her body convulsing violently on the mattress. Her eyes flew open, wide and terrified, staring blindly into the darkness. Her trembling hand reached for her phone. May 12th. Five years ago. She was back.

From childhood, Stephanie knew she was not her parents' real daughter, but out of gratitude, she turned their business into a powerhouse. Once the true daughter came back, Stephanie was cast out-only to be embraced by an even more powerful birth family, adored by three influential brothers. The second ruled the battlefield. "Stephanie's sweet and innocent; she would never commit such crimes. That name on the wanted list is just a coincidence." And the youngest controlled the markets. "Anyone who dares bully my sister will lose my investment." Her former family begged for forgiveness-even on TV. Stephanie stood firm. When the richest man proposed, she became the woman everyone envied. The eldest ran the boardroom. "Cancel the meeting. I need to set up the art exhibition for my sister!" The town was turned upside down.