Too Late to Beg, The Heiress Who Made Them Crawl

Amidst a raging inferno, Stella Rivers was fighting for her last breath, while her fiancé, Ethan Cole, was toasting at a birthday celebration for another woman.

When he finally picked up her desperate call, all she got was a stream of blame.

"Why the drama tonight? Your hatred for Raina is driving me away!"

"I got you a gift. Now, behave and get over here."

Little did he know, his darling Raina was the one who set the fire.

The crash of glass shattered whatever explanation Stella had been about to give, and with it, the last trace of hope she had been holding on to.

She didn't cry or scream. Supported by firefighters, she walked out of the blazing wreckage, her expression terrifyingly calm.

Then, with perfect calm, she dialed a number from Kingsworth.

"I've decided. In fifteen days, at Grandmother's birthday banquet, I'll return and acknowledge my real family."

On the other end, there was a burst of joy, quickly followed by concern.

"Why fifteen days? Is it because of your three brothers… or that fiancé of yours?"

Stella lifted her gaze toward the thick, rolling smoke across the street.

Back then, out of gratitude for the Rivers family raising her, she had refused to go to Kingsworth to meet her birth family.

But today, that goodwill had been burned to ashes.

The voice on the phone grew urgent.

"Come back today. I'll make sure the Rivers and the Coles get immediate access to the elite circle here in Kingsworth!"

She gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

"No. I'm staying fifteen more days because I have unfinished business. As for the Rivers and the Coles, I don't want anything to do with them ever again."

Three hours later, outside the Diamond Hall of the Grandview Hotel.

Stella's straight-backed posture was beginning to ache.

Her wounds had stopped bleeding, and the burns had been treated, the sting of antiseptic spray still sharp in the air.

She hadn't had time to change. She was still in her knee-length dress, now stained with blood. She lifted her foot and kicked the door open.

The noise and laughter inside cut off instantly.

Every head turned toward her.

She met their stares with eyes gone wild and desperate, and the whole room shivered.

A loose coat hung over her shoulders, doing nothing to hide the bloodstains on her dress.

Her calves were a map of bruises and cuts.

Step by step, she walked toward Ethan Cole.

Fresh blood seeped through the hastily treated wounds, an ugly, shocking sight.

Ethan's face changed, something like pain flashing in his eyes.

He was just about to rush over when Raina Rivers' voice rang out beside him.

"If you weren't happy, Stella, you could've just said so. I'd have canceled the party. But why come now, just to embarrass me?"

Ethan's arm was caught, and his body leaned toward Raina almost without thinking. The tenderness in his gaze for Stella vanished, replaced by irritation.

She had been suspecting him and Raina for weeks, and he was sick of it.

Normally he could ignore it.

But today was Raina's first birthday back with the Rivers family, and Stella had first lied about a fire, and now shown up like this to cause a scene. Too damn much.

"Stell, what the hell are you doing? Don't forget, if Raina hadn't pleaded for you, this fake heiress would've been kicked out long ago. You owe her for life!"

Stella froze for a beat, then looked up at him.

Her lashes trembled slightly as years of memories flashed through her mind.

Six years ago, the Rivers family had mistaken her for their long-lost daughter. Because of the engagement between the Rivers and Cole families, Ethan naturally became her fiancé.

From strangers to friends to lovers, they had been the golden couple everyone envied.

But last year, just as they were preparing for their engagement, Ethan had secretly taken Raina for a DNA test and discovered that she was the real daughter.

From then on, her adoptive parents and three brothers had changed completely. Still, she never felt jealous.

She had climbed mountains to gather herbs for the frail Raina, and even introduced her own mentor to her.

But when her third brother used the Rivers' influence to place Raina into her research group, Raina stole her report to win an award.

When confronted, Raina had just said, "I didn't know Stella was doing the same research."

She had no proof, and when she complained, the Rivers turned on her.

Her eldest brother said, "You've only ever won awards because the school favors our family."

Her second brother sneered, "Raina earned her awards. Don't slander her out of jealousy."

Her third brother scoffed, "Without our resources, you'd be nothing. You've achieved nothing this year, wake up to your limits."

Ethan's disappointment had been the worst of all. "Academic fraud is a crime. Got proof? No? Then it's slander. Stell, you've gone too far."

She had wanted to leave the Rivers family many times, but they had always reeled her back in, especially her third brother, who would give her small gifts to make her smile.

She had been an orphan, starved for family. That was the only reason she had stayed this long.

Suddenly, her three brothers blocked her way.

The eldest looked disgusted. "Parading in here looking like a victim—is this your idea of ruining her party? Where did you pick up such vulgar tactics?"

The second didn't bother to hide his contempt. "You stole six years from Raina. Now you want to ruin her birthday? If we'd known you were this spiteful, we'd have kicked you out sooner!"

The third's voice was pure threat.

"Change your clothes, apologize to Raina in front of everyone. If she forgives you, you can stay in the family."

She had been through scenes like this more times than she could count. Even now, with her mind made up, the pain still cut deep.

The irony was, she had been out earlier to find a birthday gift for Raina.

That was when she had overheard the conversation—the conversation that shattered everything.

"We took her in because her kidney's a match for you. If you weren't so sick, we'd have done the transplant that year."

"Exactly. It's just one kidney, she won't die. We can throw in a house as compensation."

"We'll schedule the surgery for after the party. Don't worry, I'm a doctor. I'll convince her it's for a minor research procedure, and she'll willingly take the anesthesia."

Raina had hesitated, then reluctantly agreed.

And Stella, standing outside the door, had felt herself drop into an ice pit.

So the warmth she had clung to had been nothing but a plot to harvest her kidney.

But she hadn't even had the courage to storm in and confront them.

She was alone, powerless. Even if she exposed the truth, she couldn't escape.

So she had gone back to her small apartment, cried her eyes out, and prepared to leave.

But just as she opened the door, someone had hit her hard from behind.

Before blacking out, she had seen the thug take a stack of cash from Raina's hand.

That was why, trapped in the fire, she had called Ethan instead of the Rivers.

The brutal memory snapped her back. Her hand clenched over her heart, her breath thick with the taste of blood.

She would never, never have anything to do with the Rivers again.

Taking a deep breath, forcing down the agony ripping through her.

"As you wish. I'm here to tell you, I'm leaving the Rivers family."

She didn't react to the stiffness in her third brother's shoulders or the rough, angry breaths he was taking.

She pushed past him and walked straight toward the stage.

Her white dress, stained a shocking crimson, stood out like a single, battered rose in a storm.

Her cold gaze swept over Ethan and Raina's stunned faces.

She picked up a glass of wine.

A tear slid down her cheek, falling into the glass.

"Let everyone here bear witness. My engagement to Ethan Cole is hereby terminated. It's over."

"And congratulations to the Rivers family on welcoming back their real daughter. From now on, the Rivers and I are strangers."

Ethan's eyes flickered, the veins on his temple bulging.

He reached out, trying to grab her.

But she only threw her head back, drained the glass in one defiant gulp, and let it fall from her fingers with a cold smile.

The crystal shattered at their feet, the sound cutting through the room like a final verdict.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Mrs. Rivers stood at the front, finger stabbing toward her in fury.

"With so many guests here today, are you deliberately trying to make the Rivers family a laughingstock?"

"I can't believe I raised you all these years for nothing!"

Stella thought of the kidney swap scheme. When she looked at the woman again, there was no trace of the affection she once had.

"Your total expenditure on me over six years was one hundred thousand. Every penny will be returned to you."

"If you don't believe me..."

She produced a stack of prepared receipts and flung them into the crowd. "Here are my payment records. You can check them one by one."

The crowd instantly began passing them around, voices rising in waves.

Six years. A hundred thousand.

Raising a stray cat or dog would cost more than that.

Stella slowly removed her diamond earrings. A gift from Mrs. Rivers the year they had mistaken her identity.

"I came to the Rivers family with nothing. I will leave with nothing. This, too, is yours."

Mr. and Mrs. Rivers' faces turned dark. With the receipts already thrown out for everyone to see, trying to snatch them back would only make them look worse.

Mrs. Rivers could only cry out, "Ungrateful girl!" before collapsing in a faint. Mr. Rivers rushed to carry her away.

Facing her brothers' glares, Stella just watched coldly as her adoptive parents left.

"Could this be some kind of misunderstanding? Mrs. Rivers fainted, is that bill even real?"

"She's got the guts to cut ties? Of all days, she picks today to humiliate the Rivers family?"

"Yeah, and I heard the Coles and Rivers had an arranged marriage. Raina came back, but they didn't say they'd give it back to her. Could it be..."

Sensing the shift in the crowd, Raina immediately sank to her knees. Her delicate face contorted with perfectly timed panic and hurt, tears sparkling in her eyes. A subtle tremble shook her shoulders—a masterpiece of performed vulnerability, casting herself as the victim.

"Stella, I never wanted to take Mom, Dad, and our brothers from you. Ethan just wanted to celebrate my birthday, you're misunderstanding."

"This party won't change anything. If you're upset, punish me after it's over!"

"Just please, don't make a scene, or our family's reputation will be ruined."

Ethan, who had been panicked moments ago, calmed down.

Of course.

Stella was just jealous of Raina, trying to use this to guilt-trip the Rivers.

He had spoiled her too much.

She needed a lesson.

"Stella Rivers, that's enough!"

"This party is just for Raina's birthday. It won't affect your place in the Rivers family or our engagement!"

"Now, apologize to Raina! Or you'll regret it."

His words made everyone certain. Stella was jealous, trying to coerce them.

She let out a humorless laugh.

Seeing it, Ethan felt she was hopeless, wondering how the girl he'd liked could have turned into this.

His eyes full of disappointment, he stepped forward, voice low but teeth clenched.

"There's a limit to how unreasonable you can be. She's the real Rivers daughter. You're just adopted."

"I treat her well because of you."

"Or do you think the Rivers would let you stay without her help? After all the times you've slandered Raina, if it weren't for her, you'd have been kicked out long ago!"

He grew more agitated.

"Did you forget? My mother said my fiancée could never be an orphan. If you don't apologize today, you're cutting yourself off from me for good."

She had heard it all before.

Her fiancé, to "help" her, would have to princess-carry Raina, accompany her to watch the stars at midnight, even skip saving his own fiancée to attend Raina's birthday.

Every time she questioned him, the excuse was the same.

To keep her in the Rivers family, to give her a status worthy of him.

At first, she had wondered if she wasn't good enough. She worked herself to the bone, tackling research problems, hoping to shine on her own and be a match for him.

Now she knew better.

If someone loves you, everything about you is good. If they don't, nothing you do will ever be enough.

She lifted her hand and shoved a sea-blue bracelet into Raina's hands.

"Stella, what are you doing? That's my family's heirloom!" Ethan's face darkened instantly.

It was their engagement token.

How could she just give it away?

"Mr. Cole, you and I are done. This bracelet suits Raina better."

Before he could react, she turned to address the guests.

She stood there, battered and bleeding, yet her dark eyes held a terrifying, unyielding power that silenced the room.

The hall went dead silent.

She bowed.

"Thank you all for witnessing my breaking ties with the Rivers and ending my engagement. I'm sorry for disturbing your evening."

"If you ever need my help, I'll do my best to return the favor. Thank you again."

Then she walked barefoot toward the door, a thin trail of blood winding behind her.

The sight was chilling.

Only now did the guests start to murmur.

"She really ended it? I don't get it. She cut ties with the Rivers, now break off the engagement with the Coles. She's really got that much backbone."

"Ha, she's just a scheming country girl. Can't fit in here, so she pulls this stunt to disgust everyone."

"Those wounds don't look fake. Maybe the Rivers and Coles really did something? You know what they say, even a rabbit will bite when cornered."

Not far away, a man's long legs were casually crossed, his figure cast in sharp relief under the dim lights, an aura of icy danger surrounding him.

When his eyes caught that trail of blood, they turned even sharper. He rose, his looming shadow startling his companions.

"Marcus, you think this fake heiress really has guts, or is she just a manipulative bitch?"

Marcus Vaughn's expression stayed as cold and fierce as ever, his razor-sharp gaze never leaving the direction Stella had gone.

"Decisive. And clever."

Ryan Shaw blinked, not quite understanding.

Marcus, for once, explained.

"Severing ties with the Rivers was the quickest, cleanest strategy available." ... "She cut her losses and publicly shamed them in a single move. A masterstroke."

"As for that fiancé, cutting him off completely? That's bold."

Something else crossed his mind, and a low chuckle escaped him.

This party was packed with guests the Rivers had invited to climb the social ladder.

She had cut ties and broken off the engagement here, in front of everyone, bold enough to look arrogant, but polite enough to apologize to the guests, making sure she offended no one.

The receipts had exposed the Rivers' dirty secrets.

The very people the Rivers had spent a fortune to impress would now leave with a sour taste.

She had severed all ties and humiliated them in one go. Two birds with one stone. Brilliant.

And one more thing...

"You really believe the Rivers got the wrong daughter by accident?"