Chapter 1: The Substitute
The rain slammed against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Lopez family mansion. Inside, the atmosphere was suffocating.
"You must marry him, Natalie! There is no alternative!"
Natalie Lopez looked at her adoptive father, Raymond Lopez, with a numb heart. The man who had taken her in after her mother’s death was now looking at her not with parental love, but as a commodity to be sold.
"Why me?" Natalie’s voice was calm, almost detached. "The marriage contract with the Vance family was made for Melanie. She is your precious biological daughter."
"Do you expect me to push Melanie into a fire pit?!" her stepmother, Victoria, shrieked, stepping forward. "Everyone in the city knows that Sebastian Vance became a ruthless monster after his car accident! He’s crippled, bound to a wheelchair, and rumors say he tortures people for fun! Melanie is meant for greatness, not to be a caretaker to a freak!"
Melanie Lopez sat on the sofa, sobbing delicately into a silk handkerchief. "Natalie, please... I already have a boyfriend. If I marry Mr. Vance, my life will be ruined. The Lopez Group is facing bankruptcy. Only the Vance family's dowry can save us. You owe our family for raising you!"
Owe them?
Natalie felt a mocking smile touch her lips. For the past ten years, she had been treated worse than a maid in this house. She wore Melanie’s hand-me-downs, ate their leftovers, and did all their chores while maintaining top grades. She didn't owe them a single dime.
However, Natalie looked down at the silver medical bracelet on her wrist. Her mentor, the legendary Doctor Gray, had told her that the Vance family possessed the rare "Midnight Lotus" herb—the only thing that could cure the chronic poison in her own body. She had been searching for a way to enter the Vance estate for months.
This was her ticket in.
"Fine," Natalie said, raising her beautiful, clear eyes. "I will marry Sebastian Vance in Melanie's place. But from the moment I step out of this door, the Lopez family and I have no further relations."
Raymond sighed in relief, completely ignoring her condition. "Good, good! The Vance family’s car will arrive tomorrow morning. Don't make a scene."
Natalie turned around and walked up to her small attic room without looking back. They thought they were sending her to hell. Little did they know, they were releasing a phoenix from its cage.
