The Runaway Asset: Betraying My Billionaire Father

I stood in a couture engagement dress that cost more than most people earn in a decade, playing the part of the perfect billionaire heiress. My mother adjusted my hair with cold fingers, reminding me not to slouch before the photographers arrived for the merger of the century. But a few feet away on the balcony, I heard my father’s true voice stripping away the romantic lie. He wasn’t talking about a wedding; he was discussing a corporate acquisition. "Elodie does what she is told," he told the Senator, his laugh dry and humorless. "She is the final asset needed to seal the port deal." To him, I wasn't a daughter or a bride; I was a bargaining chip, a piece of currency used to buy infrastructure contracts. My childhood friend, the man I was supposed to marry, was nothing more than the other side of a business transaction. The realization shattered the glass floor beneath me. I looked at my phone for a lifeline, but Alden, the only man who ever saw the real me, was a thousand miles away, silent and indifferent. I was being sold by my father and ignored by the man I loved, trapped in a life that felt like a beautifully decorated cage. How could they turn my entire existence into a line item on a balance sheet? The scent of expensive lilies in the suite suddenly smelled like a funeral parlor, marking the death of the girl who believed in loyalty. The nausea of betrayal was replaced by a cold, hard clarity. If I was just an asset to be traded, then it was time to change the game. I stepped out of the white silk, traded my diamonds for a hoodie, and vanished into the night. I didn't head for safety; I flew to the neon chaos of Las Vegas to find the man who buried my father’s darkest secrets. To win my freedom, I would have to gamble everything on a coin toss with the city’s most dangerous enforcer.

Chapters

Chapter 4

Las Vegas Boulevard was a parking lot.

Elodie gripped the door handle of Sofia's car. The neon lights of the Strip reflected off the hood, creating a dizzying kaleidoscope of color. The bass from Sofia's stereo was vibrating in Elodie's chest, syncing with her anxious heartbeat.

Tourists crowded the sidewalks, stumbling with yard-long margaritas. It was a sensory overload.

Sofia was dancing in the driver's seat, oblivious to the gridlock.

Suddenly, a convoy of three black Cadillac Escalades swerved from the left lane, cutting them off.

Sofia slammed on the brakes. The seatbelt dug into Elodie's collarbone.

Assholes! Sofia screamed. She laid on the horn. Do you know who I am?

Sofia, stop, Elodie hissed. She looked at the SUVs. They were identical, polished to a mirror shine. They looked heavy. Official. Or criminal.

The convoy came to a halt at a red light right next to them.

The tinted window of the middle SUV rolled down halfway.

Elodie turned her head. She expected to see a celebrity. Or a drunk tourist.

Instead, she saw a man.

He was sitting in the back seat. He wore a black suit, sharp and tailored, with no tie. His collar was unbuttoned, revealing the tan skin of his throat.

He was looking at a tablet, his profile illuminated by the blue light of the screen. He seemed completely detached from the chaos of the Strip. He was an island of stillness in a sea of noise.

Then, he turned his head.

He didn't scan the crowd. He didn't look at Sofia screaming profanities.

His eyes locked directly onto Elodie's.

They were dark. Pitch black. And cold.

Elodie felt a physical jolt, like she had touched a live wire. He looked at her with a clinical, predatory indifference. He wasn't looking at a girl in a sequined dress. He was looking at a variable in an equation.

He didn't smile. He didn't frown. He just observed.

Elodie felt exposed, despite the metal door between them. She felt marked.

Sofia was still yelling.

The light turned green.

The man in the SUV didn't break eye contact until the car began to move. Then, the window rolled up smoothly, erasing him from view.

The convoy sped off, weaving through traffic with a precision that was terrifying.

Elodie let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her skin was prickling.

Who was that? Elodie asked. Her voice shook.

Sofia shrugged, merging back into the lane. Probably some Randall goon. They own this town.

Randall.

The name triggered a memory in Elodie's mind. A file on her father's desk. A connection to the casinos.

She looked at the red taillights disappearing into the distance.

Let's just get to the club, Elodie said. She rubbed her arms, trying to scrub away the feeling of those cold eyes on her skin.

Continue to next part

Luna Elena Frost was never chosen, only assigned. Bound to Alpha Alaric Ashbourne through a cold contractual marriage, she endures three years as a Luna in name only. He never comes home, never defends her, and never looks at her, while his heart belongs to another woman. At his grandmother's funeral, Alaric publicly dissolves their marriage, humiliating Elena before the entire pack. In that moment, she finally understands the truth. She was never wanted. But the Moon has not abandoned her. A forgotten night resurfaces. Her long-silent wolf begins to awaken. And secrets buried within her bloodline start to surface, drawing danger from every direction. Cast out by the pack that once used her, Elena must flee, survive, and uncover her true power. Only then does the Alpha realize his mistake. By the time he turns back in regret, the Luna he rejected may already be gone forever.

Billionaire Romance Werewolf

9.3

Claimed By My Billionaire Stepbrothers

9.3

They say you can't have it all. I'm about to prove them wrong-or destroy myself trying. When my struggling mother married billionaire Richard Stone, I thought I was gaining a family. Instead, I found three stepbrothers who became my obsession, my downfall, and my salvation. Dominic, the eldest, cold and commanding, who kisses me like he's claiming his kingdom and looks at me like I'm the only thing he can't control. Julian, the charming playboy who hides a vulnerable soul beneath his perfect smile, making me feel like I'm the only woman he's ever truly seen. Asher, the brooding artist who paints me like I'm his muse and touches me like I'm his masterpiece, seeing parts of my soul I didn't know existed. They're forbidden. They're dangerous. They're everything I shouldn't want. But when I discover my father didn't die by suicide that he was murdered by the very man who now calls himself my stepfather, these three powerful men becomes my unlikely allies. First it was a forbidden attraction, now it's an arrangement that defies every rule. The rules are simple: I'll give each of them a chance. I'll take everything they offer. And in the end, I'll have to make the hardest decision of my life: Choose one of them. Choose all of them. Or choose myself.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.4

My Brother's Rich Best Friends

7.4

What's worse than being trapped in an elevator with your gorgeous, Rich boss? Being trapped with all three of them. Jack, Gavin, and Harrison aren't just my bosses; they're my brother's filthy rich best friends. After a steamy, unplanned hookup when the lights went out, I'm about to become much more than just the girl next door. There's Jack, whose touch drives me wild. Gavin, the cocky CEO whose dirty orders I can't wait to obey. And Harrison, the sweet, passionate one who pours his heart into everything... including me. I've waited years for these men to finally see me. Now, I belong to them. My body is theirs to devour, my bed is theirs to break. But giving them my heart is a terrifying risk, and I just pray they don't shatter it.

Billionaire Mafia Modern

9.5

Rejected Heiress And The Ruthless CEO

9.5

For twenty years, Krista lived as the perfect daughter of the wealthy Cain family. But a single DNA report shattered her entire world. Her adoptive parents coldly declared she was just a mistake and immediately replaced her with the true bloodline. Desperate, she ran through the freezing rain to find her fiancé, only to hear him laughing with his friends. "Marry a fake? I don't collect the Cain family's second-hand trash." She slapped him, threw her diamond ring at his chest, and stumbled into a jazz lounge to drown her pain. Drunk and heartbroken, she accidentally crashed into a stranger, clinging to him like a lifeline, which ended in a wild night in a luxury penthouse. When she woke up, she realized the man she had ravaged was Jasper Stone, the most ruthless, cold-blooded billionaire on Wall Street. At the same time, her phone lit up with notifications. Her bank accounts were frozen, and the Cain family had just released a brutal public statement permanently cutting her off. She was completely abandoned, stripped of her home, her family, and her dignity in a single night. Why was twenty years of loyalty erased so easily? But instead of kicking her out, Jasper tossed a prenuptial agreement onto the bed. "Pay off your debt with marriage. Stay, and you are the untouchable Mrs. Stone." Looking at the contract, Krista wiped her tears, put on bold red lipstick, and signed her name.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.2

The Billionaire's Doll: Her Secret Escape

9.2

I was just a placeholder, a warm body in silk sheets to keep the bed from getting cold while my billionaire "owner," Garrick Head, dreamt of another man’s wife. To the world, I was Ever Wells, the lucky girl he’d plucked from obscurity, but in reality, I was a doll on a 145-day contract, counting every second until I could disappear. Everything shattered when a burner phone buzzed in my hand with a message that turned my blood to ice: "I know your secret, Everly." My real name was the one thing I had buried to protect my four-year-old son, Leo, who was hidden in a cramped apartment in Queens. Just as the blackmailer closed in, Leo’s asthma flared into a life-threatening fever, and the medication he needed cost thousands I didn't have. When I tried to siphon money to save him, Garrick sensed my desperation and froze my credit cards, mocking my "poverty" and demanding I crawl back to his bed to earn his favor. The nightmare intensified at a high-society gala when Clarence Frazier, a dangerous ghost from my past, cornered me. He mouthed my real name in front of the cameras, his eyes promising to tear my fake life apart. Garrick’s possessiveness turned violent as he broke a man’s jaw for insulting me, yet in the same breath, he reminded me I was nothing but a "rented whore" he’d bought off a shelf. I had to smile while he kissed me and detach my mind while he touched me, all while siphoning pennies into a hidden account. He thought he could finalize my imprisonment with a twenty-million-dollar apartment on Central Park West, calling it a gift when it was really just a heavier lock on my golden cage. "I don't want to save the world," I whispered to the empty, marble penthouse after he fell asleep. "I just want to save my son." With a predator from my past watching my every move and a master who treated me like a pet, I realized I couldn't wait for my contract to end. I had to run tonight, or Leo and I would both die in this cage.

Billionaire Modern Mystery

8.4

The Cursed King's Salvation: The Omega's Hidden Power

8.4

I was the pack's lowest Omega, scrubbing floors by day, but secretly waiting for the night my Fated Mate, the Alpha Heir Desmond, would finally claim me. Instead, he brought home a billionaire heiress and looked at me with cold, dead eyes. "I choose power," he sneered, rejecting our soul-bond in front of everyone. "An Omega can never be my Luna." To seal his business deal, he sold me off like cattle to Kennedy Simmons—the "Crippled Alpha" rumored to be a broken, rot-filled monster. On my last night in the territory, his new fiancée pushed me off a yacht. As I drowned in the freezing water, I watched Desmond dive in. He swam right past me to save her. That was the moment my heart finally stopped beating for him. They thought sending me to Seattle was a punishment. They thought I would wither away and die in the hands of a beast. But they didn't know two things. First, Kennedy Simmons wasn't a monster; he was a King waiting to be healed. Second, I wasn't a weak Omega. I was a White Wolf, a legend thought to be extinct, capable of miracles. Three months later, Desmond stood outside my gates, bankrupt and desperate, begging for a second chance. I looked down from my balcony, wrapped in the arms of my true Alpha, and smiled. "Get off my property," I commanded, my eyes glowing white. "Or I'll finish what the ocean started."

Billionaire Fantasy Werewolf

The Runaway Asset: Betraying My Billionaire Father

Chapter 4

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