The Heir's Revenge: Daddy's Little Nightmare

"Dad, I will always be your one and only daughter!" I threw myself straight into Trenton's arms.

Lorraine slumped on the cold hardwood floor, her voice cracking as she screamed curses at him.

It wasn't until the divorce proceedings reached the asset division phase that she discovered his financial shell game.

He had long since transferred all the mansions and stock portfolios into hidden offshore shell companies, playing the bankrupt pauper in front of the judge.

He forced me to pick a side right in front of everyone, practically gloating. "Be a good girl for Daddy.

Are you going to stay with me in the mansion with the heated pool and keep your trust fund, or are you going to follow your mother to a trailer park and live off government food stamps?" I didn't hesitate for a single second.

Hearing my choice, Trenton's chest puffed out, a triumphant smirk splitting his face. But he missed the point of my words. The key word was never daughter. It was only.

Chapter 1 Trenton threw his head back and laughed, thoroughly pleased with himself. "Beautifully done! That's my blood running through your veins.

You'll always be Daddy's little princess." He must be feeling like a god right now. Lorraine had given up her own future to build his empire.

She stayed trapped in this house playing the perfect desperate housewife, catering to his every need.

If it weren't for her, Trenton would have rotted in a federal penitentiary years ago over that early tax scandal.

She threw away her Ivy League law school acceptance to cook his books, bury his PR nightmares, and wipe his ass night after sleepless night.

When he ended up in the ICU, she stayed glued to the plastic chair beside his bed, her eyes refusing to close.

By the time he walked out of there healthy, Lorraine's own body was broken down. But he was blind to all of that now.

The only thing he could see was that twentyyearold Instagram cloutchaser, pumped full of fillers, strutting around in Lorraine's couture silk nightgowns and flashing his wealth all over her timeline.

Lorraine had cried, screamed, and begged. But his brain had been completely hijacked by Lexi's bedroom tricks.

He didn't hear a single word my mother said, and he certainly didn't give a damn about over a decade of marriage.

Finally, tired of Lorraine's interrogations, he just dragged that bitch straight into our home.

He forced Lorraine to watch as he railed Lexi right in front of her, brutally severing whatever delusion my mother had left about saving their family.

He didn't actually love me, either. He just wanted to assert his dominance over his exwife. If I chose him, he won the ultimate victory.

I was nothing more than a prop, a weapon he used to shatter the last remaining piece of Lorraine's sanity. Hearing my answer, the blood drained from Lorraine's face.

Her knees buckled. She stumbled forward, her fingers digging desperately into my arm. Her eyes were wide, the pupils blown out. "Sloane, what did you just say?

Say it again." "It doesn't matter how many times I say it." I peeled her trembling fingers off my sleeve, stepping back. "I'm staying with Trenton." Tears finally spilled over her lash line, tracing down her hollow cheeks.

My nails bit sharply into my palms, grinding against the flesh until it went numb. "Sloane… are you… are you throwing Mommy away?" Chapter 2 "What use are you?" I jabbed my finger around the massive foyer. "Can you put me in a house this big?" "I'm about to apply to Ivy League schools.

Can you afford my expensive private prep school tuition and the equestrian club sponsorship fees?" "I'm still growing. How are you gonna guarantee I eat well?

By feeding me expired dollarstore canned beans?" "You couldn't keep his attention, Lorraine, but you're not dragging me down with you.

Why would I give up this life just to struggle in the dirt? Trenton can drop enough spare change to keep me living like royalty.

You could work ten minimumwage shifts a day and still not touch what he makes in an hour." Lorraine broke. Her knees gave out, sending her crashing onto the hardwood.

Her eyes were hollow as she stared up at me. "Are you really throwing me away?" I forced an irritated sneer. "It's not about me throwing you away.

It's that you can't afford me." "You can't give me the life I want.

Instead of wasting time begging me, you should get out there, find a job, and figure out how to feed yourself." I shook off her grip.

I turned my back and walked straight toward the stairs. She screamed my name, over and over, but I didn't stop. I couldn't look back.

I clamped my teeth into the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper, blinking hard to swallow back the burning in my eyes. One single tear, and my entire performance would shatter.

Right before I shut my bedroom door, I caught a glimpse of Trenton wrapping his arm around that bitch, puffing his chest out like a victorious general. "Get the hell out!" he barked down at Lorraine. "Stop loitering in my house.

If you stain my new Persian rug, you couldn't pay for it in a lifetime!" Lorraine still had a little cash stashed away.

She wouldn't starve or sleep on the streets for the next few days. I didn't have the luxury of worrying about her right now anyway.

Trenton was already setting up his new world order. "From today on, Lexi is the new lady of this house. Wipe that dead look off your face.

If she posts a picture of us on Instagram, you better comment underneath that she's the best stepmother in the world." I looked at Lexi.

She always wore this icy, untouchable expression, but behind closed doors with Trenton, she spread her legs like a cheap hooker.

I plastered on a wide, sickeningly sweet smile, flashing all my teeth.

I dipped into an exaggerated bow right at the bitch. "Hi, Mom!" Trenton actually blinked, caught off guard by how fast I fell in line. Then his face split into a massive grin.

He slapped my shoulder hard. "Good girl! That's my daughter!" Lexi didn't buy a second of it. She rolled her eyes. "I would never have a daughter this hideous.

Gross." She was his shiny new toy, so Trenton just let it slide. He waved his hand, dismissing me to my room. The second I clicked my door shut, my phone buzzed.

He had just dropped five thousand dollars of allowance straight into my Apple Pay. He might have thrown Lorraine out like trash, but I still carried his DNA.

I was his only heir in this world. He wasn't going to cross me off the board just to appease Lexi. Not yet.

More importantly, he had nothing left to prove and way too much cash to burn. He didn't care if I blew through his money.

To keep my cover intact, I played my part perfectly for the next few days. I went to school, came home, and kept my head down.

Nobody looking at me would ever guess my entire family had just exploded. Meanwhile, rumors were blowing up every Snapchat group chat that I had dumped my own mother for cash.

The cheerleaders rolled their eyes at me in the hallways, and the school guidance counselor even pulled me into her office, faking concern as she asked if I needed psychological intervention.

The second the final bell rang that afternoon, I walked out of the building and headed straight for Lorraine. Chapter 3 The door to the rundown motel room creaked open.

Lorraine stood in the doorway, swallowed up by a cheap, greasestained fastfood uniform.

The suffocating stench of mildew and stale cigarette smoke from the carpet rolled out into the hall. "What are you doing here?" I shoved her backward into the room, kicking the door shut behind me.

The lock clicked. I crashed into her chest, burying my face into her shoulder. My body shook, silent sobs tearing their way up my throat. Lorraine broke.

Her arms clamped around me like a vice, her tears soaking through my shirt as her shoulders shook. How pathetic was this?

I was sneaking around a shady motel just to see my own mother, biting my tongue so hard it bled just to keep anyone from hearing us scream.

Once her shaking shoulders finally stopped, I unzipped my backpack.

I pulled out a thick, heavy envelope stuffed with hundreddollar bills. "I cashed out all the allowance Trenton sent me.

Take it." Lorraine shoved it back immediately. "I don't want a single cent of his dirty money!" I grabbed her wrists, forcing the thick envelope straight into her palms. "Why the hell wouldn't you?

Take it. You have to." "Sloane… please… come live with me here…" "And live off what? Fastfood burgers?" I stepped back, cutting off the warmth. "Drop the fantasy, Lorraine.

I'm not moving into a roach motel." Fresh tears tracked through her makeup. "You're right. I'm useless.

I'm just dead weight…" I stepped back in, gripping her trembling hands hard. "Lorraine. Stop it. You are not dead weight." "Trenton has millions.

If I walk away and live in this dump with you, what happens when he knocks up that gold digger?" "You want some halfsibling inheriting the empire you built from the ground up?" "Every single dime of his belongs to me.

Lexi or whatever trash he drags in next—she better pray she can even carry a kid to term first." Her eyes blew wide, panic flashing in her pupils. "Sloane… what are you planning?" "Relax.

I'm not doing anything stupid. But you have to get on your feet. If Trenton throws me to the wolves, I need to know you have a place for me to fall back to." That flipped a switch.

Her spine straightened, the desperate housewife melting away. "Okay. Give me time.

I will never let anyone step on you again." The second I pushed the front door open that night, a heavy shadow lunged at me. "You ungrateful little bitch!

Did you sneak behind my back and max out my platinum card to hand cash to your beggar mother?" Trenton's fist tangled brutally into my hair.

He yanked my head back and hurled my body straight into the edge of the massive marble coffee table. My ribs smashed against the stone.

A thick, metallic rush of copper flooded my mouth. Instead of swallowing, I let the hot blood spill freely over my bottom lip, dripping down my chin.

Seeing the crimson stain against my pale skin, Trenton's fist froze in midair. But the veins in his neck still bulged, his features twisted. I shifted my gaze past his shoulder.

Lexi was lounging on the plush velvet sofa, practically flashing her ass in a micromini skirt.

Her legs were crossed, a nasty, triumphant smirk plastered across her perfectly contoured face.

Her eyes screamed the message loud and clear: Did you really think you could outsmart me, you little brat?

When I didn't immediately answer, the toe of Trenton's expensive leather loafer slammed into my ribs. "Speak!

Did you funnel my goddamn money to that washedup hag?" I slowly pushed myself up from the marble floor, staring dead into his eyes without flinching. "Yes." SMACK!

His open palm cracked brutally across my cheekbone. The force of it was blinding. My feet gave out before I could even brace myself.

My body went flying sideways, hurtling straight toward the heavy oak display cabinet. THUD. The impact rattled my skull like a sledgehammer hitting solid steel.

Black spots instantly swarmed my vision, pulling me toward unconsciousness. A vicious, burning agony ripped across my temple.

I reached up, my trembling fingers grazing the broken skin. They came away slick and dripping with dark red. The second real blood started pouring down my face, Trenton froze.

He stood over me, his chest heaving, gasping for air like a dying dog. His knuckles were white. Half of it was adrenaline. The other half was panic.

Chapter 4 "Trenton, if I don't give Lorraine that money, they're going to kill me at school." I let my voice crack into a pathetic, desperate whimper. "Everyone at school says I'm a trash kid with no mother.

They call me a golddigging freak who dumped her own mom for a paycheck." I let out a choked sob, intentionally smearing the hot blood all over my cheeks and forehead.

I shoved my sleeves up, exposing the jagged, crisscrossing scars on my forearms. "I get shoved into lockers every single day.

Even the teachers look at me with disgust, like I'm morally bankrupt." "I just couldn't take the rumors anymore. That's the only reason I went to see Lorraine.

I just wanted to give her some cash so the cheerleaders would stop making my life a living hell." My face was a mask of sticky crimson.

I shrank back, wrapping my arms defensively around my head, and pressed my trembling body into the corner of the room. "Trenton, I know Lexi hates me.

I know you don't want me in this house anymore." I cranked up the volume, letting out a loud, piercing wail. "Please stop hitting me! I'll pack my stuff!

I'll leave right now!" I grabbed my backpack, ripped the heavy front door open, and stumbled out into the cool night air.

I made it several yards down the driveway before Lexi's screech echoed from inside the foyer. "What the hell are you standing there for? Drag her bratty ass back inside!

If the neighbors see her looking like a murder victim, they'll ruin my reputation!" Trenton knew he couldn't let me leave.

He had just publicly won custody of me; tossing me out into the street bleeding a week later would turn into a massive country club scandal.

God knows what kind of twisted rumors the HOA wives would spin. But that splitsecond of hesitation cost him.

By the time I was on the sidewalk, my bloodsoaked face was already in full view of the wealthy neighbors walking their purebred dogs.

Before Trenton finally grabbed my collar and yanked me back into the house, at least a dozen people had a clear, horrifying look at the damage.

Ten minutes later, heavy, authoritative knocks hammered against the front door.

Trenton opened it, immediately freezing at the sight of the badges. "We are joint investigators with the police and Child Protective Services (CPS).

We received multiple 911 calls from this community reporting a severe case of child abuse. Step back from the door immediately." Trenton's jaw tightened, but he had no choice.

He backed away, letting the heavily armed officers and the CPS worker step into the foyer. The second they crossed the threshold, their eyes locked onto me.

I was standing perfectly still in the center of the massive living room, a crude, bloody bandage hastily wrapped around my forehead.

The lead officer shifted his hard gaze back to Trenton. "What happened here? Start talking." Lexi coldly watched Trenton sweat.

She didn't offer a single ounce of wifely support, tossing out a lazy, halfassed excuse while examining her fresh acrylics. "Who knows how the klutz did it.

She probably wasn't looking where she was going and tripped over her own two feet." The officer’s eyes snapped to her. "And who are you?" Lexi flicked a piece of lint off her microskirt and jerked her chin toward Trenton. "I'm his wife." The officer gave a slow, knowing nod, his expression hardening. "Right.

Makes sense. The stepmother." The word stepmother instantly ignited her temper. Lexi shot up from the velvet sofa. "Who the hell are you insulting? I am not her mother!

I have zero biological connection to that dead weight." "If his kid acts out, it's his right to discipline her.

You have no business sticking your noses in our private property!" The officer ignored her screeching.

He stepped right into Trenton's personal space. "What is your relationship to this minor?

Where did she get those bluntforce injuries?" "We received reports that a child was being actively beaten to the point of severe head trauma.

Is that what happened here?" "Officer, please, I really did just fall.

Trenton didn't hit me!" Watching Trenton stutter and sweat, I stepped forward, playing the terrified, abused child desperate to cover for her abuser. "I snuck out to a party tonight and made him really mad.

He just yelled at me a little bit, that's all!" "He didn't lay a hand on me.

Please, I swear, don't arrest him!" Chapter 5 Seeing that the supposed victim was actively denying the abuse, the officers repeatedly confirmed I wasn't being coerced before backing off.

They asked a few more routine questions and finally headed for the door.

As Trenton and I walked them out, the lead officer threw one last heavy glare over his shoulder. "Child abuse is a felony.

Even if you didn't do this, you better watch your step." Trenton nodded aggressively like a bobblehead.

He didn't slam the heavy front door shut until their cruiser fully pulled out of the driveway. "Since you're already getting your ass kicked at school, I'll let you off the hook this time." He jabbed his thick finger right between my eyes. "But if I ever catch you funneling my cash to your mother again, I'll beat you to death myself." Trenton didn't send me another dime after that, and I didn't ask.

He had given me five grand; I gave Lorraine four and kept one for myself.

As long as I didn't blow it, that thousand dollars was enough to keep me afloat until prep school applications.

Lorraine used the cash I gave her to buy a beatup, secondhand food truck.

She parked it right in the middle of a bustling commercial district, slinging homemade hot dogs and street tacos.

She had catered to Trenton for over a decade and had even taken advanced courses at Le Cordon Bleu. Whipping up street food was a breeze for her.

Thanks to me spreading the word at school, the food truck quickly drew a massive crowd of students.

The outsourced cafeteria food tasted like literal garbage, so Lorraine's cooking instantly won over everyone. Within days, she had lines wrapping around the block.

But I knew the truth. She didn't buy that food truck just to make rent.

She parked it near my route so she could be closer to me, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of me every single day. The good times didn't last.

Barely two weeks in, the health department showed up for a surprise inspection. Even though her operating permits were flawless, the health inspector nitpicked every little thing.

Without hesitation, they slapped a bright red "CLOSED" sticker right across the service window, claiming they had received an anonymous tip that our ingredients were laced with rat poison.

The second I heard that, Lexi's sharp, venomous face flashed in my mind. I strongly suspected she was the one who tipped Trenton off about the cash I gave Lorraine, too.

It was beyond annoying. I had already lowered myself to play nice and fakesmile while calling her 'Mom,' but the bitch clearly didn't know when to stop pushing.

That night, I followed my routine, carrying her drink straight into the master bedroom. "Here you go, Lexi." Ever since Lorraine was kicked out, brewing her expensive glutenfree oat milk and serving it to her in bed had become my personal slave duty.

If the temperature was even a degree off, she would hurl the entire mug right in my face and screech until Trenton came in to beat the hell out of me.

Those cops showing up had been completely useless. Their little warning hadn't reined Trenton in at all.

I stood stiffly by her nightstand, watching her take slow, deliberate sips until the cup was empty. She shoved the empty mug back into my hands, rolling her eyes. "Spit it out.

I don't have all night to deal with trash like you." Chapter 6 I kept my face perfectly blank, an innocent mask. "Lexi, were you the one who called the health department on Lorraine's food truck?" One of her perfectly arched eyebrows shot up.

A nasty, provocative smirk twisted her lips. "Wow! Took you long enough to figure it out." "You already kicked her out of this house.

Trenton revolves his entire life around you now. Why won't you just leave her alone?" "Why?" She rolled her eyes. "Why do you kick a mangy dog chained to a fence?

Why do you burn ants with a magnifying glass? Why do you swat a mosquito?" Her lip curled, a harsh sneer pulling at her features. "It's all the same thing.

If she isn't ruined, I'm not happy." "And don't think you're safe either. Just because you picked your daddy doesn't mean you're set for life.

Not a chance in hell." Her manicured hand drifted down, resting casually over her flat stomach. "Every single dime of Trenton's money is going to my baby.

You're just the exwife's trash.

You won't see a single red cent." She started to stand up. "If you know what's good for you, you'll pack your bags and go crawl back to that deadbeat mother of yours.

Otherwise, don't blame me when your new stepmom plays rough. I'm not some—" Midsentence, her body violently pitched to the side.

Her knees buckled like she had stepped into empty space, and she crashed right back into the velvet cushions.

She reached blindly for the armrest, but her arm flopped uselessly at her side. Her entire body melted into the sofa, paralyzed.

Raw panic fractured through her rapidly dilating pupils. "You… you drugged me?" I dropped into a crouch right in front of her.

I reached out, my fingertips lightly tracing her cheek, letting her see the unhinged thrill surging behind my eyes. "Mom… you're pregnant?

Why didn't you tell me sooner?" TV shows always made it seem like pregnant women were made of glass. A slight bump, a dirty look, and they’d instantly miscarry.

But Lexi’s little bastard was apparently built like the Terminator, firmly welded to her uterus.

I had dragged her dead weight all the way to the top of the marble staircase and shoved her down the steps.

She hit the bottom hard, knocked out cold, but there wasn't a single drop of blood. I sneered. I pulled a heavy glass bottle of blackmarket abortifacients from my pocket.

Clamping my fingers around her jaw, I pried her mouth open and forced half the bottle of bitter liquid straight down her throat.

I stood over her, watching coldly as she lay unconscious, waiting for the chemical reaction to tear through her system.

Watching the dark, crimson blood finally seep through her expensive Lululemon yoga pants, I slowly pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed 911. "Hello? 911?

My mom!" "She fell down the stairs! Please, you have to save her!" The dispatcher’s voice was steady and calm. "Okay, sweetie, I need you to take a deep breath.

What is your address?" "There's so much blood! She's bleeding everywhere!" "Is she going to die? Oh my god!" I forced out a series of choked, hysterical sobs. "Honey, don't cry.

Your mom is going to be okay. I need you to give me your address so I can send the paramedics." "She hit the stairs so hard! Are you sure she won't die?

The blood isn't stopping!" "I promise, the paramedics are on their way right now. She is going to be fine." "Really? She just told me she's pregnant!" "I swear I didn't push her!

She slipped and fell all by herself! I didn't do it!" Chapter 7 The dispatcher’s voice was starting to crack with urgency. "Yes, honey, I know it's not your fault.

Now, can you please just give me the address?" "If Trenton finds out something happened to Lexi, he's going to kill me! I'm so scared!" "No one is going to hurt you.

Just tell me where you live!" "I'm dead. I'm so dead. He's never going to let this go.

I have to run away!" The dispatcher sounded like she was pulling her hair out. "Sweetheart, what is the address?" I kept sobbing hysterically right up until my thumb hit the red button, instantly cutting the call.

The silence rushed back into the massive living room. I stood up, walked calmly into the designer kitchen, and poured myself a fresh glass of milk.

I drank it slowly, enjoying the quiet.

I set my empty glass on the marble island, then grabbed the mug Lexi had drank from and scrubbed it under scalding water until there wasn't a trace of the drug left.

Only then did I pick up my phone, dial 911 again, and cleanly drop my home address to the emergency center.

I waited until the paramedics strapped Lexi's bleeding body onto the stretcher and the ambulance peeled out of the driveway. Then, I finally dialed Trenton.

He was out at some upscale corporate networking dinner. "Trenton, it's bad." "Lexi fell down the stairs. She's unconscious.

The ambulance just took her." A violent crash echoed through the speaker—glass shattering, heavy plates smashing against a restaurant floor.

Trenton’s voice came through, raw and breathless. "How is she? What hospital?!" "City General. I'm so scared!

There was so much blood everywhere, what are we going to do?" He didn't even waste a breath on me. The line went dead.

I instantly dialed 911 for the third time tonight. "Hello? 911? I need to report a severe drunk driver on the highway." "Yes, it's a black Cadillac Escalade.

Right, the fully loaded trim with the panoramic sunroof and custom leather interior. The driver is wasted.

The license plate is… you might want to write this down." Twenty minutes later, Trenton came tearing into the hospital parking lot like a madman.

A police cruiser was already sitting there, waiting in the shadows. Poor Trenton.

He didn't even get to lay eyes on his miscarrying trophy wife before the cops ripped him out of his Escalade and dragged him inside for a forced blood draw.

The lab results came back instantly. His Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) was dangerously over the legal limit.

To make matters worse, the officers searched his car and found a stash of illegally obtained prescription painkillers in the center console.

He was hit with dual felony charges: a massive DUI and possession of controlled substances.

The judge flatout denied his bail, sentencing him straight to a state penitentiary for six months.

Right as Trenton was being handcuffed and shoved into the back of a squad car, Lexi was finally wheeled out of the operating room. Thank God.

The little bastard was scraped clean out of her. The doctors delivered even better news.

Because she lay bleeding on the floor for so long before medical help arrived, her uterus sustained heavy damage.

She wasn't entirely barren, but if she ever wanted to play the pregnant card again, she'd be bedridden and undergoing extensive fertility treatments for a very long time.

When Lexi's heavy eyelids finally fluttered open in the sterile recovery room, the very first face she saw was mine.

I was sitting in the visitor's chair, my back perfectly blocking the nurse's line of sight. Seeing her wake up, a twisted, vicious smirk spread across my face. "Mom.

You're finally awake!" Lexi's hand shot up on instinct