The Devil Billionaire Spoils Me Rotten After I Took My Sister’s Place

A heavy porcelain vase shattered against the mahogany doorframe, missing my head by mere inches.

"I refuse to marry him!" Bella shrieked, her voice echoing through the grand foyer of the Grey estate. "You might as well dig my grave right now!"

I stood frozen in the hallway, brushing a shard of ceramic from my sweater. As the illegitimate daughter of the Grey family, my presence usually went unnoticed. Today was no exception.

Inside the parlor, my father, Arthur Grey, slammed his fist onto his antique desk. "The Voss family made their choice, Bella. We do not reject a direct decree from Ethan Voss."

"He is a monster!" Bella paced the length of the room, tearing at her manicured hair. "Everyone knows what he does to people who cross him. He is a ruthless, violent psychopath. I am not walking into his torture chamber."

Eleanor, my stepmother, wept quietly on the velvet sofa. "Arthur, please. There must be another way. We possess money. Offer them shares in the company."

"Ethan Voss owns half the city," Arthur barked, his face flushed purple. "He does not want our money. He demanded a Grey bride by Friday. If we fail to deliver, he will dismantle our entire empire by Monday morning."

Bella dropped to the floor in a heap of designer silk. "I will swallow poison before I put on a wedding dress for that beast."

Arthur's eyes snapped toward the doorway. He spotted me standing in the shadows.

"Serena. Get in here," he commanded.

I stiffened, slowly stepping into the parlor. The heavy oak doors seemed to mock me as I crossed the threshold.

"You have lived under my roof for twenty-two years," Arthur stated, his voice dangerously low. "You eat my food. You wear clothes paid for by my company. It is time you paid off your debt."

I stared at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. "What are you talking about?"

"Bella is not going to the Voss estate," he declared, pointing a thick finger at my chest. "You are."

"No." The word slipped out before I could stop it. "I am not a legitimate Grey. The contract—"

"The contract specifies a daughter. It does not ask for a birth certificate," Arthur interrupted, stepping into my personal space. "You will put on the wedding dress this Friday. You will sign the marriage license. If you utter a single word of defiance to Ethan Voss, I will throw you onto the streets with absolutely nothing."

"You cannot force me to marry a criminal!" I yelled, stepping back.

Eleanor sneered from the sofa. "Oh, stop being so dramatic. You are finally useful for once in your miserable life. You should be thanking us for securing you a billionaire husband."

"Then marry him yourself!" I shot back.

Arthur raised his hand. The threat of a strike hung heavy in the air. I did not wait for it to fall. I spun on my heel and sprinted out of the parlor, ignoring Bella's cruel laughter echoing behind me.

I needed Lucas. I needed the one person in this world who actually cared about my existence.

My phone vibrated as I reached the front steps. I pulled it out and checked the screen.

*Meet me in the garden pavilion. Now.*

The message came from Lucas, my boyfriend of two years. A wave of relief washed over me. Lucas always knew how to ground me when the Grey household became unbearable.

I slipped out the side door and hurried across the manicured lawn. The evening air carried a biting chill.

Lucas paced the length of the stone pavilion. He raked his fingers through his blond hair, his jaw clenched tight.

"Lucas?" I stepped onto the stone floor.

"Serena. We have a massive problem," he stated, his voice tight.

"My father just told me I have to take Bella's place," I blurted out, tears finally spilling over my lashes. "He wants to send me to Ethan Voss. We need to leave tonight, Lucas. Pack your bags. We can drive to the border."

Lucas did not move. He did not pull me into a hug. He just stared at the ground.

"Lucas?" I wiped a tear from my cheek. "Did you hear me?"

"We are not leaving," he said quietly.

"Why not?"

He looked up, his expression twisted in fake agony. "Your father discovered my startup's hidden debts. He bought all of them. He owns my entire life, Serena. He threatened to liquidate my company and bankrupt my parents if I refuse to help him fix this Voss disaster."

"You knew?" My voice dropped to a whisper. "You knew what he was going to ask me in that parlor?"

"He came to me first," Lucas admitted, taking a step forward. "He told me he would ruin my family. My parents would lose their home. My father's pension would vanish. I had no choice."

"So you agreed to hand me over to a monster?" I shoved his chest hard. "Two years together, and you sell me out to save your startup?"

"It is not just the startup!" Lucas yelled, grabbing my wrists. "It is my entire life! And it is our future. If we run now, we will be hunted down by Arthur's lawyers. We will live in poverty. Is that the life you want?"

"I would rather be poor than married to a psychopath!" I screamed, twisting my arms. "Release me!"

He held on tighter, pulling me flush against his body. "Listen to me. Please. This is a temporary fix. Just a few months. Long enough for me to secure my funds and get my passport cleared."

I pushed against his sternum. "You want me to walk into a violent man's house and share his bed?"

"I want to save our future." He rested his chin on the top of my head, stroking my spine. "We planned a life in Paris. A small house far away from this toxic family. I will still give you that life."

Tears blurred my vision. "By making me someone else's wife."

"By playing their twisted game," Lucas corrected, his voice dropping to a soothing murmur. "Marry Voss. Keep your head down. I will finalize the offshore accounts, and the second I am clear, I will come for you. We disappear together."

I looked up at him. His dark eyes swam with unshed tears. He looked utterly desperate.

"Are you telling me the truth?" I whispered.

"I love you, Serena. I would never put you in real danger. Voss just needs a trophy wife for the press. He will ignore you completely."

He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. The kiss felt urgent, demanding compliance rather than offering comfort.

As he pulled away, a specific scent caught my attention.

Vanilla and crushed roses.

Bella's signature perfume.

Why did Lucas smell like my half-sister?

My stomach plummeted. A cold sweat broke out across my neck. I stared at the man I loved, noticing a faint smudge of pink lip gloss near his collar. Bella wore that exact shade at dinner.

"Okay," I heard my own voice say, hollow and detached. "I will do it."

"Thank God." Lucas exhaled a massive breath, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead. "You are saving my life, Serena. I will arrange everything with your father tonight."

He pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen illuminated the dark pavilion.

He angled the device away quickly, but my eyes caught the lock screen preview.

A message from a contact saved as *B*.

*Did you convince the idiot yet? Get her to agree tonight.*

The blood drained from my face. My hands began to tremble, so I shoved them deep into my coat pockets.

"I should go pack a bag," I murmured, staring blankly at his chest.

"Go. Be strong." Lucas offered a reassuring smile that now looked entirely foreign. "Remember, this is for us."

I turned my back on him and walked toward the mansion. The shadows of the estate swallowed me whole.

Lucas and Bella. They orchestrated this entire nightmare.

I was walking straight into the devil's den, but the real monsters were standing right in my own backyard.

If they wanted me to play the sacrificial lamb, they were going to get a very rude awakening.