My Family Chose My Stepsister, The Billionaire Chose Me

The iron gates of the Sterling estate swung inward with a heavy, grinding groan.

I leaned against the taxi's rear window, watching the familiar limestone pillars slide past. Until I was eighteen, this ground felt like sanctuary. I was Edward and Catherine’s only girl, the daughter they paraded through high-society galas like fine porcelain.

Then Chloe appeared.

She arrived with police reports, faded photographs, and a horrific story about being kidnapped into poverty at four years old. My parents’ guilt became a bottomless pit. To make up for fourteen years in the slums, they gave her everything. My bedroom, my favorite horses, my birthdays. I understood their grief. I even felt sorry for her.

What I never understood was why my entire family decided that loving Chloe required erasing me.

"Twenty dollars, miss," the driver said, pulling up to the grand entrance.

I passed him the cash, stepped out into the biting evening air, and climbed the stone steps.

The grand ballroom inside was already packed with New York's elite. Crystal chandeliers threw diamond patterns across marble floors. Polished laughter and the clink of flute glasses drifted over the string quartet, but the atmosphere near the center of the hall parted like water for royalty.

Chloe stood in the middle of it.

She wore a pristine, custom white gown that made her look like an innocent swan. Guests surrounded her, nodding sympathetically at whatever quiet, modest words she offered.

Then she turned. Her gaze snagged on me, and her lower lip trembled on cue. Her eyes flooded with instant moisture.

"Sister…" Chloe gasped, loud enough to cut through three conversations nearby. "You really came."

She took two hesitant steps toward me, holding her hands over her chest as if she might collapse from sheer joy.

Sebastian intercepted her path instantly, placing an arm around her shoulder before wheeling around to face me. His jaw was clenched so hard the tendon in his cheek jumped.

"Don't you dare start bullying her, Elena," Sebastian warned, his voice low and hostile. "She spent all morning arranging Grandfather's flowers while you were playing games at the airport."

I tilted my head, crossing my arms. "Did I say anything?"

"You didn't have to," Sebastian snapped. "You walked in here with that venomous look on your face."

"She’s just looking at me, Sebastian," Chloe whispered softly, clutching Sebastian's sleeve with trembling fingers. "Please don't fight. It's my fault. I shouldn't have worn white. Elena always loved white gowns..."

"Stop apologizing to her, Chloe," Julian’s voice sliced in from my right.

Julian stepped forward, setting a champagne glass onto a nearby silver tray. His dark hair was combed back, his tuxedo crisp, his eyes blazing with irritation.

"Julian," I said flatly. "Still playing the loyal guard dog?"

"Why can't you just be nice to her for one night?" Julian demanded, closing the distance between us until his shadow fell over my face. "Just one night, Elena. For your grandfather's sake. Can you swallow your petty jealousy for three hours?"

A short, dry laugh escaped my mouth.

"Why are you laughing?" Julian hissed.

"Because apparently breathing near her is already bullying," I answered, meeting his furious stare. "I haven't taken three steps past the foyer, and the three of you are ready to hold a trial."

"You pushed her out of this family three years ago," Julian countered, his voice rising enough to draw neighboring socialites into our orbit. "You ran away because you couldn't stand seeing someone else receive affection!"

"I ran away because my fiancé couldn't tell the difference between crocodile tears and a set-up," I shot back.

"Sister, please!" Chloe cried out, stepping past Sebastian. "Don't argue with Julian! If my presence upsets you, I'll go back to my room! I never wanted to take your place!"

A waiter carrying a full silver tray of vintage red wine maneuvered through the gathering crowd, attempting to slip past the growing circle.

Chloe pivoted swiftly toward him.

Her elbow clipped the waiter's forearm with sudden, sharp force.

"Oh!" Chloe shrieked.

The tray tilted violently. Three crystal goblets overturned, dumping thick, dark red wine directly down the bodice of Chloe's snow-white gown. The crimson liquid soaked through the satin, dripping onto her silver pumps.

Glasses shattered against the marble floor with a piercing crash.

Silence slammed down over the entire ballroom.

"My dress!" Chloe wailed, stumbling backward into Sebastian's chest. She threw her hands over her face, tears streaming freely down her flushed cheeks. "I—I just wanted to offer Elena a drink to welcome her home!"

Every set of eyes in the room snapped directly onto me.

Before I could blink, Julian’s fingers clamped around my right wrist like an iron shackle. He yanked my arm forward, his grip bruising through my skin.

"What did you do?" Julian snarled, his eyes bulging with rage.

"Let go of me," I pulled against his hold, but his grip didn't give an inch.

"Did you push her?" Julian shouted. "Answer me! Did you push her into that waiter?"

"Nothing," I bit out through gritted teeth, staring straight into his eyes. "I didn't touch her. I didn't even move."

"She didn't push me, Julian!" Chloe sobbed hysterically from behind Sebastian. "She didn't! It was an accident! Please don't blame Elena! She didn't mean to!"

Her frantic defense was the final nail in the coffin.

Murmurs rippled through the high-society crowd.

"Unbelievable. She just got back into town."

"Still so cruel to that poor girl."

"After everything Chloe suffered as a child..."

"Look at her, Julian," Sebastian said, his voice shaking with absolute disgust. "She hasn't changed at all. She's completely rotten."

"I told you," I started, trying to wrench my wrist free again, "I was standing—"

A wave of intense heat rushed up the back of my neck.

My vision swam. The ballroom lights smeared into blinding streaks of gold and white. The noise of the string quartet warped into a distant, metallic hum inside my ears. My knees buckled beneath me, turning to water.

The untouched glass of water I had picked up from the entryway table slipped from my trembling fingers.

*Smash.*

Glass shards exploded against my ankles.

A heavy, suffocating numbness spread through my tongue, paralyzing my throat.

*The water.*

The maid who handed it to me at the door had whispered that Chloe had prepared it specially for my arrival.

I forced my heavy eyelids open and dragged my gaze toward Chloe.

Sebastian was wrapping his wool jacket around her stained shoulders. Hidden behind his broad back, Chloe lifted her head. Her face was completely dry of tears.

Her lips curved into a sharp, mocking grin. Her eyes sparkled with cold, venomous triumph.

She wasn't crying. She had never been crying.

"She..." I slurred, the words thick and heavy like wet sand in my mouth. I swayed violently, grabbing Julian's tuxedo lapel just to keep from hitting the floor. "She... drugged my drink."

Julian shoved my hands off his jacket with an expression of pure revulsion.

"Stop it, Elena," Julian spat, wiping his lapel as if I had contaminated him. "Now you're playing the victim? You ruin Chloe's gown, you make a scene in front of our investors, and now you fake an overdose?"

"Look at her," Sebastian sneered, stepping over the puddle of red wine and shattered glass. "She can't even stand up straight. She probably got drunk on the flight over just to cause trouble."

"Sebastian..." I gasped, fighting the black spots eating at the edges of my vision. My chest felt compressed under concrete. "Grandfather... upstairs... call Dr. Miller..."

"Don't bring Grandfather into your pathetic drama," Sebastian commanded, turning his back on me to look at the two estate security guards standing by the double doors. "Security! Get her out of this ballroom right now."

"Sebastian, wait—" I tried to say, but my legs gave out completely.

Two heavy hands seized me by the upper arms, dragging me backward across the marble floor.

"Put her in the west wing storage room until she sobers up," Sebastian ordered coldly, not bothering to look back. "Lock the door from the outside. Don't let her near Grandfather tonight."

As the heavy wooden doors swung shut, cutting off the ballroom lights, I saw Chloe lean her head against Julian's shoulder, smiling directly at me through the narrowing crack.