Return of the Shameless Heiress Chapter 1

One month after I was taken back into the Sterling family, my private nudes got leaked online.

My brother Liam promised whoever was behind it would pay—big time.

I showed him the proof that Chloe, the fake heiress, was the one setting me up.

But instead of backing me, he slapped me across the face.

“You’re shameless, trying to hurt Chloe? How can you be so cruel?”

Then he stripped me and locked me in a freezer at minus twenty degrees to ‘make me think about what I’ve done.’

“I wish you weren’t my sister. I’d rather you disappear and never come back.”

But in the end, they all came crawling back, begging for forgiveness.

The day I left the Sterling family, I was running a high fever.

My body was already frail. I'd been running on empty for a week, and then Liam had slapped me.

Drained and aching, it was only natural I'd gotten sick.

Even as I walked towards the river, Liam's accusing words echoed in my ears.

"Is that you in those pictures?"

"Aubrey Sterling, have you really slept with that many men?"

"Do you have no shame?!"

While he interrogated me, Chloe, the fake heiress, was right there, twisting the knife even deeper.

"Liam, you don't think Aubrey has... you know, one of those diseases? I heard they can be contagious."

Liam's face darkened, his brows furrowing in displeasure.

"Stop spouting nonsense. Go back to your own room, Chloe."

Chloe clicked away on her heels, but Liam just pursed his lips and headed to the bathroom.

When he came out, he was wearing gloves, and he meticulously disinfected every surface I'd touched.

My pupils trembled. I clenched my fingers, humiliation burning through me.

I watched him patiently sanitize the entire villa, then toss the gloves away.

Only then did he turn to me, his voice cold.

"Have you gotten tested?"

I tried to keep my voice steady.

"I'm not sick."

He clearly didn't believe me, but he wouldn't discuss it further. His face was a mask of cold fury as he warned me.

"Don't let Mom find out about this. I'll handle the PR. Just stay home for a while."

As he spoke, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, but didn't answer. He grabbed his jacket and started to leave.

At the door, he paused and added.

"Stay in your room."

The front door clicked shut, and a sharp pain squeezed my chest, like it had been slammed shut on my heart.

Liam hadn't yelled at me once.

But his silence hurt more than a hundred insults.

For the next week, I listened to Liam and didn't leave my room.

I spent all my time in my bedroom, trying to find out who had leaked those photos.

Was it someone from the old town?

No way. That would be a crime. They wouldn't.

Was it a rival company to Liam's?

Also unlikely. I'd only been back for a month. Many people didn't even know about me. It couldn't have been that fast.

Finally, I zeroed in on one person.

Chloe.

Just two days ago, Mom had talked to Liam about sending Chloe back now that I was home.

The person who hated me most had to be her.

I stayed up day and night, using all the money Liam had given me to hire hackers.

Liam, on the other hand, wasn't idle either.

He was swamped, frantically trying to suppress the scandal.

But fifty million dollars just vanished into thin air, like water splashed on a stone. Nothing worked.

Within three days, the company's stock crashed, wiping out hundreds of millions.

Mom still saw the photos, collapsed on the spot, and was rushed to the hospital.

The scandal exploded, becoming the talk of the town. Under the manipulation of malicious individuals, the Sterling family's reputation and finances suffered immeasurable losses.

The internet was filled with vile insults aimed at me.

Thankfully, a week later, I found the original ID that leaked the private photos.

It was Chloe.

I held my phone out to Liam.

"She's the one who leaked them, Liam. You need to make her clarify immediately and cut our losses!"

"Just, just say they're AI-generated. We can still salvage the damage!"

I desperately racked my brain for solutions, completely missing the chilling rage that had settled on Liam's face.

He asked, his voice cold, "Isn't that you in those pictures? Aubrey, are you asking me to lie for you?"

I froze. "Right now, the most important thing is to salvage our losses."

"I can't believe you're this kind of person!"

Liam's face was grim as he cut me off.

"Aubrey Sterling, you being swapped at birth was a mistake by the hospital staff."

"But I truly regret ever finding you!"

With that, he delivered a brutal slap.

And just like that, he shattered what little fragile connection we had.