The Villainess Rules Them All

My manicured fingers hovered over the crystal rim. The laxative Knox handed me was seconds away from dissolving into Maeve's champagne.

Suddenly, a dense wall of glowing comments flooded my vision.

[ Don't do it, villainess! That's not a laxative, it's an aphrodisiac! ]

[ The male lead is going to use it to sleep with the female lead, then pin the whole thing on you! ]

[ He'll use revenge as an excuse to swallow your family whole and force you to commit suicide! ]

My breath hitched.

I, the top heiress of Manhattan's elite, was just a disposable villainess in some trashy novel? That pathetic gold-digger who only scraped his way into Manhattan's upper crust by maxing out my secondary black card actually thought he could annex my family's trust fund and launch a hostile takeover of our business empire?

A scoff escaped my lips.

I flicked my wrist, dumping every last grain of the white powder straight into Knox's own glass.

This ungrateful bastard thought he could play me? I would show him exactly how hopeless it was to cross an apex predator of the New York social scene.

Chapter 1

At the welcome-back gala for Manhattan's golden girl, Maeve, my childhood friend Knox slipped a small packet into my hand.

Knox leaned in close. "Darcy, it's a laxative. Colorless and odorless. Slip it into Maeve's drink."

"It'll humiliate her in front of everyone. Consider it payback for her stealing your boyfriend."

The mental image of perfect Maeve sprinting for the nearest restroom was too tempting. I took the packet without hesitation. I had it poised over her glass, ready to ruin her perfect night, when a string of glowing text floated across my vision.

[ So this is the evil villainess. Gorgeous, sure, but completely brain-dead. ]

[ Seriously stupid. Dropping unknown drugs just like that. ]

[ Don't do it, villainess! That's not a laxative, it's an aphrodisiac! ]

[ Exactly! The male lead is going to sleep with the female lead and blame it all on you. ]

[ Then he'll use "avenging her" as an excuse to swallow your family's company and force you to kill yourself. ]

[ So tragic. She gets used until she's completely dry. ]

I pressed two fingers to my temples. The floating words didn't disappear. Reading the part about me being forced to commit suicide, a cold chill shot down my spine. That was even more absurd than realizing I was a villainess.

Forced to commit suicide?

I was the heiress of a top-ten American conglomerate. My older brother was Wall Street's most cold-blooded M&A shark, and my older sister founded a cutting-edge biotech lab. And Knox thought he could take us down?

Knox's family was practically bankrupt. If he hadn't clung to my coattails, he wouldn't even make it past the bouncers at a gala like this. How could a loser like him ever steal my family's empire and back me into a corner?

Before I could process it all, Knox noticed my hand hovering over the drink and quickly slipped away into the crowd. His hurried footsteps screamed guilty conscience. My eyes tracked his retreating back, the pieces of the puzzle snapping into place.

What if those floating words were right?

I pivoted on my heels and dumped the powder straight into Knox's abandoned glass on the bar.

My critical gaze swept over his slightly cheap suit from across the room. Intuition told me that a snake used to the dark would never settle for such a light bite.

If he hadn't lied to me, and this was just a harmless prank, I wouldn't mind letting some resources slip through my fingers as a tip for him. But if he was playing me, and that was actually a date-rape drug

I narrowed my eyes. He was going to find out exactly how ruthless I could be.

The glowing text seemed to lag for a second.

[ Wait, what? Why did she drug the male lead's drink? ]

[ Did she suddenly grow a brain? No way. ]

[ If she doesn't drug the female lead, how is the male lead going to sleep with her and get caught so they have to get engaged? ]

[ Hold up. The plot is derailing. ]

I brushed off the confused comments hovering in the air. I disliked Maeve, sure, but I wasn't going to use some gutter-trash tactic to destroy her. Moments later, Knox returned to his spot. I picked up my own champagne flute and glided across the room to offer Maeve a toast.

Truth be told, Maeve and I were long-standing rivals. She was the golden girl of Manhattangentle, kind, brilliant, and talented in everything she touched. As for me? I was the apex socialite of the Upper East Side.

I strutted around in my red-bottom heels, practically owning the pavement. I cared about nothing except maxing out my black card and bathing in the spotlight.

We were the ultimate foil to each other. Whenever high society praised Maeve, they used me as the punchline. Over time, watching her perfect little act started to grate on my nerves. But even that wasn't enough to make me actually hate her.

Chapter 2

The main reason she grated on my nerves? She had this uncanny habit of poaching my boyfriends. I'd officially lock down a guy I liked, and within three days, he'd be breaking up with me to chase after Maeve. It was enough to make a girl seriously question her own magnetism.

She would even play innocent to my face. "Darcy, it's not my fault those arrogant jerks are thinking with their dicks," she'd say, her eyes wide. "I didn't even give them a second glance, and they came licking around like dogs in heat."

She would continue seamlessly, "It's a good thing you broke up. They weren't good enough for you anyway. Our Darcy deserves the absolute best man in the world."

Long story short, she was my sworn nemesis.

Seeing me approach with a glass, her eyes lit up with feigned surprise. "Oh my god, Darcy bringing me a drink? Do you love me that much?"

I barely suppressed an eye roll. She threw the word love around like cheap confetti. She took the flute from my hand and downed the champagne in one elegant gulp.

Suddenly, a flush crept up her neck. She leaned in, her breath warm against my ear. "Darcy what did you put in here? I feel so hot."

My heart skipped a beat.

Had I accidentally slipped the powder into her glass after all? My mind raced, frantically rewinding every second since Knox handed me that packet.

The floating text exploded in a panic.

[ Did the female lead get drugged anyway?! ]

[ Wait, no! The villainess didn't put anything in it, I saw it with my own eyes. ]

[ Her glass didn't get a single speck of powder. Is the plot unchangeable? ]

[ Look at the male lead looking all excited. How is a creep like him the male lead? What a trash novel. ]

Instinctively, my gaze snapped to Knox. His eyes were glued to Maeve, practically dripping with slimy anticipation and the arrogance of a guaranteed win. Catching me looking, he smirked, raised his glass in a mock toast, and took a long sip.

Maeve noticed my distraction. She playfully nudged my shoulder. "Darcy, seriously, what's your secret ingredient?"

Hearing that overly sweet, teasing tone, the tension drained out of my shoulders. She wasn't drugged at all. She was just messing with me.

Deadpan, I looked her right in the eye. "Tap water."

Maeve choked out a laugh, nearly spilling her empty glass. "God, you're adorable, Darcy."

The comments immediately shifted gears.

[ The villainess is actually kind of cute. ]

[ Is it just me, or is the tension between the female lead and the villainess a little fruity? They don't seem like enemies. ]

[ Ngl, I'm kind of shipping them now. ]

I held my ground, casually swirling my champagne, but my predatory gaze locked onto Knox across the room. I wanted to see exactly what kind of cocktail he had handed me.

It didn't take long.

Knox gasped for air, violently ripping at his shirt collar. Expensive buttons snapped off and clattered onto the marble floor. Stripped of all reason, he began rubbing up against a male waiter passing by like a wild beast in heat.

The floating text wasn't lying. A glacial chill seeped into my bones, freezing my blood.

If that was true then my family's bankruptcy and my suicide? Were those true too?

All because of Knox? How could a pathetic roach like him pull that off?

My mind was a chaotic storm of hostile takeovers and worst-case scenarios. I didn't even notice Knox being dragged away. By the time I snapped back to reality, the floating text was exploding in my face like fireworks.

[ Holy shit, the male lead just got dragged into a room, and people caught him in the act! ]

[ OMG! How did this happen?! ]

[ Wait, wasn't this supposed to be the female lead's plotline? Why is the male lead taking the hit? ]

[ He brought it on himself! If he hadn't plotted to drug the female lead and stage a fake hookup to trap her, he wouldn't be getting a taste of his own medicine. ]

A ripple of chaotic whispers swept through the ballroom. Before I could locate the source of the commotion, Maeve appeared at my side. She smoothly intertwined her fingers with mine.

"Come on, Darcy," she whispered, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Let me show you something fun."

Chapter 3

Knox and Roman were caught red-handed in bed.

The people Knox had hired to stir up drama were shouting in the hallways, drawing the entire gala crowd straight to the bedroom door.

Inside, Roman and Knox were half-undressed, locked in a desperate embrace, making out fiercely. Knox's ridiculous underwear was still dangling from Roman's wrist. The whole scene was more blindingly trashy than an orgy on a third-rate reality show.

The drug was potent. Knox, completely delirious, clung to Roman, grinding against him and slurring for more.

As a crowd of elites formed a circle, pointing and whispering at the spectacle, Maeve stood next to me and clicked her tongue. "Morals really are going down the drain these days, huh?"

In the back of the crowd, the paparazzi Knox had tipped off were snapping photos like crazy, the blinding flashes and rapid shutter clicks echoing endlessly through the room.

I stared at Knox with icy detachment. He deserved it. If it weren't for those floating comments, Maeve would be the one caught in that bed right now.

I didn't even have to guess the kind of filthy headlines those trash tabloids would write about her. Her reputation would be utterly destroyed, leaving her with no choice but to marry Knox to save face.

Meanwhile, the floating text was in an uproar:

[ The villainess is toxic AF. She actually drugged the male lead? Look what she did to him! ]

[ Are you seriously simping for a guy like that? Get your facts straight. He brought the drug, he called the paps. How is that the villainess's fault? ]

[ Can he even be the male lead if he's not a virgin anymore? ]

[ Am I the only one worried about the villainess? The male lead is ruthless. Now that he's been screwed by another guy, he's definitely going to take his anger out on her. What if he tortures her? ]

[ Why panic? He didn't sleep with the female lead. If he doesn't leech off the female lead's family wealth, how could he ever go up against Darcy's family? ]

I was sick of this absolute circus, and even more disgusted by my own previous blindness toward Knox's true colors. I gave Maeve a dismissive wave. "I'm out."

Early the next morning, the doorbell chimed relentlessly.

The second I swung the door open, Knox stood there with a twisted scowl. Without a word, he raised his hand and swung hard, aiming a vicious slap right at my face.

Too bad he was on my turf. Before his palm even came close, my bodyguards slammed him face-first into the marble floor.

Pinned to the ground, he thrashed violently, roaring up at me. "Why?! Darcy, you ruined me, do you know that?!"

His once-handsome face was grotesquely contorted. The collar of his shirt gaped open, revealing a neck covered in dark, mottled bruises. The sight made my stomach churn with pure disgust.

"You have the nerve to ask me?" I sneered. "You gave me that drug. You hired the photographers."

"Where do you get the audacity to question me?"

I flicked my eyes toward my bodyguard. Understanding instantly, the guard delivered a brutal backhand straight across Knox's cheek. The right side of his face swelled up immediately.

I crouched down and grabbed his jaw in a vice grip. "You tried to play me. This is the price you pay."

"You of all people should know. I've never played the good girl."

Knox glared at me, his jaw clenched tight enough to crack his teeth. I honestly didn't understand what he was so mad about. He tried to set someone up, failed miserably, and ended up digging his own grave.

He brought it on himself. Coming to my door to throw a tantrum was just pathetic.

I pulled out a silk handkerchief, wiped my fingers in disgust, and dropped it directly onto his face. "Throw him out. He is permanently banned from this estate."

The bodyguards tossed him out the estate's iron gates like a bag of trash. The rough asphalt scraped his face, and his desperate, furious roar echoed in the night: "Darcy! You just wait!"

Wait? I'll wait. Like I'd ever be scared of a cockroach like him.

My phone pinged relentlessly as Maeve carpet-bombed me with texts:

[ "Is my baby girl there?" ]

[ "You there?" ]

[ "My uncle Harrison is flying back today. Wanna come with me to pick him up at the airport?" ]

[ "Baby, baby, my welcome-back gala was totally ruined last night. Don't you think you need to comfort me?" ]

[ "Pleaseeeee? ~" ]

[ Crying Kitten Meme.jpg ]

Chapter 4

Staring at Maeve's texts, the icy armor around my chest thawed just a fraction. If those floating comments hadn't appeared yesterday, she would be the one whose reputation was currently being shredded across every tabloid in the city. I owed her that much.

I typed back a single word. "Fine."

At the JFK arrivals terminal, Maeve clung to my arm like a koala, chattering non-stop. She looked absolutely nothing like the demure golden girl of Manhattan high society.

"Darcy, I'm telling you, my uncle Harrison is drop-dead gorgeous. Way hotter than any of those losers you've dated."

"He's only twenty-seven, and he's already made a disgusting amount of money. Not like me. I'm twenty-five and just finished my master's in Germany."

Exasperated, I pinched her lips together. "Quiet."

A low, rich chuckle rumbled right beside my ear. I turned to see a breathtakingly handsome man standing next to us, his aura refined and gentle. "It's been years, Darcy, and you're just as adorable as ever."

My fingers snapped open, instantly releasing Maeve's face. Suddenly hyper-aware of my posture, I offered a stiff, formal greeting. "Hello, Uncle Harrison."

A helpless smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Just call me Harrison. I'm only two years older than you. 'Uncle' makes me sound ancient."

Harrison had this effortlessly grounding presence. The tension slowly drained from my shoulders. Maeve dragged us both to the waiting town car, and we headed straight to an exclusive, reservations-only Michelin-star restaurant she'd booked.

Right in the middle of our appetizers, the glowing text streaked across my vision again.

[ Girl, you're still eating? Your sister is in trouble! ]

[ The male lead is absolute trash. He couldn't trap the female lead, so now he's targeting the villainess's older sister! ]

[ Does he only have one move? Is he trying to drug his way to the top? ]

[ Darcy's family is a massive golden ticket. The older sister is gorgeous and ice-cold. Marrying into that kind of money is a jackpot for him, of course he's moving fast. ]

[ Room 403 at the Riverside Plaza. Hurry up and save your sister! ]

My silver fork clattered against the bone china plate.

I snatched my car keys off the table and strode toward the exit.

Maeve and Harrison scrambled out of their booths, trailing behind me in shock.

"What's wrong?" Maeve asked.

"My sister's in trouble. I need to get to her, now."

They exchanged a quick, worried glance. "We're coming with you."

The floating text blinked in utter confusion:

[ Wait, is this chick psychic? How the hell does she know? ]

We floored it all the way to the Riverside Plaza. I didn't even bother with the keycardI stepped back and kicked the heavy mahogany door of Room 403 wide open, my heart hammering against my ribs, terrified of what I might find.

Instead, I found my sister sitting calmly on the velvet sofa, casually flipping through a financial magazine.

Knox, on the other hand, was hog-tied and forced to his knees on the carpet. His face was beaten to a pulp, swollen beyond recognition. Blood seeped into his collar, and he was completely unconscious.

I sprinted over, grabbing her shoulders and checking her up and down for injuries. Only after confirming there wasn't a single scratch on her did I finally exhale the breath I'd been holding.

My sister arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, clearly surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Got a tip that Knox was planning to make a move on you. I was terrified something happened. Thank God you're okay."

My sister, towering in her four-inch stilettos, viciously ground her heel into the back of his limp hand and let out an icy sneer. "This idiot dares to play with drugs in front of me? He didn't even bother to background-check which Ivy League I got my dual PhD in toxicology from."

Oh, right. Not only was she a brilliant scientist, but she practically grew up in our grandmother's old-money apothecary. Her nose was sharper than a bloodhound's; she could detect chemical traces invisible to anyone else.

"So what happened? How did he end up looking like roadkill?"

She gave a dismissive shrug. "The second I caught him slipping something into my drink, I beat the living daylights out of him. What kind of trash thinks he can scheme against me?"

"I'll make sure he rots in a federal cell until the end of time. I was just waiting for the NYPD to show up. Didn't expect to see you guys first."

I let out a long, shaky breath, the residual adrenaline slowly bleeding out of my system. Thank God she was untouched.

Chapter 5

I linked my arm through my sister's, whining playfully. "I dropped everything and ran out halfway through my appetizer to save you. I'm starving. I don't care, you're buying us dinner."

Maeve and Harrison offered my sister polite smiles. For some reason, their expressions bordered on blatant sucking up. I couldn't quite figure out why they were trying so hard to please her.

The NYPD carted Knox away in handcuffs, and my sister dragged us all out to a private dining club.

While we waited for our entrees, my sister pinned Harrison with a highly critical, assessing glare. "You're Harrison, right? Back in the States?"

Her tone dripped with old-money arrogance. I quickly tugged at her designer sleeve, dropping my voice to an anxious whisper.

"Hey, that's Maeve's uncle. He's technically our elder. Play nice."

Blame it on my rigid upbringingI always had this ingrained respect for seniority.

To my utter shock, Harrison respectfully raised his wine glass to her. "Yes, ma'am. Just flew in."

My sister's razor-sharp gaze swept over him like a security scanner. After a long beat, she gave a curt nod.

"Not bad. A massive upgrade from Knox, anyway. Make sure you treat our Darcy right."

Before Harrison could even open his mouth, Maeve thumped her chest. "Hey, I'm back now. I'll take perfect care of Darcy."

My sister arched a perfectly manicured brow, her gaze sweeping over the two of them with predatory calculation. She chuckled, muttering under her breath, "As long as our Darcy likes it, she can add them both to her harem."

Harrison immediately chimed in with his own vow. "I'll make sure she's taken care of."

Listening to this bizarre, death-bed-confession tone, I leaned in and whispered to my sister. "Seriously, level with me. Are we filing for bankruptcy, or do you have a terminal illness?"

My sister flicked me hard on the forehead. She dropped a piece of Wagyu beef onto my plate. "Eat up, idiot. Maybe the food will finally shut your mouth."

I rubbed my forehead and quietly focused on my steak.

After dinner, we all swapped numbers.

Maeve clung to my waist like a needy golden retriever, batting her big watery eyes and begging me to take her back to my estate. I hooked the corner of my lips, playing along, and brought this pretty little troublemaker home.

Days blurred together. Maeve practically moved into my suite, showing zero signs of ever leaving. Harrison, meanwhile, texted me every single day to take me out.

The three of us hit up every exclusive spot in the city. But for some inexplicable reason, Harrison and Maeve were constantly at each other's throats.

The same Maeve who had been hyping up her uncle a few days ago now spent hours whining about how awful he was. She'd tear him down just to build herself up, chirping in my ear like an over-caffeinated sparrow.

Harrison was the complete opposite. He was quiet, reserved, his voice always smooth and gentle. But occasionally, the things he said felt a little offgiving off subtle pick-me boy energy. I couldn't tell if I was just imagining it.

The floating text watched our peaceful little bubble, happily shipping everyone with everyone. They were practically writing fanfiction in thin air.

Life was so insanely comfortable I completely forgot Knox even existed. One afternoon, I was dead to the world on the couch, casually mashing buttons on my console. Maeve was out getting a facial.

Suddenly, the floating text brought up Knox.

[ Oh my god, the male lead is out of jail? ]

[ First time I've ever seen a male lead sell his ass to bail himself out. ]

[ Knox is acting so weird. How did he hook up with Killian already? That villain isn't supposed to show up until the late-game plot. ]

[ Wait, did the male lead get reincarnated or something? ]

[ Feels like it. Darcy's family is in massive danger. ]

[ It's over. The male lead used a honey trap to flip Secretary Graham. Graham stole the bidding proposal and handed it straight to him. ]

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I dropped the controller.

I bolted off the sofa, grabbed my car keys, and sprinted out the door, tearing down the driveway toward corporate headquarters.

Chapter 6

I slammed the heavy glass door to the CEO's office wide open.

My brother was rubbing his temples, clearly nursing a migraine over the new proposal. At my explosive entrance, a visible blue vein throbbed on his forehead.

"What's the panic about?" he asked, his voice steady.

"The bidding proposal," I gasped, trying to catch my breath. "Graham stole it."

His sharp gaze instantly locked onto me. "How do you know that? I haven't mentioned a word of this to anyone."

Wait, what? He already knew?

Seeing the sheer confusion on my face, my brother let out a short sigh. "If you don't want to explain your sources, don't. But relax. The file Graham took was a decoy."

"A decoy?"

"I flagged Graham as a liability weeks ago. I planted that fake proposal to bait out his backer. If they actually use those numbers at the bid tomorrow, they'll bankrupt themselves."

My jaw practically hit the floor. The floating text was just as shocked.

[ Holy shit, the brother already knew! ]

[ Wait, if the brother is this much of a mastermind, how did Darcy's family go bankrupt in the original book? ]

[ Plot armor, duh. The male lead used the villainess's absolute trust in him to access the family garage and cut the brother's brake lines. Her older brother, sister, and little brother all died in the crash. ]

[ Then Knox locked Maeve up, swallowed her family's wealth, and Darcy was left all alone with zero business skills. A hostile takeover was inevitable. ]

[ Maeve had it worse. He drained her trust fund and tortured her to death. Only after she died did the psycho start acting like he missed her. ]

[ Wow, when you put it like that, the male lead is pure scum. ]

I stared blankly at the glowing words, my blood turning to ice water. My nails dug so hard into my palms that they ached.

So that was it? My blind trust in Knox was the weapon that slaughtered my entire family?

I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't wrap my head around it. He was the boy who saved me when we were kids. Knox and I grew up together back when his family still had old money.

I fell into a pool at a country club, and he pulled me out. Since that day, I considered him my closest ally. When did he turn into this monster?

The barrage of text violently shattered my memories.

[ The villainess is so dumb. How did she never suspect him? ]

[ You can't blame her. He saved her life when they were kids. ]

[ Saved her? Please. He was a manipulative psycho even back then. He pushed her into the pool! Someone else pulled her out, and he just swooped in to steal the credit and play the hero. ]

[ Say it louder! I can't believe this trash is the male lead. ]

[ Poor villainess. She was nothing but a pawn in his sick little game. ]

I stood frozen in the middle of the office for so long that my brother finally walked over and flicked my forehead.

"Where did your mind go?"

"Just thinking about Knox."

My brother frowned, a flash of pure disdain crossing his sharp features.

I rubbed my forehead and quietly left his office.

Driving back to the estate, my grip on the leather steering wheel was white-knuckled. My brother and sister were untouchable elites, and even my little brother was a certified prodigy. And me? Knox played me like a fool for eighteen years, and I never saw it coming.

Even with these floating comments practically spoon-feeding me the truth, my siblings were already ten steps ahead handling their own crises. Even in the original book, the author might have written me off as a brainless, big-boobed villainess who only existed to be a stepping stone.

But now that I was awake to the truth? I would never let anyone lay a finger on my family!

Chapter 7

Maeve noticed my slump. She reached out and wrapped her warm fingers around my wrist. "Darcy, what's wrong?"

"Am I just completely useless?" I stared at the intricate patterns of the Persian rug. "I'm not like my brother, who took over a Fortune 500 company before he could legally drink."

"I'm not like my sister, running top-tier biotech labs in her twenties. Hell, I never even learned how to play the piano properly. It feels like my whole life, the only thing I've ever been good at is being a walking disaster."

Maeve leaned in, gently pressing her forehead against mine. Her clear eyes locked onto mine, leaving no room for escape.

"Darcy, stop. Don't do that to yourself."

"You aren't stupid. You're just pure. Everyone has their own strengths, and yours?"

"You're fiercely loyal, and deep down, you have the kindest heart. You're like our own personal sun."

"Haven't you noticed? Your brothers, your sister Harrison and I? We all absolutely adore you."

I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Kind? The tabloids called me an arrogant brat. The original plot labeled me a brainless, malicious villainess.

"But everyone out there says I'm just a toxic, spoiled brat," I murmured.

"Outsiders only see your arrogance, but they don't know you have a heart of gold. You aren't a spoiled brat, Darcy. You're just a queen born to wear a crown."

Maeve's soft, steady words slowly melted away the icy knot tightening in my chest.

The glowing text floated around us, chiming in:

[ Exactly! Geniuses are rare. Most people are just normal! ]

[ Honestly, watching it now, the villainess hasn't even done anything wrong. The male lead completely brought that on himself. ]

[ Poor girl, growing up surrounded by literal prodigies must be so suffocating. ]

[ Wrapping the villainess baby in a warm blanket right now. ]

Slowly, the invisible weight on my shoulders lifted. I offered Maeve a genuine smile. "Thank you."

A mischievous spark returned to her eyes. She tapped her own cheek with a manicured nail. "Then kiss me."

I hesitated for a split second, then leaned forward and pressed my lips to her cheek