Starlight Never Asks the Heartless

I am the adopted daughter that Lucius Stephens, patriarch of the Stephens family in the capital's elite circle, brought home with three bows and nine kowtows.

Because I was born with fortune-luck, a wealth-drawing blessing, as long as I'm happy, I can bring endless wealth to the Stephens family.

Lucius Stephens warned everyone in the Stephens family.

"Jessica Stephens is the lifeblood of the Stephens family. Every one of you must obey her without question!"

"Anyone who dares to bully her is slapping me in the face!"

In the first year, a distant orphaned relative of the Stephens family slipped something into my drink.

My stomach ached all night, and the Stephens family's stocks dropped ten points.

Lucius Stephens crippled the boy's hands himself and threw him into the primeval forest to fend for himself.

From then on, no one in the Stephens family dared to touch me.

For three years, the Stephens family relied on me to hold their place as the richest family in the capital's elite circle.

That lasted until Zoe Stephens, the eldest daughter of the Stephens first branch, came back to the country for the first time.

She heard about my identity from a servant and stormed straight into my room.

"Jessica Stephens, you're nothing but a con artist mooching off this family!"

She slammed my head hard against the floor.

"Can't touch you? I'd love to see what happens if I do!"

The Stephens family stood there trembling in fear.

But a day later.

Not only did the Stephens family's stocks fail to drop, the projects in Zoe's hands doubled in profit.

She looked at me lying unconscious in the hospital bed, and the corners of her mouth curved up.

"So you really are a fortune-beast, you just have to be beaten before you cough up the money."

After she left, I slowly opened my eyes.

Zoe didn't know.

The treasure a fortune-beast spits out is wealth that belongs to the underworld. Whoever takes it, whoever touches it, brings disaster down on themselves.

...

That evening, I was discharged from the hospital and returned to the Stephens family home.

By then, people from both the first and second branches had gathered at the Stephens old residence.

Two bodyguards stopped me at the elevator.

"Miss Stephens gave orders that you're not allowed back in your room."

Zoe stood in the middle of the hall, arms crossed, watching me.

Aunt Adela, who was in charge of caring for me, stepped in front of me to shield me.

"Lucius Stephens gave orders that no one is allowed to touch Jessica, or else"

"Or else what? The Stephens family goes bankrupt, or people die?"

Zoe cut Aunt Adela off with a smile.

"Yesterday I hit Jessica in front of a whole crowd, and I'm still standing here without a scratch, and the Stephens stocks haven't been affected at all."

She came toward me, step by step.

"And I even got an unexpected bonus."

"The three projects in my hands that were about to collapse are not only running fine, their profits have doubled."

She reached out to touch the wound on my forehead.

I stepped back to avoid it.

Zoe looked at her hand, frozen in the air, and gave a careless little laugh.

"So the truth is that pampering Jessica is useless. You only get money by hurting her."

"My guess is the old man is the only one who knows this secret, otherwise he wouldn't have announced that none of you were allowed to hurt Jessica."

"He got to be the richest man in the capital's elite circlewho knows how he tortures Jessica in private."

Hearing that, everyone drew a sharp breath.

I looked at her, so sure she'd already won, and sneered inwardly.

She was only half right.

You have to be alive to take the money, and alive to spend it.

Zoe raised her hand and pointed at me.

"I'm going to squeeze the most out of her before the old man gets back."

"Guards, take her away."

I didn't resist.

Lucius Stephens was out of town on business, and even at his fastest he couldn't get back before tomorrow.

Her half-brother, Quinn Stephens, suddenly stepped forward.

"No."

Zoe glanced at him.

"What? You're going to protect her?"

Quinn gave a soft snort.

"You said yourself there's profit to be had from her. Surely you don't get to keep all of it for yourself?"

Lionel Stephens of the second branch jumped in at once.

"Quinn's right. You can't hog it all."

Marilyn Stephens chimed in.

"Zoe, your uncle and I have run into some trouble with our business lately. This is the perfect chance to test whether your method actually works."

Zoe took a sidestep, putting herself between me and them.

"If I hadn't happened to come back, wouldn't you all still be hanging on her every whim?"

"So how do you have the nerve to fight me for her now?"

Quinn's face was cold.

"So you're saying you're going to take her away?"

Lionel clenched his fists.

"Aren't you afraid we'll bring this straight to the old man?"

The argument dragged on and on.

Watching them tear at each other like dogs.

I said nothing.

Quinn suddenly grabbed the fruit knife off the table and lunged at me.

"She's mine!"

Zoe Stephens was shoved to the ground by Quinn.

The fruit knife drove straight into my arm, and blood instantly soaked my sleeve.

A sharp pain spread from the wound out through my limbs, cold sweat kept sliding down, and it hurt so much that I bent over without meaning to.

"Jessica."

Aunt Adela pressed her handkerchief against my wound, her face full of concern.

"There. This one's mine now."

Quinn looked at the blood-reddened knife in his hand and smiled with satisfaction.

He didn't care in the slightest about what he'd just done.

Zoe lifted her head, grinding her teeth.

"Quinn! You think I won't go tell Dad about this right now?!"

Quinn gave a mocking smile.

"If Dad cared about you, he wouldn't have shipped you overseas. In his eyes, I'm the only heir."

"Zoe, every scheme you cook up to compete with me is a waste of effort!"

The door was suddenly flung open.

Lucius's secretary, Paul Winfield, rushed in. The glasses on his nose were crooked, and his loose strands of hair were beaded with fine sweat.

He braced his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

When he saw the wound on my arm, his whole face went white.

"Which one of you did this?"

Quinn arched an eyebrow.

"Secretary Winfield, who tipped you off?"

Zoe grabbed Aunt Adela's arm and fished the phone out of her pocket.

"Who else would it be?"

Aunt Adela kept her head down, not daring to resist even as her phone was snatched away.

Paul ignored them and walked straight toward me.

"Jessica's injury is serious. I'm taking her to the hospital for treatment first."

Before his hand could even reach me, Zoe's bodyguard stepped up and blocked him.

Paul flung off the hand in front of him.

"Out of my way!"

Zoe looked at him.

"Secretary Winfield, there's no way you're taking Jessica out of here today. It's not just that I won't allow itnot a single member of the Stephens family here will allow it."

Paul clenched his teeth.

He knew exactly what these people were plotting.

But he couldn't fail the charge Lucius had given him before leaving, couldn't just stand by and watch the Stephens family be destroyed by these people.

The moment something happened to me, the whole Stephens family would be buried right along with me.

He drew a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm.

"I'm calling the old man right now, and he can tell you himself."

He'd just taken his phone out of his pocket.

Quinn instantly lunged forward and snatched it away.

"You think I'd give you the chance to tip anyone off?"

He looked over at Uncle Lionel and his wife.

"Which side are you two on?"

Lionel spoke for them.

"Of course we're all in the same boatbut only if the payoff is worth it."

Quinn glanced at the wound on my arm.

"Once things pan out on my end, it'll naturally be your turn."

Paul's expression was grim.

"Are you all going to destroy the Stephens family with your own hands? Have you forgotten what the old man said the day he brought Jessica home?"

"If you stop now, there's still time to fix all of this."

Paul was Lucius's most trusted secretary; out in the world, he spoke for Lucius himself.

Marilyn hesitated a little.

"Can we really trust what Zoe says? What if it's just a coincidence?"

The room fell into dead silence.

The next second.

Quinn's phone rang.

Listening to the news on the other end, his mouth stretched into a grin that nearly reached his ears.

After hanging up, he looked at me.

"Jessica, you really are a precious little treasure."

He opened the file his assistant had sent over.

"On this project, the Sherwood family swore they'd never work with the Stephens familybut now it's done."

"Zoe wasn't lying."

Uncle Lionel smiled.

"Both of you siblings from the first branch have gotten your payoff. Now it should be our turn, the second branch, shouldn't it?"

The four of them turned to look at Paul.

Paul tried to run, but the bodyguards pinned him hard to the ground.

"Lock him up. Don't let him contact the old man."

Lionel gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Secretary Winfield, don't try to use the old man to pressure us. The Stephens family needs someone to carry it on, right?"

Pinned to the ground, Paul lifted his head, veins bulging on his forehead.

"You will all regret this!"

Zoe's lips moved; she was about to say something.

A sudden sharp pain shot through her head, and she toppled flat onto her back.

"My head hurts so much..."

Quinn frowned.

"Zoe, what are you playing at now?"

Excitement had me trembling all over, unable to stop.

This was the trap I had meticulously planned for three whole years.

The real show was finally about to begin.

Zoe lay on the ground, clutching her head and thrashing, letting out sharp screams.

The crowd watched and murmured among themselves.

"What's wrong with Miss Stephens? She was perfectly fine a moment ago."

"She doesn't look like she's acting."

"Don't forget, back then Miss Stephens faked being unconscious and lay in a hospital bed for three whole months just to get out of going abroad. If she hadn't been caught sneaking food at night, she probably would have kept it up for life."

At that, everyone's eyes toward Zoe changed at once.

No one stepped forward to check on her.

Zoe forced her upper body up, staring at the corner of my mouth as it curved up, fear in her eyes.

"It's you! Jessica! You're behind all of this!"

I looked at her innocently.

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Miss Stephens."

She couldn't even endure this little bit of pain.

Then she probably wouldn't last long.

Zoe's face was twisted with pain, her voice trembling so badly it barely came out.

"My headache is in the exact same spot as the wound on your forehead. What kind of evil sorcery did you use?!"

"Jessica! If you don't stop, I really will kill you!"

Quinn stared hard at Zoe.

"What do you mean by that?"

By now Zoe was already struggling to breathe, forcing the words out.

"Wherever we hurt her, it comes back on useven a thousand, ten thousand times more painful than hers."

"Get me to the hospital, quickly, I really can't take it..."

Panic flickered in Quinn's eyes, and he unconsciously touched the hand that had wielded the knife.

Aunt Adela, pressing down on my wound, spoke up.

"Let's get to the hospital. Jessica's wound won't stop bleedingsomething bad will happen."

Quinn hesitated only a few seconds before ordering his bodyguards.

"Take Zoe and Jessica to the hospital."

Uncle Lionel blocked him.

"Both of you from the first branch got what you wanted, so why is it that the second it's my second branch's turn, you start putting on an act?"

"Trying to take them away? Don't think that'll fool me and your aunt Marilyn!"

A flicker of displeasure crossed Quinn's eyes.

"Whether it's an act or not, we'll know once she's checked."

"And if what Zoe said is true, isn't that saving you too?"

Uncle Lionel was about to say more when Marilyn stopped him.

"We've been watching them the whole time, they can't run. I don't think Zoe looks like she's acting."

When we reached the hospital, I was taken to have my wound dressed.

By the time Zoe was wheeled into the examination room, she had already slipped into unconsciousness.

Aunt Adela stayed by my side, comforting me softly.

"Jess, don't be afraid. Secretary Winfield is sure to find a way to get the old master back to save you."

I nodded to her.

Aunt Adela is the only person in this family who is genuinely good to me.

But there's no way I can tell her the truth right now.

The Stephens family only knew me as the adopted daughter Lucius Stephens had brought back from the temple with three bows and nine kowtows.

He gave me the finest food, clothes, and everything else.

I became the young heiress everyone in the capital's elite circle envied.

But what they didn't know

was that all of it came from a contract Lucius forced me to sign by holding my mentor's life over me.

It demanded that I stay with the Stephens family for the rest of my life.

The only way to break the contract was for the Stephens family to harm my life.

As long as the temptation I offered was great enough.

I didn't believe this greedy family could hold back from turning cruel.

And in the end, everything they did to me would come back on them.

Zoe's test results came back quickly.

The doctor looked over the report.

"The report shows there's nothing wrong with Miss Stephens's brain. As for the pain she describes, I suspect it's psychological in cause. I'd suggest you have her seen by a psychiatrist."

Zoe's face went deathly pale.

"How could that be..."

After being given sedatives and painkillers, her head no longer hurt.

But the pain from before still lingered, impossible to shake from her mind.

Once he was sure Zoe was fine.

The dread hanging over Quinn slowly eased.

"Maybe you were just too tense, and that's what gave you the headache. If a little injury like this could cause real harm, would the old master still be alive today?"

Uncle Lionel charged into the ward and grabbed my arm.

"Now it's our second branch's turn to get the benefits off of Jessica."

Once again I was brought back to the Stephens family's old estate.

This time they locked me in a pitch-black basement.

This was the Stephens family's confinement room, and the soundproofing inside was excellent.

Uncle Lionel was holding a club.

"Jessica Stephens, don't blame us for being heartless. We can't let the old man take all the benefits for himself. If he's eating the meat, the least he can do is let us have some of the broth."

As soon as he finished, he slammed the club hard into my back.

"Ah"

I curled up on the ground, letting out a cry of pain.

He raised the club, ready to strike again.

Marilyn spoke up to stop him.

"Honey, isn't one club enough? The two from the first branch only laid hands on her once each."

Lionel shot her a glare.

"Use your head. Haven't you noticed that the worse her injuries are, the greater the benefits?"

"Zoe cracked her head open, and the project we had only doubled its profits."

"That Quinn kid stabbed her arm, and the multi-million-dollar deal we could never close suddenly fell into our hands."

As he spoke, he brought the club down hard on my back again.

Blood surged into my mouth in an instant, and I couldn't even make a sound.

He kept talking to himself.

"The old man said whoever can bring the Stephens family benefits can become the heir."

"Our second branch has been held down by the first branch for so many years. We have to fight for that heir's position for our son."

Marilyn said nothing, but she picked up a club too.

The two of them beat me without a shred of mercy.

I don't know how long it went on, but they finally stopped.

By then my whole body was stained red with blood. I pressed my lips tightly together and made no sound.

Even as I felt the pain,

I could also feel the power of the binding contract weakening.

Marilyn checked my breathing.

"Good, she's only passed out, not dead."

Lionel couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

"A message just came in!"

"Do you remember that piece of land we bought three years ago, the one the old man scolded us for buying at a loss?"

"Today, out of nowhere, we got word that there's something buried under it."

"They want to partner with us, and they say we could walk away with a figure comparable to half the Stephens family's wealth."

Marilyn's face flushed with excitement.

"If this goes through, then the Stephens family is ours."

Before they could bask in it for long, the basement door was kicked open.

Zoe and Quinn rushed in with their people.

"That message you just gotwe know about it too."

Quinn was clutching a small knife.

"Don't think that's enough to take the Stephens family. We still have a chance."

Zoe glanced at me on the ground and frowned.

"You went way too far. Wait until the old man gets back and see how you explain yourselves."

Lionel sneered.

"What do I need to explain? Once my project goes through, the old man will have to hand the Stephens family over to our second branch."

Before the words had even faded, Quinn charged at me with the knife.

"You're dreaming."

Lionel immediately ordered his bodyguards to block him.

The people Quinn and Zoe had brought jumped into the fight at once.

The three groups tangled together.

Zoe roared.

"I'm the one who discovered this secret first. The biggest share is mine!"

Quinn laughed.

"You're just a girl. Your only value is a marriage alliance. The heir's position is mine."

Lionel and Marilyn's faces darkened.

"Only our son is worthy of being the Stephens family's heir."

In the middle of the chaos,

I slowly opened my eyes.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but none of them had noticed what was happening to their own bodies.

The skin on Lionel's and Marilyn's hands was rotting, starting at the palms and spreading outward.

Something was wriggling beneath the skin of Zoe's forehead.

The hand Quinn held the knife in was twisting uncontrollably.

And still they argued over who would be the next to strike me.

At that moment, Lucius Stephens's furious roar came from the basement stairwell.

"You bunch of bastards, stop this right now!"

"Are you trying to destroy the entire Stephens family?!"

While everyone froze, Quinn tightened his grip on the knife and stabbed at me.

In that instant, I saw a spread of crimson blossom from my chest.

Lucius rushed in, his gaze landing on the knife buried in my chest, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.

"It's over. It's all over!"