Sold at Birth The Billionaire Heiress They Tried to Destroy

I planned to take my family to Miami Beach for New Year's.

My nephew decided that was a waste of money and refused to let me go.

I stared at him. "I'm buying the tickets. I'm treating everyone. And I'm not allowed to go?"

"I've been interning for six months now. I'll be taking over your company soon." He shrugged. "How the money gets spent is up to me."

Ethan Dickerson looked completely self-righteous. "You really can't go."

Linda Abbott, his mother, nodded at me. "The kid's grown up. Time to let him make the decisions."

I looked at my older brother. He was gazing at his son with pure pride. "Look how happy you've made your aunt—she doesn't even know what to say."

Then he made the final call. "It's settled. Use this time to get ready. When we're back from the trip, you'll hand the company over to Ethan."

I took out my phone and refunded all their plane tickets.

——

"You don't need to pack. I refunded your tickets."

Linda's voice went shrill. "Grace Dickerson, did you make a mistake? You can refund your own ticket, but we still have to go to Miami Beach."

"Want to go?" I smiled. "Buy your own tickets."

"Look at her." Linda pointed at me. "She's obviously making things hard for me. I already posted on social media that I'm going to Miami Beach. I promised I'd bring gifts back for my friends."

My brother's face darkened. "Gracie, what is this supposed to mean?"

"What else could it mean?" Linda jumped in, her tone dripping with false sympathy. "Obviously she never planned to hand the company over to our son."

"You're already in your mid-thirties. Unmarried. Health problems too. We felt sorry for you—that's why we said you shouldn't travel that far."

"And now look—biting the hand that feeds you. Someone this cold-blooded by nature? I say when she gets old, Ethan shouldn't care whether she lives or dies."

"Best if she gets dragged off by wolves and torn apart by dogs."

"Enough." My brother stopped her. He looked at me. "Gracie, don't blame your sister-in-law for being blunt. What she said is the truth."

"You're not married. You don't plan to get married. When you're old, who's going to take care of you? My Ethan, that's who."

"Everything you have is already his. Don't get confused."

"If you want a kid to grow, you have to delegate power. Ethan made one decision today and you throw a tantrum. Is that how an aunt should act?"

"Go buy the tickets back. This time, if you can't handle it, just tag along to Miami Beach and relax. But from now on, you need to learn to hand your work over to Ethan."

I looked at my nephew. He snorted and turned away.

I really didn't plan to get married. And at first, I had planned to train him as my successor. I even paid to send him abroad to study. But after he graduated and came back, in six months of interning at my company, he hadn't learned a damn thing. When I tried to correct him, he argued with me. I'd wanted to use this trip to talk it through properly, maybe introduce him to some sharp young professionals his age.

Now I saw there was no point.

I'd devoted myself wholeheartedly to this family. But my brother and Linda had long since planned to swallow everything I'd built.

Did they really think I was some soft persimmon they could squeeze however they wanted?

"I'm only thirty-five. I can still have a baby."

I stood and walked toward the door.

"Stop right there." Ethan's voice turned cold. "You're already infertile. Have what baby? I don't allow you to spend the company's money treating your illness. That money is mine."

So that was it. That was why they dared to treat me like this. They figured even if I got married, I couldn't have children—so I'd have no choice but to rely on my nephew in my old age.

But even if I ended up alone, with money I could hire people. Wouldn't that be better than this?