From Abandoned Cinderella to Queen of the Throne—All It Took Was One Secret

Emma Li never thought her life would become anything more than a series of unpaid bills, late-night ramen dinners, and endless humiliations from a boss who enjoyed watching her shrink under his words. At twenty-six, she had already given up on fairy tales. Life had taught her that no prince was coming, no magic pumpkin carriage would arrive, and no fairy godmother would appear with a wand.   Her shoes were scuffed, her coat three winters old, and her dreams locked in the same dusty drawer as the college acceptance letter she never had the chance to use. Instead, she was an office assistant at Zhao Group, the kind of job where your paycheck disappeared before it hit your account.   That night, after working late again, Emma trudged through the rain. Her umbrella had broken earlier, and her cheap flats squished with every step. All she wanted was to reach her tiny rented room before her landlord knocked for the third time this week, demanding money she didn’t have.   But fate, in its cruelest irony, had other plans.   Halfway down the street, she saw headlights swerving dangerously. A sleek black car slid across the slick asphalt, spinning as if in slow motion. Without thinking, Emma dropped her bag and ran. She slammed her hands against the hood, trying to push the man inside away from the steering wheel’s deadly trajectory. The car screeched to a halt inches from the lamppost.   For a heartbeat, there was silence. Then the door opened.   Out stepped a man she’d only ever seen in magazines—the kind that made women sigh and men clench their teeth in envy. His tailored suit was soaked, but it did nothing to dim the aura of power that radiated from him. His eyes, sharp as winter steel, locked onto Emma.   “You,” he said, his voice low and cold. “Do you know what you’ve just done?”   Emma trembled, rain plastering her hair to her cheeks. “I… I just… saved you?”   He stared at her for a long moment, his jaw tightening as if weighing something unspoken. Then, to her shock, he pulled out a card, pressed it into her damp hand, and said words that would alter her destiny forever:   “Come to Zhao Group tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.”   Emma blinked, confused, as he walked away, his chauffeur already rushing to shield him with an umbrella. The card in her hand gleamed under the streetlight—heavy, embossed, and carrying a name that made her heart pound.   Adrian Zhao.   The billionaire heir to Zhao Group. The man every woman in the city wanted, and the one Emma had just crashed into like a nobody in rags.   She clutched the card against her chest, shivering from more than the rain. She had no idea that this encounter wasn’t an accident—it was the first move in a game that would pull her into a world of power, lies, and secrets she never knew she was born to face.