Elena's POV
The cab dropped me in front of the gates just as the sun began to set.
It felt strange standing here again. My childhood home—quiet, faded, untouched. The place where it all began. Where I learned to dream. Where I watched my father build an empire… and where I learned how easily it could all be taken.
I pushed the gate open slowly.
It creaked—same as always.
The path was littered with dry leaves. The grass had overgrown in places. No one had cared for it since I left. Maybe that was fitting.
I stepped inside and locked the door behind me.
The silence that followed wasn't cold. It was familiar. Heavy with memory.
I dropped my bag on the floor and looked around.
Dust clung to everything—the furniture, the windows, the memories. But under it all, the bones of the house still stood. Stubborn. Just like me.
I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.
