Alina didn't expect the ache in her chest as she knelt before the little girl, brushing back the curls from her soft cheeks.
Lily's eyes sparkled. "You're really my aunt?"
"I suppose I am," Alina said, her voice softer than she'd meant.
She had imagined the moment might be awkward or forced—but there was something disarming about Lily's presence. Maybe it was her innocence, or the way she reminded Alina of someone she'd once been: full of hope before life crushed it out of her.
Zeke hovered a few steps away, hands shoved into his jacket pockets.
"I told her stories about you," he said. "She was excited to meet the woman who once chased a thief down a market street in slippers."
Alina almost smiled. Almost.
"She deserves better stories."
"Then maybe now's the time to make new ones," he said.
She looked at him—older, worn—but his eyes held something close to sincerity. Or at least a good imitation of it.
"I'm not here to play family," she warned.
"I know. But she doesn't have anyone else."
That much was true.
Their mother had died two winters ago, alone in a subsidized apartment, her heart giving out before Alina could make peace with her. And Zeke—despite every betrayal—was still blood.
Still the boy who once shielded her from their father's rage.
She watched Lily chase after a butterfly, her laughter echoing through the park like a forgotten lullaby.
"I'll think about seeing her again," Alina said. "But don't mistake my kindness for trust."
Zeke nodded. "That's more than I hoped for."
Two days later, Alina sat across from Leonard in his penthouse office, sipping from a cup of jasmine tea. Rain fell against the windows in soft, rhythmic taps.
"She's sweet," Alina said. "Innocent. Bright."
"You like her," Leonard said simply.
Alina didn't answer. Instead, she stared at the steam rising from her cup.
"She has no idea who her father used to be. And maybe that's a blessing."
Leonard leaned back. "Zeke contacted me."
Her head snapped up. "He what?"
"He requested a private meeting. Said he had something to offer in exchange for your protection."
Alina scoffed. "He's using her."
Leonard shook his head. "I thought the same. But I heard him out."
"And?"
Leonard handed her a folder from his desk. Inside were scanned documents—old emails, signed receipts, financial ledgers.
She frowned. "These are company records from… five years ago?"
Leonard nodded. "They link Jasper to a shadow firm that manipulated Liang Enterprises' stock prices before our merger with the Thai conglomerate. Illegal manipulation."
Alina's breath hitched. "Are you saying he was—?"
"He committed corporate fraud," Leonard said flatly. "If this gets out, he's finished."
"And Zeke had these?"
"He says he got them from a former partner. Someone Jasper burned. The details check out—but I need time to confirm their authenticity."
Alina looked down at the folder.
If this was real, it meant Jasper had been undermining the company long before she ever stepped foot into its boardroom. And now Zeke wanted something in return for handing over the truth.
"What's his price?" she asked.
Leonard met her eyes. "Immunity. For him—and for Lily."
Alina felt cold. "He's scared."
"Or he knows something bigger is coming."
That evening, as Alina stepped into the manor's marble foyer, she was met by a cold voice.
"Who is the child?"
Madam Xu stood at the top of the staircase, her crimson silk robe trailing behind her like royal blood.
Alina held her posture. "She's my niece."
"Illegitimate, I presume."
Alina's jaw clenched. "She's innocent."
"Innocence is irrelevant when it comes to bloodlines." Madam Xu descended slowly, her gaze piercing. "She is not to be brought into this home. Not into this family."
"She's a child."
"She's a stain," the older woman snapped. "Your brother disgraced your name once. Must he do it again through her?"
Alina refused to shrink. "That little girl has done nothing wrong. If anyone's stained this family's name, it's those who turn their backs on their own."
Madam Xu narrowed her eyes. "You forget your place."
"I know it well," Alina said. "And I also know I no longer need your approval."
A flicker of shock passed over the matriarch's face, quickly masked. But Alina saw it. Felt it.
"You've grown fangs," Madam Xu muttered.
"No," Alina replied. "I've simply stopped bleeding for those who never deserved my pain."
That night, Alina couldn't sleep.
She sat on the balcony outside their bedroom, wrapped in a wool shawl, sipping cold tea.
Leonard found her there near midnight.
"She threatened to cut me out," Alina said before he could speak. "Said she'd speak to the board."
"She won't," he replied.
"You sound sure."
"She's running out of pieces on the board."
Alina turned toward him. "And what about me, Leonard? What am I to you now?"
He hesitated. "You're… not what I expected."
"That's not an answer."
He stepped closer. "You're more than I deserve. But I'm still learning how not to ruin that."
Alina looked down at her hands.
"I spent so long waiting for someone to choose me, to fight for me… I forgot how to do it for myself."
Leonard reached for her hand, his touch warm against the chill.
"You don't have to do it alone anymore."
The next day, Leonard held a private meeting with Jasper. In his office. No lawyers. No assistants.
Just the two of them.
Alina watched from the monitor in the next room.
"Zeke has files that implicate you," Leonard said bluntly. "They match internal records we've retrieved."
Jasper didn't flinch. "You don't have the guts to make them public."
"Oh, but I do," Leonard replied. "Unless you resign. Quietly. Today."
Jasper smirked. "And if I don't?"
Leonard leaned forward. "Then I'll make sure your father's pharmaceutical empire finds out what you did with their investment portfolios."
That did it.
Jasper's composure cracked.
He left the building within the hour.
When Leonard returned to their shared apartment that evening, Alina was waiting with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"Jasper?" she asked.
"Gone."
She poured the wine. "And Zeke?"
"He'll keep quiet. He understands what happens if he doesn't."
Alina nodded, sipping from her glass.
They sat in silence for a while, the city lights blinking beneath them like scattered jewels.
Then Leonard said, "You should see Lily again. Not for Zeke. For yourself."
Alina closed her eyes, then nodded.
"I want to."
And for the first time in a long time, she meant it.