The first document made my breath hitch.
A land.
Billions of dollars worth of land.
At the heart of the city, prime territory where businesses would flourish endlessly.
The same land the top wealthy families had been secretly searching for. The land they wanted to curry favor over. To buy. To dominate.
What a secret.
If we owned this… why did she suffer like that? Why didn't she sell even half and get herself treated?
Questions flooded my mind.
I forced myself to calm down. The answers had to be inside.
When I reached for the second document, something slipped out.
A picture.
It was me… my mother… and a man.
We were smiling.
I froze.
That was when it dawned on me.
I've been with my father before.
In the picture, I was old enough to remember him, at least fragments. But I remembered nothing. Not his scent. Not his voice. Not his laughter.
Under the picture was a letter.
My hands trembled as I unfolded it.
Catherine, my rare gem,
By the time you read this, I am gone.
I know you will be angry with me for not selling part of the inheritance to cure myself. But I only wanted to fulfill your father's final wish before he turned against us.
Your father is alive. He lives peacefully. He has requested to see you many times.
I am sorry, my daughter. I used a method to take away your memories of him.
The words blurred.
She erased my memories?
I regret it every day. Only my death can atone for depriving you of your father's love.
Yes, I requested an immediate injection. I did not want to continue living with that guilt.
My chest tightened.
I was your father's first wife, but illegal in the eyes of his family. They disowned him for marrying me.
When you were three, you fell critically ill. Your father went back to his family for help. They agreed on one condition: he must abandon you and me.
He left.
I stopped breathing.
He married another woman. Months later, your treatment was withdrawn.
I went to my family for help. They helped financially but disowned me for giving birth out of wedlock. They froze my accounts. Stripped me of my inheritance.
A princess turned into a mockery in the socialite space.
Tears dropped onto the paper.
I left Q Country for S Country with no one knowing our location.
Years later, your father found us. I told him you were dead.
I closed my eyes.
I was angry. I wanted him to feel what I felt.
Under my bed is the little inheritance I built through sweat and savings. It is yours.
In the inheritance documents is a number. That number leads to my real sketchbook, not the one you have seen. It was meant to be your birthday gift, along with the necklace.
I never knew I was dying of cancer until it was too late.
All of this is yours.
As for Dr. Felix… he is your stepbrother. He does not know. If you choose to tell him, that is your decision. He is the only person from your father's side I dared to bring near you.
Forgive me.
I love you beyond pride, beyond shame, beyond wealth.
Mother.
The letter slipped from my hand.
I wasn't happy.
I wasn't relieved.
I wasn't even satisfied.
I was furious.
Not at her.
At the world that made a princess beg.
At the families who let "the bag" control their emotions.
Money froze accounts.
Money withdrew treatment.
Money decides love.
And my mother was too broken to fight it.
She chose death as repentance.
I wiped my tears slowly.
I would not let her story end like that.
If wealth controls this world…
Then I will control wealth.
I will rewrite the story she couldn't finish.
Elvin POV
For two days, Catherine's words in the elevator kept replaying in my mind.
Start with the trusted aide.
At first it sounded like simple advice. But the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. Catherine had spoken with too much certainty for someone who supposedly knew nothing about Mason's company.
Who exactly was she?
Curiosity pushed me to find out. And this time, I would handle the research myself. I didn't want to involve my hacker or my assistants yet. Some things were better understood personally.
My phone vibrated on the desk.
A message from Mr. Mason.
We need to talk.
I finished the most complicated tasks at the office before leaving. If I was going to spend time looking into Catherine, I needed my company to run smoothly without my direct supervision for a while.
When I arrived at the restaurant, Mr. Mason was already there.
The moment I saw his face, I knew the situation had worsened.
He looked exhausted.
"Elvin," he said heavily, rubbing his forehead. "I'm going bankrupt very soon."
I said nothing and let him continue.
"I noticed some discrepancies in the company's finances before," he added. "But every time I checked again, everything looked normal. It's like the problem disappears the moment I try to trace it. Sometimes I even feel like I'm imagining things."
I studied him for a moment.
Then I asked calmly, "The woman who told you to start with your trusted aide… who is she?"
"Catherine," he replied immediately. "She worked for us five years ago before leaving to study abroad. I recently invited her back and gave her freedom to operate. She's almost second to my vice president."
He sighed deeply.
"I still don't understand how she knew something was wrong."
"Then why not ask her directly?" I asked.
Mr. Mason shook his head slowly.
"Pride, I suppose. I wouldn't even know where to begin. And lately she hasn't been coming to the office. She works from home most of the time."
Interesting.
"Your pride might cost you your company," I said calmly. "If she noticed something before leaving five years ago, she might be trying to help now."
Mr. Mason nodded slowly as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"What should I do, Elvin?" he asked.
I leaned back in my chair.
"I'll talk to her."
His eyes widened in surprise.
"You?" he asked in disbelief. "The youngest billionaire in the world lowering himself to ask someone like that for help? Why"