Mrs. Langley folded her hands on the desk, her voice steady.
"So the thing is—though the letter is on Nexora Group stationery—it isn't strictly company business. It comes directly, personally, from Adrian Hemsworth."
Anna blinked. "Wait… you mean Adrian Hemsworth? The multi-billionaire? The Hemsworth who buys half the city blocks in our country?"
Mrs. Langley gave a small nod. "The same. And from what I can gather, it seems he may have had some connection with your late brother-in-law, Daniel Hartman."
Anna's brow furrowed, a chill creeping down her spine. "What? That's impossible."
"Not directly," Mrs. Langley clarified, reaching for an envelope. "But through one of Mr. Hemsworth's men. According to this, Daniel and Hemsworth's representative once discussed a piece of property. And now Mr. Hemsworth seems to have taken the matter into his own hands."
Anna leaned forward, her voice sharp with disbelief. "What do you mean? What property? Daniel didn't own anything like that—not that I know of."
Mrs. Langley slid the letter across the desk. "Read for yourself."
Anna unfolded the heavy paper, her eyes skimming the bold ink. Her pulse stumbled.
Mrs. Langley's voice continued in the background, soft but firm.
"It seems Daniel either wasn't fully aware… or perhaps he kept it quiet. But the letter mentions land. Fifteen acres in Frecula Village, near Vilocian Lake."
Anna's grip tightened on the page. Fifteen acres? The words blurred for a moment. Daniel had never spoken of land, never once hinted at something like this.
How could Daniel hide this?
And yet—here was Adrian Hemsworth, a man with the power to move courts and crush empires—suddenly inserting himself into Lila's fate.
Anna's voice rose, frustration bleeding through.
"But what does he want now? Daniel isn't alive anymore and—"
She stopped mid-sentence, her heart stumbling as the truth clicked into place.
Mrs. Langley gave a weary nod, as though she'd been waiting for Anna to catch on.
"I suppose you've guessed it. This is about the land. And the one who will inherit it is none other than Lila—Daniel's daughter."
Anna's breath caught. Lila…?
"But she's only four and a half," Mrs. Langley continued. "By law, the land can't be sold or transferred directly under her name until she comes of age. Until then, it falls under the legal guardian's authority—the person who gains full custody."
The words slammed into Anna like a fist.
Mrs. Langley lowered her voice. "Normally, the law forbids guardians from selling such assets without court approval. But with Adrian Hemsworth's influence…" She trailed off, pressing her lips together before finishing carefully, "…I believe he intends to override that obstacle. He wants to buy this land, Anna."
Anna's fingers trembled around the letter, bile rising in her throat. Lila's name. Daniel's silence. Fifteen acres by a lake. And Adrian Hemsworth—the man whose shadow could swallow whole families—was circling them like prey.
Anna's eyes skimmed the paper desperately, searching for details. Her breath caught when she found the date at the top.
"That day…" she whispered, voice shaking. "The day of the accident. Grace and Daniel—they were headed to this meeting? To sell this land?"
Her knees weakened, the letter trembling in her hands. "But then… if I gain Lila's custody, and request legal permission to sell it…" Her chest heaved as a wild, fragile hope flickered. "I could use that money for her treatment. I could save her."
The thought alone felt wrong, like bargaining Lila's future for her life. But what choice did she have?
Mrs. Langley let out a long, concerned sigh, her expression weighted with caution.
"You probably could," she admitted slowly. "But—"
Anna's head snapped up, her voice sharp. "But what?"
Langley folded her hands on the desk, her tone steady but heavy.
"The property is small—fifteen acres in a lakeside village. I don't know how much it would fetch, though yes, it might cover a good portion of the medical costs. But Anna…" She paused, searching Anna's face. "…the problem is, once land is involved—especially land under Lila's name—the relatives you've been so worried about may step forward. The court will notify them."
Anna's pulse thudded in her ears. "What do you mean? Why?"
"Because this letter didn't come to you directly," Langley explained gently. "It came from Adrian Hemsworth's lawyer. One copy was sent to me, since I'm handling your case, and another to the court. That means everything about this land will be revealed in the custody hearing. The relatives will know. And some of them might suddenly find Lila very… worth fighting for."
The air seemed to vanish from the room. Anna clutched the letter tighter, her heart sinking. The one hope she thought she had—already slipping through her fingers.
.
.
.
.
.
Two weeks passed in a blur of sleepless nights and endless paperwork. That morning, Anna bent over Lila's bed, pressing the gentlest kiss against her fever-warm forehead.
"I'll be back soon, sweetheart," she whispered, her voice steady though her heart was trembling. "Be good for the nurse."
Lila's lashes fluttered but she didn't stir, lost in fragile dreams. Anna lingered for one more breath, then straightened, clutching the folder of documents pressed against her chest like a shield, and left for court.
In those two weeks, the wolves had gathered.
One by one, the so-called relatives had appeared—filing their petitions, sending letters, even cornering Anna with false sympathy and cruel words. Some had tried to persuade her to "see reason," insisting a single woman like her couldn't possibly shoulder such responsibility. Others were more ruthless, humiliating her outright, pointing out their wealth, their stable families, their picture-perfect homes. "Lila would be better off with us," they'd said with practiced concern, their eyes glittering with calculation.
But Anna had seen through it all.
It wasn't love that drove them. It wasn't even concern for Lila's fragile health.
It was the land.
That cursed piece of property near Vilocian Lake—a quiet, rural strip of earth that, to her, meant nothing more than soil and water—had suddenly become the "golden egg." The moment Adrian Hemsworth himself showed interest, its value had turned monstrous.
Anna gritted her teeth as she walked toward the courthouse. She knew her relatives. She knew their greedy hearts. None of them cared about chemotherapy schedules, or the tears Lila shed in the middle of the night when the pain was too much, or how she clung to Anna like the only anchor she had left.
No—they would watch her niece suffer. They would let her wither, like vultures circling a dying deer, just waiting for her tiny body to give in so that the land—her land—would be theirs at last.
And Anna would burn the world before letting that happen.
The courthouse steps were crowded, buzzing with murmurs and stiff suits. Anna's grip tightened on the folder in her arms as her gaze landed on the familiar cluster of faces—her so-called family.
They stood like vultures in their expensive coats and smug jewelry, circling a man in a sharply tailored navy suit. His silver tie caught the sunlight, his polished shoes gleaming with every shift of his stance. He carried himself with the kind of smooth authority that made others lean in, eager to be noticed.
When his eyes lifted and met hers, he excused himself from the greedy huddle with practiced politeness. Behind him, her relatives' expressions shifted instantly—mocking smirks, narrowed eyes, the ugly curl of disdain. Anna felt their judgment like thorns against her skin, but she didn't flinch. She lifted her chin and held their stares until the man stopped in front of her.
"Good morning, Miss Anna Croft." His voice was steady, clipped with professional courtesy. He extended a hand but didn't force it when she didn't take it. "I'm **Richard Hale**, legal representative for Mr. Adrian Hemsworth. I'll be presenting details about the Frecula land to the court today."
His smile softened, a flicker of something almost kind behind his glasses. "I've looked into the matter. From what I've gathered, you've been the only one caring for little Lila since her parents' passing—and the one who applied for custody first. Admirable, really. But it seems… others have caught the scent of opportunity." His eyes flicked briefly toward the circling relatives before returning to hers. "Still, whoever the court grants custody to, I'll be handling the proceedings on Mr. Hemsworth's behalf when it comes to selling the land. I look forward to today's hearing."
Anna's lips pressed into a thin line. Calm on the outside, but a spark of fire burned in her eyes. "If only your Mr. Hemsworth hadn't stepped into Lila's life at all," she said, her voice low, edged with restrained fury.
For the first time, Richard's brow furrowed. His polished composure cracked with genuine confusion. "I'm sorry—I don't quite understand—"
Anna's chest rose, ready to snap, to pour out the weeks of exhaustion and anger, but a gentle hand touched her shoulder.
"Anna." Mrs. Langley's calm, grounding voice came from behind. The social worker stepped between them, her presence like a shield. "It's about time. Let's head inside."
Anna drew in a breath, forcing herself to swallow the words clawing at her throat. She nodded stiffly, brushing past Richard without another glance, her eyes fixed on the courthouse doors.
Mrs. Langley walked with her, subtly steering her away. The vultures behind them whispered, but Anna didn't give them the satisfaction of turning back. She only thought of Lila—and the battle that was about to begin.
If Adrian Hemsworth wanted a fight, he had chosen the wrong woman.