Across the city, in a high-rise office, a man sat in front of a giant television screen. As he saw the defiance in the girl's eyes, a little twitch appeared on his lips. "Sir," his assistant said, holding a file. "Now that the Meyers Corporation has changed owners, should we proceed with the acquisition as planned?"
The man's attention was fixed on the screen in front of him, and no one knew what was running through his mind. He didn't answer his assistant immediately. His long fingers tapped rhythmically against the leather armrest of his chair. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice dropping an octave. "Investigate this woman for me." He pointed to the figure on the screen.
His assistant was momentarily stunned. The woman? The daughter of the man we're supposed to be bankrupting? He didn't understand how a disgraced heiress factored into a multi-million-dollar acquisition, but he knew better than to argue. "Yes, sir. Right away."
With Lucy's help, Evelyn managed to break through the wall of reporters. They helped her father into his car and drove slowly towards the city's eastern district.
The Meyers family home sat in an exclusive enclave where the air felt fresher and the world quieter. In Arise City, owning a home here was the ultimate mark of wealth. But as they pulled into the driveway, the familiar gates felt like the entrance to a tomb.
Inside, an elderly woman was waiting on the sofa. The moment she saw them, she pushed herself up with her cane, her white hair in stark contrast to her anxious face. "John! What is happening?" she demanded.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out. How could he tell his mother that the empire they had built was gone?" "Grandma, please, don't worry yet..." Evelyn rushed to her side, but was cut short. " Not to worry? Every station on the news is talking about 'crimes' and 'resignations!' She struck her cane angrily against the floor. "Mom, please, your heart..." John began, but she cut him off with a glare. "My heart is fine! Tell me the truth!" she demanded, and John let out a long, hollow sigh. "The company is gone, Mom. Everything is gone."
He couldn't even look her in the eye, he had failed his mother. He had been betrayed by the man he called a brother, and now he had to admit his failure to his mother and his daughter. "Why?" His mother whispered, her voice trembling. "Did you truly do these things? Or were you played for a fool?" "Ah! That bastard of the Watson's family...!" Her brother hitched. 'Her son's best friend, her granddaughter's fiancé. The betrayal was too much. Her hand flew to her chest, and she collapsed against the floor.
"mom!"
"Grandma!"
By 5:00 PM, the elderly lady of the Meyers family was rushed to the hospital with a recurring heart condition. By 8:00 PM, despite the doctors' best efforts, she drew her last breath with her son and granddaughter by her side. Her death was another headline adding to the Meyers family scandal, but her funeral was a somber affair attended by the city's elite, though many of John's "friends" stayed away, sending only wreaths to avoid being associated with his scandal.
But the tragedy wasn't over. Following the funeral, the court moved with ruthless efficiency. John was arrested and put on trial for fraud and embezzlement of public funds. The family mansion was sealed, and all other properties owned by them were seized and locked up by the authorities.
Evelyn stood in the pouring rain, clutching the damp piece of paper. The ink was bleeding, blurring the words she had already read a dozen times in disbelief.
The note read: "Eve, my dearest princess, your mother and I found you on a beach twenty-two years ago. You were never truly mine sweetheart. Now, I have nothing left to give you. Go and find your real parents. Goodbye."
This was the last message she got from her father after his apprehension. He refused to see her or say another word to her due to disappointment. Her grandmother was dead, her mother was gone, and now, her "father" had been put behind bars to serve his term for God knows how long. She was now homeless, jobless, and useless.
"I hate you," she whispered into the rain. "I hate all of you!" She hated the Watson family the most for their betrayal, and the damage they had done to her family. She hated Tanya Banks, her supposed 'best friend', for her lies. She even hated the mysterious man from the hotel for taking the last piece of her innocence before her world ended. The physical and emotional exhaustion finally broke her. As the rain hammered down, Evelyn's knees gave out, and she collapsed into the muddy water that had formed due to the continuous pouring on the place. A little while later, a car came to a halt a few meters away and a man stepped out. His assistant held an umbrella over him as he walked over and stood beside the unconscious girl on the floor. Without a word, he bent down and scooped her up, then walked back to the car and placed the girl on the back seat. He eventually got in, and the car drove away.
Evelyn woke up suddenly, to the smell of antiseptic and the soft glow of a chandelier. Her hand felt heavy, so she tried lifting it, causing the needle connected to it to stink, and she let out a gasp.
"Looks like you woke up!" The man's low voice sounded, and she shivered and tried to sit up, but her body felt like lead, so she collapsed back unto the pillows, frustrated.
A man in a crisp white shirt suddenly came into her view, looking down at her. He was strikingly handsome, with sharp eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin, expressive lips. He radiated an aura of power and solitude that made her instinctively want to hide. "Who are you?" she questioned, and the man's eyebrow quirked. He gave no reply, but simply took out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. Within a minute, a team of medical professionals flooded the room. A nurse gently propped her up, placing a pillow behind her back. As the medical team busied about, Evelyn stared fixedly at the man standing at the foot of her bed. He looked familiar, frighteningly familiar. Suddenly, the memories of a dim hotel room and a crushing, feverish night
Began to claw their way back to the surface.