From Ruin to Revenge

Chapter 1Violet Wells pushed open the heavy wooden door to her grandfather's office."Grandpa, if you wanted to know about the mother of your grandchildren and your grandson's well-being, you could have just called," Violet said, her voice filled with exasperation. "No need to give me a heart attack.""Violet, my girl, dramatic as always," her grandfather, Christopher, chuckled as he strode toward his chair. "I'm so glad you didn't have an actual heart attack.""Me too," Violet replied, rolling her eyes dramatically, prompting both of them to laugh."Violet," her grandfather began, his tone growing serious, "the reason I asked you to come to the office is that I’m getting old, and I need a successor."Violet nodded, the sudden shift in mood setting tension in the room."We both know that will never be your father," he added firmly."Well, your reasons are justifiable," Violet agreed."Grandpa, honestly, you’re not that old. You’re still healthy enough to run the company, so you shoul

Chapter 3"Let's get married today," Violet said on the other end of the line."I thought we agreed on Saturday—three days from now?""Are you getting cold feet?" she teased, giggling. "Look, I don’t want my family to know, so is it possible we could just get married today?""Well… how about tomorrow? I’ll set a meeting for us with my lawyer today to finalize the deal.""Alright, call me when you’re ready."***The next morning, Violet met with Alex and his lawyer."Miss, these are the contract papers," the lawyer said, laying out a stack of documents. "Mr. Vanguard mentioned you haven’t yet agreed on some post-wedding terms. These documents cover possible situations, and you can check off the boxes as you see fit.""For instance," the lawyer continued, "the first question is whether you’d like to go on a honeymoon after the wedding. There’s a box for yes or no."Violet chuckled, whispering to Alex, "Are you serious?"Alex shrugged. "This is how it works, apparently.""Okay, but can w

Chapter 5Alex got home to find Violet already asleep. He quietly took his dinner and went to bed. The next day, Violet pretended as if everything was normal. She acted cool and casual, and the two of them were getting along well. Time went on, and a month passed. During that month, Alex and Violet grew closer. He took her out on dates and showed her a side of himself he had long buried. Though he wasn’t fully open, it was clear she was the only person he had allowed to come this close.“Alex, I hope you won’t be gone longer than a week,” Violet said, making a cute face that made Alex laugh.“Yes, Violet, I won’t. I’ll close the deal before the week runs out, and soon I’ll be home.”“Promise me,” she replied, holding out her pinky finger. Recently, Violet had noticed she couldn’t help but feel more emotional around him.Observing her emotional changes, Alex chuckled. “I guess we’ve grown on each other,” he thought.As Alex left in his car, she waved him goodbye. Walking into the now-e

Chapter 7“What!” Selena, visibly angry, stormed out of the room. "So, from what Violet is saying, Grandfather set this all up with his conditions. Why would he make such a condition?" she mumbled angrily."I'll go meet him; he will answer to me!" she declared as she walked out of the building.***“Father! Father!” Selena yelled as she walked into the mansion. "Father!" she called again, making her way through the house until she noticed an open room with a shadow cast across it."Father?" she whispered as she stepped into the room.“Arghhhh! Father!” Selena screamed upon seeing her father's lifeless body, with Alfred kneeling beside him.“Alfred! What the hell did you do to my father?” Selena shouted, tears streaming down her face.Alfred, startled by Selena’s voice, snapped out of his shock. "I d-didn't kill him, Ms. Selena. I…”“Stop! Don’t come any closer,” she half-yelled, sobbing."Then who did?" she demanded, terrified.Alfred, unable to explain, continued inching toward her, b

Chapter 9"Violet, I’m Sean—your uncle," Sean said, his voice laced with distress."Doctor, what’s happening?" Sean asked, turning his attention to the man beside him.The doctor began to speak, but Violet’s voice interrupted."Sean," she called out, squinting her eyes as if trying to piece something together. "I remember... you were on the cliff with me."Sean nodded. "Yes, I was. I tripped and fell down the cliff."She paused, her face contorting as if she had just remembered something important. "Where is my mom? My brother?" she asked, trying to turn her head to look around."Mrs. Wells, please calm down," the doctor interjected gently."I can’t calm down!" she exclaimed. "Where are they? And why was I on that cliff in the first place?" Her voice was rising with confusion and distress.Sensing that she was becoming too agitated, the doctor instructed a nurse, "Administer a sedative, she’s overexerting herself.""I feel... lightheaded," Violet mumbled as her eyes began to close."I