Chapter 1: The Golden Cage

In a small, dilapidated detached house on the edges of the slums, a beautiful woman lay on her deathbed. Even as a violent cough racked her fragile chest, stealing the last remnants of her strength, Evelyn still possessed a haunting, ethereal beauty—the kind that made people stop and stare in the streets.

Beside the bed stood a fragile, pretty ten-year-old girl. Her tiny hands trembled as she offered a cup of water to her fading mother. This was Aria.With the last of her energy, Evelyn reached out, her fingers ice-cold as they tightly gripped Aria’s small hand. "Aria, my sweet girl..." Evelyn’s voice was a ragged whisper. "I won't be around to take care of you anymore. But you are not alone. You have a family. I... I have called your father's people. They are coming to pick you up."The words shattered Aria's world. "No! Mommy, please don't leave me!" she burst out, hot tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she squeezed her mother’s hands, trying to anchor her to the living world.

Evelyn raised a trembling hand, gently patting Aria’s tear-stained face. A bittersweet smile touched her lips. "Be a good girl, Aria. Never give up, no matter how hard life gets. Always remember... I will always be right here, watching over you."Aria could only nod weakly, her chest heaving with desperate sobs.

" Always know that you are so deeply loved," Evelyn whispered. Another violent, agonizing cough tore through her. As the echo of the cough faded, Evelyn slowly closed her eyes, a shadow of lingering worry etched onto her beautiful features, and drew her final breath. She slipped away into the afterlife."Mommy? Mommy, wake up!" Aria cried out, begging and screaming until her voice grew entirely hoarse. Weak from grief, she eventually collapsed, falling into a heavy, traumatic sleep, still tightly clutching her mother's lifeless hand.

When Aria woke up the next morning, the crushing reality set in. Her mother was gone for good.Wiping her eyes, the little girl washed her face, straightened her tattered clothes, and stepped out into the crisp morning air. She walked down the narrow alley and knocked on the door of their kind neighbor. "Grandma Lucy... please come over. Mommy won't wake up."When the old woman opened the door, her heart broke. Aria was squatting on the porch, her face deathly pale, fiercely clenching a ragged old doll to her chest.Grandma Lucy rushed next door, only to find Evelyn’s corpse already ice-cold.

Pitying the poor, orphaned girl, the kind neighbor took charge, helping Aria process the funeral and lay her mother to rest.After the burial, Grandma Lucy knelt before the silent child. "Aria, dear, did your mother ever tell you about where you came from? About your father?"Aria nodded weakly. With trembling fingers, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a worn, yellowish piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it. Grandma Lucy took the paper and dialed.The phone rang three times before a haughty, aristocratic voice answered. "Who is this?"Grandma Lucy quickly explained Evelyn’s passing and the existence of the child. On the other end of the line, a heavy, suffocating silence stretched out.

Finally, the man gave a cold, detached reply: "Okay."A few hours later, a sleek, pristine Rolls-Royce Phantom tore through the muddy streets of the slums, looking completely out of place amidst the decay. The luxury vehicle came to a halt right outside the small house.From the backseat, a man in his early forties stepped out, dressed in a flawless, custom-tailored suit. His expression was stern and emotionless, flanked by towering, stone-faced bodyguards. This was Arthur Hayes.

Sitting on a wooden crate outside, Aria stared at the man for a long time, her innocent eyes wide with a mix of fear and curiosity.

Grandma Lucy went out to speak with him. After a brief, quiet discussion—where Arthur didn't even look toward the house—Grandma Lucy walked back, gently taking Aria by the hand and leading her to the luxury car."Remember to be a good girl, Aria," Grandma Lucy whispered, her eyes brimming with tears as she hugged the little girl one last time. "And always try to come back and visit an old woman, okay?"Aria nodded, holding her breath as a bodyguard opened the door.

She climbed inside, the door shutting out the only warmth she had left. The Rolls-Royce smoothly accelerated, leaving the slums behind as it headed toward Valenica City, a glittering metropolis of sky-high glass towers and dark, hidden secrets.