The shareholders’ meeting finally ended just past noon. Samuel had just closed his laptop in the meeting room on the thirtieth floor when his phone vibrated—a short message from Bani: Closing market pre-session stable. No further sell-off. The major shareholders were calm again; last night’s clarification and the forensic presentation had worked.
“Good,” Samuel muttered. He stood up. “Bani, let’s go straight back to the suite. I want to check on Rebecca and Reno.”“Understood, Sir,” Bani replied. “The car is ready downstairs.”Zayden Family Suite – A Few Minutes LaterAs soon as the suite door opened with the key card, Samuel immediately felt something was off.“Rebecca?” Samuel called out. No answer.Reno appeared from behind the sofa with red, puffy eyes. He clutched his dinosaur doll tightly. “Daddy!” he cried, running to hug Samuel’s leg. “Mommy hasn’t come back! Mommy said she was just buying food for me… but Mommy never came bacThree months had passed since that day. After a long legal and administrative process, everything was finally over. Today, Rebecca was officially declared the rightful owner of all the Castillo family’s assets. The grand house that had once been the source of her mother’s suffering now stood under her name.Rebecca stood tall at the main door, wearing an elegant black blazer. Behind her, several uniformed security officers stood ready.“Everything’s ready, Miss Rebecca,” said one of the legal staff accompanying her.Rebecca nodded. “Has the eviction order been signed?”“Yes. And they were given three days to leave. But so far, they’ve refused to go.”Rebecca stared sharply into the house. “Then I’ll handle it myself.”Her steps echoed firmly against the marble floor as she entered the house that now legally belonged to her. In the living room, a married couple sat with anxious faces. Alice and her husband looked nothing like the arrogant figures they once were.“Rebecca, please don’t
The hospital atmosphere still felt quiet despite the people coming and going. In the ICU waiting room, Rebecca sat alone, her face weary. Her hand kept gripping her phone, her eyes staring at the blank screen, as if waiting for good news that never arrived.Suddenly, the screen lit up. A message came in from the lawyer who had been handling the Castillo family inheritance case.[Miss Rebecca, I have good news. The inheritance matter is finally seeing some progress. Would you be able to come to the office tomorrow morning to discuss the documents that need to be signed?]Rebecca’s eyes widened. She reread the message several times, making sure she hadn’t misread it.“Samuel… you have to wake up… this fight is almost over…” she whispered softly, her eyes fixed on the ICU, where Samuel still lay in a coma.Not long after, Liam approached her with a serious expression. He had just returned from out of town, following Nora’s trail.“Rebecca,” Liam called as he sat beside her.Rebecca turne
The door to the ER slowly opened. A male doctor in a white coat and a serious expression stepped out. Rebecca and Liam immediately stood up, their eyes locked on the doctor.“Doctor… how is Samuel’s condition?” Liam asked quickly, trying to steady Rebecca, whose body had begun to tremble.The doctor took a long breath. “We’ve done everything we could. The stab wound was very deep and caused severe bleeding. He lost a lot of blood and currently… the patient is in a coma.”Rebecca covered her mouth, her body weak. “Coma…?”“Yes. For now, we’re transferring him to the ICU. We need to monitor his condition closely. His chance of survival is very slim… but we’ll keep trying.”“No… no… don’t say that…” Rebecca whispered hoarsely. Her legs gave out, and before her body hit the floor, Liam swiftly caught her.“Rebecca… breathe. I’ve got you. You have to be strong,” Liam said softly but firmly.Rebecca shook her head weakly,
Footsteps echoed as they rushed through the hallway of the old building. The sound of ambulance and police sirens grew closer. Liam was the first to enter the confinement room. His eyes widened the moment he saw Samuel’s blood-soaked body lying on the floor, and Rebecca, who was hysterically screaming while holding him tightly. Earlier, Rebecca had called Liam to send an ambulance. “Rebecca!” Liam ran toward her. Rebecca turned, her eyes swollen, her face drenched in tears. “Liam… there’s so much blood… he’s unconscious… Liam, help!” Liam immediately checked Samuel’s pulse, his expression tense. “He still has a heartbeat… But we need to hurry. The ambulance is already outside.” Several medics entered, carefully lifting Samuel’s body onto a stretcher. Rebecca climbed into the ambulance without being asked. Her hand never let go of Samuel’s cold and limp hand. “Samuel… you have to hold on, do you
The air in the room felt suffocating, a mix of blood and sweat lingering. Rebecca sat limp in the iron chair, her body covered in wounds, yet her eyes stared directly at Nora without a hint of fear. Since earlier, the woman had been torturing her, but Rebecca never once cried or begged.“You still dare to look at me like that?” Nora asked, breathing heavily, her face twisted with anger.Rebecca didn’t answer. She stayed silent, lips cracked, cheeks bruised, but her gaze remained unshaken.“You think staying quiet will make me feel sorry for you?” Nora gave a short, mocking laugh. “Wrong. That look only makes me hate you more.”Nora grabbed a knife from the table and glared at Rebecca.“You always think you’re better than me. Just because Samuel chose you, you think you deserve to be happy? You’re nothing but a nuisance!”She stepped closer. The knife raised high. “This time, I’ll make sure your face becomes unrecognizable.”
That morning, the Wilson residence was still quiet. Reno sat in a corner of the room with his laptop. His face looked serious, not like a child his age. No one knew that the five-year-old boy possessed extraordinary intelligence. Behind his innocent face and soft voice, Reno could solve problems that even adults might not be able to.He stared intently at his laptop screen. His small fingers typed rapidly. Suddenly, he remembered something—his mother’s watch.“Mommy’s watch…” he murmured.He remembered that several weeks ago, he had secretly placed a small tracker inside his mother’s wristwatch. He didn’t fully understand what ‘kidnapping’ meant, but he knew that when someone didn’t come home and couldn’t be reached, it meant danger.“Hope it still works,” he whispered, opening the tracking app he had built himself.Reno’s eyes widened when a red dot appeared on the digital map. The location wasn’t far from the outskirts of the city. But