CHAPTER 5: THE BITTER TASTE OF REGRET

The Vance family mansion had never been this quiet.

It felt cold and heavy.

Seven-year-old Leo Vance sat at the large kitchen table.

He held a silver fork in his small hand.

In front of him was a plate of expensive steak.

But he had not eaten a single bite.

His eyes were fixed on the tablet beside his plate.

The morning news was playing again.

The screen showed two pictures.

On one side was his father, Jasper Vance.

He looked pale and embarrassed outside Wright International.

On the other side was his mother, Avery Vance.

She looked confident and powerful in a dark suit.

"In a shocking turn of events," the news reporter said, "the mysterious hacker known as Xenon has been revealed to be Avery Vance, the recently divorced wife of billionaire Jasper Vance."

"After becoming the Chief Technology Officer of Wright International, Avery Vance has caused the Vance Group's stock to fall by forty percent in just six hours."

Leo's chest felt tight.

His fingers held the tablet tightly.

That's Mommy.

He stared at the picture.

But Grandma said Mommy was stupid.

Grandma said Mommy was poor.

She said Mommy didn't understand Dad's world.

Leo didn't know what to believe anymore.

Suddenly, the kitchen doors opened with a loud bang.

Chloe Winters walked inside.

She was now Chloe Vance.

But she no longer looked sweet and gentle.

Her face was red with anger.

Her makeup was messy.

She threw her expensive handbag onto the table.

"Stupid!"

She began walking around the kitchen.

"This whole family is full of useless people!"

She pulled out her phone.

"Move the money from the secret accounts now!"

She typed angrily.

"We have to do it before the courts freeze everything!"

Leo stared at her.

He had never seen Auntie Chloe behave this way.

Whenever his father was around, Chloe always acted kind.

She bought him expensive video games.

She smiled at him.

She made him feel special.

"Auntie Chloe?"

Leo's voice was small.

"Is Dad okay?"

He looked at the television.

"The news said Mommy took all our money."

"Shut up!"

Chloe turned toward him.

Leo jumped.

"Don't call me Auntie Chloe anymore."

She pointed at him.

"And don't talk about your useless mother!"

Leo's eyes filled with tears.

"If you and your grandmother hadn't messed up the divorce papers, Avery wouldn't have been able to hurt this company!"

Leo's lips began to shake.

"But..."

He swallowed.

"You said you loved me."

"You said you were going to buy me the new VR headset."

Chloe laughed.

"Buy you a headset?"

She stepped closer.

"With what money?"

"Your father is almost broke."

"The banks are taking away our properties."

She looked at Leo with anger.

"I didn't marry into this family to become poor while raising a spoiled child."

Leo stared at her.

"Your mother wasted seven years taking care of you."

She pointed at him.

"If you start crying, I'll give you a real reason to cry."

Chloe grabbed her bag and walked out.

The kitchen became silent again.

Leo sat alone.

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

It landed on his untouched food.

For the first time, Leo understood something.

His grandmother and father had told him that his mother was a burden.

They had taught him to treat her badly.

They had made him believe she was not important.

But his mother had always been there for him.

She held him whenever he was sick.

She cooked his favorite meals.

She stayed with him when he was scared.

She loved him without asking for anything in return.

And he had pushed her away.

He had chosen the wrong people.

Leo looked at the tablet again.

His mother's picture filled the screen.

She stood beside Ethan Wright.

Beside them was Nina.

Nina was wearing a beautiful dress.

She was smiling.

She looked happier than Leo had ever seen her in the Vance mansion.

"Mommy..."

Leo whispered.

His heart hurt.

"I'm sorry."

He wiped his tears.

"Please come back."

Across the city, everything was different.

Avery and Nina were staying in a beautiful penthouse provided by Wright International.

The large windows showed the city lights outside.

The apartment was filled with advanced security equipment, but it still felt warm and peaceful.

Avery sat on a comfortable sofa with her laptop.

She was studying what was happening to the Vance Group.

For the first time in seven years, she did not feel afraid.

The constant worry that had followed her for years was gone.

Nina ran into the room.

She was wearing a soft white bathrobe.

Her hair smelled like strawberry shampoo.

She jumped onto the sofa beside Avery.

In her hands was a new drawing tablet Ethan had given her.

"Mommy, look!"

Nina held up the screen.

She had drawn Avery wearing a golden crown.

Avery was holding a huge sword made from glowing green computer code.

"You're the Queen now!"

Nina smiled proudly.

Avery laughed.

It felt strange.

She had almost forgotten what it felt like to laugh freely.

She closed her laptop and hugged Nina.

"I love it, my smart girl."

She kissed her head.

"You're a wonderful artist."

A soft sound came from the private elevator.

The doors opened.

Ethan walked out.

He had taken off his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves.

He looked calm and relaxed.

An assistant followed him, pushing a cart filled with secure boxes.

"The main computer networks are stable again," Ethan said.

He walked toward Avery.

"Jasper tried to hire three groups of hackers from Europe today."

He shook his head.

"They took his money."

"But when they saw your special X code, they canceled the deals."

"They don't want to fight Xenon."

Avery smiled.

"Jasper never understood something."

"In the technology world, money can't always buy people's loyalty."

"People who understand great technology respect the person who truly created it."

She leaned back.

"He's trying to fight a war with sticks."

Ethan smiled slightly.

"And we're about to bring bigger weapons."

He opened one of the boxes.

Then he pulled out an old leather journal.

The edges were burned.

Avery suddenly stopped smiling.

Her eyes locked onto the journal.

She stood so quickly that her laptop slid across the sofa.

Her hands shook as she reached for it.

"This..."

Her voice broke.

"This belonged to my father."

She touched the old cover.

"The night my parents died in the laboratory fire, the police said all their research was destroyed."

Ethan's face became serious.

"The police were paid to say that."

Avery looked at him.

"By Jasper's father."

Ethan nodded.

"My security team found this journal two hours ago."

"It was hidden inside a Vance Group warehouse."

Avery's hands tightened around the journal.

"Your parents did not die because of an accident."

Ethan's voice was cold.

"They had discovered something dangerous."

"They found out that the Vance family was trying to sell their secret computer security technology to criminals in other countries."

Avery stared at him.

Tears filled her eyes.

Everything was finally starting to make sense.

Her parents had been killed because they refused to help the Vances.

Then the Vance family had trapped Avery in a marriage.

They had kept her quiet.

They had stolen her ideas.

They had used her intelligence to build their company.

Avery held her father's journal tightly against her chest.

Ethan stepped closer.

"The business war is almost over."

His voice was calm.

"Jasper's company will probably go bankrupt within a week."

He gently placed his hand over Avery's.

"But this isn't the real fight."

"The real fight is getting justice for your parents."

He looked into her eyes.

"Are you ready?"

Avery wiped the tear from her cheek.

Her face became hard.

She was no longer afraid.

She looked at Ethan.

"Open their computer systems, Ethan."

Her voice was calm and firm.

"Let's find out everything they did."

The fight for her parents' truth had finally begun.