LOGINFor the next several days Emily barely left her room. She worked steadily through the month's recordings — financial news, current affairs, read clearly and naturally in the voice she had spent years training. The work was absorbing in a way that helped. She did not have to think about anything except the words in front of her. She sent the files in batches. The payments came back promptly, always within minutes. When the final batch was done and sent, she closed her laptop, stretched, and went downstairs. The old man was in the sitting room, and his face when he saw her was the face of someone who had been waiting with great patience and was now very pleased. "You're finished?" "All done. Shall we go out?" "Yes! Come, come." He was already reaching for his cane. *** She had decided, somewhere in the quiet of the days, that she was going to do what Kellan had suggested. Not because she agreed with his reading of the situation. Not because she thought it was fair, or dignifi
she came back two minutes later carrying all the bags from her room — the sunglasses, the gold bars in their parcel, the bracelet box, everything. She set them on the desk in front of him one by one and opened them."I want to return all of this," she said. "If there's a restocking fee or any loss in value, I'll cover it. You can send someone to do it or I can go myself, whichever is easier."She placed Mrs. Scott's card on the desk beside the bags."Five hundred thousand went to my mother's surgery. One hundred thousand was given as pocket money — I used approximately seventeen thousand on hospital arrears. I've already transferred that amount back to the card." She looked at him. "I'll repay the rest as I'm able. I can put that in writing if you want."Kellan looked at the desk.He looked at her.She stood very still, holding his gaze, her jaw set in the way that people hold themselves still when they're feeling something they've decided not to show.He had expected hesitation. Calc
Before Kellan could say a word, the old man spoke."Emily made every one of these dishes herself. Look at the color, the presentation — exceptional."Kellan set down his chopsticks.He turned to Margaret. "Please fry me a steak and bring it to my room."He turned the chair and left.The old man looked at his retreating back.He then looked at the table full of food.He did not say what he was thinking.Emily looked at her hands in her lap for a moment."I should have asked Margaret first what he liked," she said quietly. "I assumed.""It has nothing to do with your cooking," Margaret said quickly. "the young master has always been — particular. Even as a child.""He ate the braised pork," Roland said, from the far end of the table, in the tone of someone who had already decided to say it.Emily looked up."Before he left," Roland said. "He took two bites. Then he set the chopsticks down. Then he picked them up and took a third bite. Then he asked who cooked."Silence."Eat," the old m
Victoria listened to Olivia's account through the glass and said nothing for a long time.The Scott family. The imperial capital. Gold bars in shopping bags.She had spent twelve years building a life inside a particular story — that she was the woman Richard truly loved, that every sacrifice had been worth it, that she had won.She thought about Olivia, who had grown up in that story. Who had been shaped by it."Don't provoke Emily," Victoria said. "Don't go near her. Don't contact her or anyone connected to her.""I know, Mom.""And take care of your father." Victoria's voice was quieter than usual. "Whatever happened — whatever he knows now — he is still your father. Be good to him."Olivia nodded.After the visit ended, she walked out into the pale afternoon light and sat in her car for a long time without starting it.She thought about the bunch of wildflowers her mother had asked her to bring Richard. That small, specific gesture — field flowers instead of florist flowers, the k
The clerk returned with a beautifully packaged parcel that was, Emily discovered when she lifted it, genuinely heavy.seems originally designers was heavier than it looked. This was physics. She knew this.It was still surprising.She tucked it under her arm and took the old man's elbow, and they walked out into the open atrium of the mall.And stopped.Ethan was standing thirty feet away, looking directly at her.Olivia was a few steps behind him, expression carefully arranged into something that looked like innocent concern.Ethan walked toward her. His eyes moved from Emily to the old man and back."Emily" He stopped in front of her. "I happened to be nearby. I wanted to—""Who is this old grandfather?" Olivia said brightly, stepping up beside Ethan. "I don't think I've seen him before. Is he a relative, Emily? You never mentioned other family in the city.""Why would I mention my family to you?" Emily said.Olivia's expression flickered. "I'm just worried. We don't want you gettin
The car stopped outside the most upscale shopping complex in the city.Emily looked up at the gleaming facade and then at the old man."I thought we were going to a park," she said."Why would we go to a park?" He was already getting out of the car, accepting the door Roland held open with the serenity of a man who had never in his life gone to a park when there was a shopping mall available. "Your grandfather is very modern. I have not been to a place like this in years. Today I have you with me — perfect."Emily took his arm and walked inside.The ground floor was exactly what she expected — jewelry, watches, glasses, accessories, everything displayed under lighting specifically designed to make price tags look reasonable from a distance and alarming up close. She recognized some of the brand names. The ones she didn't recognize were probably more expensive."Sunglasses," the old man announced, steering toward a display."I have sunglasses," Emily said."Try this one." He held up a







