Chapter Three

Clara’s POV

The hospital released me after eight days ,eight days of nightmares, painkillers, condolences, and questions I didn’t have the strength to answer. Eight days of replaying the crash in my mind, even though I didn’t remember the impact just only the fire, the screaming Liam’s hand squeezing mine, and then darkness swallowing everything.. it still feels surreal .

When the nurse finally wheeled me outside, the cold New York wind hit my face like a slap..

It was strange how life outside kept moving,cars honking, people laughing, businesswomen rushing past with coffee cups and expensive perfume. The city didn’t pause for my grief. It didn’t know me. It didn’t care.

I swallowed a shaky breath as a black car pulled up.

Not a limousine, Not the family driver.

Just a rental.

A social worker opened the door for me. “Are you ready, Miss Langford??

No, Not even a little.

But I nodded anyway.

The ride to the Langford mansion was painfully silent. My body trembled the entire time, and I held my mother’s cracked necklace as if it were oxygen.

When the gates finally opened, I felt my entire chest ache, I so wanted it to

Bad dream, a very bad dream .

Home.

Except it wasn’t home anymore.

The mansion stood tall in the early morning sunlight ,white marble, towering glass windows, black iron balconies. Beautiful. Immaculate. Cold.

It felt wrong without their voices inside.

Dad’s deep laugh.

Mom’s soft laugh when she’s painting.

Liam’s constant jumping around, looking for mischievous things to do

They were supposed to be here.

They were supposed to walk through the doors with me.

Instead, the house greeted me with silence so thick it dragged me underwater.

I stepped inside slowly.

The foyer was exactly how we left it sparkling floors, paintings on the walls, flowers still in the vases, as if frozen in time.

But everything felt so dead.

“Take your time,” the social worker murmured. “I’ll wait outside.”

I barely heard nor understood her .

Because just then, a small ball of white fur launched itself down the stairs.

“Snow?” My voice cracked.

Liam’s little dog skidded across the marble and slammed right into me, whining, pawing, licking my hands like I had been gone for years.

A sound burst from my throat—half sob, half laugh—as I knelt down and hugged him tightly. His fur smelled the same vanilla shampoo and sunlight. He whimpered like he knew, Liam wasn’t coming back.

Tears spilled down my cheeks as I buried my face into Snow’s neck. “It’s just us now,” I whispered. “Just us.”

He licked away my tears.

He was the only living piece of Luke I had left.

I stayed there on the floor for several minutes, clutching the little dog as if he were the only anchor keeping me from floating into nothingness.

That was when the doorbell rang.

A sharp, impatient buzz.

I stiffened. Snow growled, I opened the door, And immediately wished I hadn’t.

Three men in suits stood on the porch. Cold eyes. Colder smiles. Their presence felt wrong, like something rotten had crawled into my home.

“Ms. Langford?” the tallest one asked.

“Yes? “Am sorry for your loss .

“We’re here regarding your father’s outstanding debts,” he said, flipping open a file. “You’ve been avoiding our calls.”

I blinked, confused. “My father didn’t have debts.”

The man smirked. “Oh, he had plenty.”

A chill ran through me...

“What... what are you talking about?”

“Your father’s company, Langford Global Holdings is bankrupt. Completely liquidated. Thirty-four million dollars in unresolved loans. Investors are demanding compensation.”

My heart stopped,Thirty-four million?

No. Impossible.

“My father was wealthy,” I whispered, shaking. “He, he owned buildings. Hotels. A tech subsidiary ,We—”

“Not anymore,” the man cut in. “Everything he owned is frozen, seized, or under legal review. You’re the next of kin. Which means the responsibility falls on you.”

My knees nearly gave out.

“I don’t understand,” I breathed. “Why wasn’t I told this earlier?”

“Because your father died before he could sign the restructuring papers.” The man shrugged. “Tragic accident. Very unfortunate timing.”

It felt like the world was mocking me.

“So,” he continued, “we’ll need you to pack your personal belongings. This property will be repossessed within thirty days.”

My throat closed.” This is my home,” I whispered.

“Not anymore.”

They left the papers with me and walked away, leaving me standing barefoot in the doorway of the mansion I grew up in, holding a stack of legal documents declaring that my life, everything my family built was gone.

The papers slipped from my hands and scattered on the floor.

I sank to my knees, Snow barking anxiously beside me.

I was losing everything,Not just my family.

But their legacy,Their work.

Their dreams.

Their name.

My tears dripped onto the marble. “Dad…” My voice broke. “What were you hiding? Why didn’t you tell me?”

The house echoed back in silence.

Within hours, chaos swept through my world like a hurricane.

Lawyers called nonstop, talking in circles.

Paparazzi crowded outside the gates, shouting my name.

Reporters shoved microphones in my face, asking how it felt to be “the orphaned heiress.”

Debt collectors knocked on the door as if they could smell weakness.

I couldn’t even breathe.

I tried locking myself in my room, but news vans lined the street. Drones hovered above the property. Strangers trespassed, trying to peek inside for a photograph of the broken girl in the bankrupt mansion.

I curled up on the floor beside Liam’s old bed, Snow pressed against my ribs, and sobbed until my throat burned raw.

My world

was collapsing

piece by piece.

**

The next morning, a lawyer arrived, my father’s personal attorney. A woman in her fifties with sharp cheekbones and a gaze that carried decades of secrets.

“Clara,” she said gently. “Sit down. I need to explain something.”

I sat on the living room couch, hugging Snow tightly.

She opened a thick folder.

“Your father hid the truth from you,” she said softly. “His company has been failing for years. The board pushed him out. He tried everything to save the business, but he made desperate investments. Risky ones.”

My stomach twisted. “Why didn’t he tell us?”

“Because he didn’t want you to worry.” Her voice softened. “He wanted you to have a life free of fear. He hoped he could fix everything quietly.”

I pressed my hands to my mouth as tears filled my eyes again.

He was trying to protect us.

Even as the world was falling apart around him.

“Unfortunately,” she continued, “he passed before he could settle the debts. Without him… everything transfers to you. I felt sick.

“Is there anything left?” I whispered.

She hesitated. Then shook her head.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing. “Miss Langford

The final word shattered what was left of me.

I wasn’t a Langford princess anymore.

I wasn’t wealthy,or protected,Or admired.

I was a bankrupt orphan with a dog and a broken necklace.

Snow nudged my hand gently, sensing my sorrow.

I buried my face in his fur again and cried.

The lawyer placed a hand on my shoulder. “You are stronger than you think, Clara. But you need a plan. A future. You need to start over.”

Start over, from scratch,From nothing.

That night, I wandered through the mansion one last time.

I walked into my father’s study empty shelves, boxes of old files, dust settling on what used to be his world.

I ran my fingers across his desk, tracing invisible memories.

Then into my mother’s art room—covered in sunlight, brushes left on the table, unfinished paintings leaning against the wall.

Her laugh echoed faintly in my mind.

Finally, I walked into Liam’s room

His clothes were still on the floor.

His game console on the bed.

His superhero posters crooked on the walls.

I picked up his favourite hoodie, pressed it against my face, and inhaled.

It still smelled like him.

And that was when it hit me:

Nothing would ever be the same.

Everything In my childhood, my identity, my entire world changed the moment that plane went down.

That night, I curled up on his bed, Snow pressed beside me, and whispered the truth I had been avoiding since the crash:

“My life is over.”

But life wasn’t done with me.

It was only beginning to break me open.

And in the ruins of what I once was…

the woman I would become was waiting.