Chapter 1: The end for me

~ Scarlett ~

Fifteen years of playing the silent, invisible charity case was finally coming to an end. Today, I was turning twenty-five, and the promise my uncle made to hand over my late father’s empire was no longer a distant dream, it was my new reality.

‘Just lay low until you turn twenty-five’,

Uncle Richard’s voice echoed in my head, warm and reassuring.

‘Study, learn, stay out of the limelight. On your twenty-fifth birthday, I’ll hand over your father’s shares. I’ll make sure the world knows exactly who you are’.

That promise had been a lifeline.

Uncle Richard had sacrificed so much to keep the company from falling apart after the tragedy. Managing the firm, funding my mother's private medical care, and giving me a quiet place to grow up. Tonight was about making him and my late father proud.

Stepping into the corridor, the grand estate vibrated with energy, mixing with the sharp clink of crystal flutes and the polite hum of high-society guests.

He really had gone all out, I thought as gratitude pooled thick and warm in my chest.

At the base of the stairs, Uncle Richard looked every bit the powerful mogul, adjusting his solid gold cufflinks for a cluster of flashing cameras. Beside him, Cindy, my cousin practically sparkled in an emerald silk dress, while her mother carefully fluffing the train for the press.

"Uncle Richard!" The words spilled out before I could stop them, joy lacing every syllable. "I'm ready—"

"Scarlett, dear," Uncle Richard cut in, smoothing his lapels without even bothering to turn his head completely toward me.

"Go wait in the dining room or upstairs for a bit, will you? We’re holding the charity gala for the company's new foundation tonight. We can't have any distractions in the shot before the main announcements."

The words landed like a light splash of cold water, making my chest tighten slightly, but the confusion was brushed away instantly.

Of course. The press needed the corporate facade first. He had to handle the photographers, protect the brand's image, and set the stage. He was probably planning a surprise reveal once the official photo session wrapped up.

"Oh, of course," slipped past my lips, a soft nod following. "I'll wait at the dining table."

Cindy’s lips twitched upward into a fleeting, cryptic smirk before she snapped back into position for the camera flashes.

Sitting alone at the end of the massive mahogany dining table, hours ticked by in silence. Nails bit into my palms as anticipation built with every passing second.

What was a few more hours after waiting fifteen years?

My phone suddenly buzzed against the mahogany table.

My heart leaped and a wide smile lit up my face as I grabbed the device, expecting to see a call from Julian, my fiancé. He was supposed to be here an hour ago to celebrate this big moment of my life with me. To watch as I finally take my place as my father’s heir and owner of his empire. I had been counting down the minutes all day.

Instead, it was just a brief, unceremonious text.

Julian: “Working late at the firm tonight, babe. So sorry I can't make it over for dinner. Happy Birthday, Scarlett.”

My smile faltered, a cold flicker of disappointment settling in my chest as I stared at the bright screen. I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced my fingers to type a quick reply, refusing to let my bitterness show.

Scarlett: “It's fine. We can have dinner tomorrow.”

I set the phone back down on the polished wood, the silence of the empty dining hall suddenly feeling twice as heavy.

The gala finally wound down as the heavy double doors shutting out the last of the society elite.

Dinner arrived in hushed silence, the maid staff setting down plates of seared meats and red wine before vanishing into the shadows.

Richard gritted his teeth slightly before setting his linen napkin aside, taking a slow sip of his Cabernet.

I sat up straight, hands clasped tightly in my lap as I prepared to break the silence.

"Uncle Richard?"

His eyes flicked up, brows pulling together in mild annoyance. "Yes, Scarlett? It's getting late."

"I know," leaked through a breath as my eyes searched his face. "I just... I wanted to ask about the transfer paperwork. Today is my twenty-fifth birthday. When do we begin signing over my father's shares so I can finally start learning the business?"

A suffocating stillness descended upon the room.

Richard set his glass down. The warm, protective uncle facade melted away instantly, replaced by a cold, calculating mask that made the room temperature drop ten degrees.

"Your shares?" he asked softly, the words dripping like ice. "Your father's company?"

"Yes... you said when I turned twenty-five—"

"Are you completely out of your mind, Scarlett?"

The roar rattled the crystal glasses. Richard slammed a fist against the wood, his face twisting into a hideous, sneering shadow of the man I thought I knew.

"You sit at my table, eating my food, wearing clothes I paid for, and you have the nerve to demand my company?"

"No! That's not what I'm saying!" Standing up so fast the chair legs shrieked against the marble floor, my body trembled from head to toe.

"It was my father's legacy! You promised—"

"What father, Scarlett?" he spat, stepping around the table until his towering frame loomed overhead.

“You mean your moron of a father who couldn’t handle the humiliation of a bankrupting company, so he fled like the coward he was so much so that you had to bury an empty coffin. Is that father you’re talking about, Scarlett?”

My breath hitched, the world around me seemed to swirl. I grabbed the headrest of my chair for support.

“No, that isn’t—”

"I saved this family from drowning! I spent fifteen years slaving away to rebuild it! And how do you repay me? By acting like an ungrateful, entitled bastard child!"

"Who do you think pays for your mother's private room?" he hissed, leaning in until his foul breath fanned across my cheek. "Who pays for the machines keeping that hollow shell alive? The second I stop signing the checks, she gets thrown into the gutter to rot. You own nothing here. You are a charity case. A parasite."

A cold realization scraped against my ribs. Looking over at Aunt Lilian, she calmly cut her steak. Cindy didn't even try to hide it, she practically purred behind her glass of wine, taking small, victorious sips of the show.

My lips twitched.

My eye twitched.

The room began to tilt as fifteen years of lies, of suppressed quiet, of playing the sweet little charity case shattered into dust. This was all a cruel, sickening joke. It had to be.

I stared at Uncle Richard, a scoff escaped my lips. So it’s true, the saying “You tell yourself a lie long enough and even you starts to believe it”

A sharp, hysterical laugh burst from my throat, loud and unhinged, cutting straight through the heavy tension in the dining hall.

Lilian’s fork froze. Cindy and Richard stared at me like I’d completely lost my mind.

"I see you’ve lost your sanity," Richard snapped, his jaw clenching tightly.

"No," I hissed, wiping a stray tear of pure rage from my cheek, my chest heaving as the fire roared to life in my veins. "I just finally regained it! After fifteen years, I finally opened my eyes!"

"You insolent—"

"Don't you dare!" I screamed, taking a fierce step toward him, my turquoise eyes burning with raw, unadulterated fury.

"You wear the face of a saint, but you’re nothing but a parasitic hypocrite! You didn't save the business out of the goodness of your heart! When my father went missing, there were dozens of managerial firms ready to step in until I came of age! But you swooped in like a vulture! You begged on your knees to take the wheel, swearing up and down to protect your brother’s legacy for his only child! And now you stand here playing the victim and lying through your rotten teeth!"

SLAP.

My face whipped to the side from the sheer force of the impact. I thought my neck would snap as my body hit the floor, the metallic sting of blood instantly filling my mouth. The left side of my face burned like hot iron, ears ringing with a violent hum.

"You ungrateful little bitch!" Richard roared, standing over me with a flushed, veins-popping red face. "What do you know about running an empire?! You were a stupid child! Your pathetic mother must have twisted the truth and poisoned your mind before she went soft in the head!"

A feral sound ripped straight from my throat.

Ignoring the agony in my jaw, I scrambled to my feet like a rabid animal, my red hair flying out of its braid, blood dripping down the corner of my mouth.

"Don't you DARE talk about my mother!" I shrieked, my voice echoing off the high ceilings like thunder. "You stole everything from us! You trapped me! But I swear to God, Richard, I will burn your life to the ground! I will go to the press! I will expose you for the thieving, abusive monster you really are! The whole world is going to know—"

"GUARDS!" Richard thundered, his face pale with rage.

Two massive men in black suits burst through the side doors, grabbing my arms before I could launch myself across the table at his throat. I thrashed wildly, kicking, screaming, biting at their hands as they dragged me backward.

"Lock her in her room!" Richard ordered, wiping his bloody palm with a fresh cloth, his voice shaking with fury. "Nails through the frames if you have to! She does not take a single breath outside those walls again!"

"You're a coward!" I screamed as they dragged me up the marble stairs, my heels dragging against the steps. "You hear me, Richard?! You're a coward and a thief!"

They threw me into my room, the heavy oak door slamming shut before the loud, metallic click of a lock sealed me inside.

Falling against the floorboards, every breath came out as a ragged, violent sob. Nails dug so hard into my palms that skin broke, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the white-hot rage consuming my entire soul.

Lost in the violent storm of my own crying, bleeding on the floor, I didn't hear the balcony window latch pop open.

Before I could register a sound, a broad, leather-clad hand clamped tightly over my bleeding mouth, pinning my head forcefully back against a massive chest. A white, chemical-soaked cloth slammed over my nose.

The sickly fumes rushed down my throat, stealing the air straight from my lungs.

Panic clawed at my chest as my strength vanished, my limbs turning to lead against the dark shadow pinning me down. Tears burned my blurred eyes as my mother’s face flashed through the encroaching darkness.

Who would keep her alive if I wasn't there? The world spun wildly out of control, dragging me down into a cold, terrifying abyss, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs as the darkness swallowed me whole.

Julian…

Is this the end for me?