Lisa Returns

6:00 PM. Lane Family Banquet. Lane Mansion.

The mansion was decorated like it was 10 years ago when my mother was still the hostess. Crystal lights, white roses everywhere, a string quartet. My father was trying too hard.

He was trying to show the New York families that Lane Group was still stable after I took the CEO office this morning.

I arrived at 6:30 PM. Not early, not late. Right on time.

I wore the black suit from this morning, but I changed the inner shirt to red silk. Hair still tied up. Jade ring shining. No need for gowns. I was the CEO, not a princess anymore.

Alexander held my waist, in a black suit that matched mine. Couple suits. He whispered as we entered, "Your father invited every investor who refused you this morning. He wants you to fail tonight."

"Let him try."

Every head turned when we entered. Whispers.

"That's Sophia Lane? She looks like her mother now..."

"Is that Alexander Knight? He actually came to a Lane family dinner?"

My father came to greet us, wearing a forced smile. "Sophia, Alexander, you came."

"Father," I smiled politely. "You used Starlight's banquet budget for tonight, $200,000. I approved it. Remember to send the invoice to my office tomorrow."

His smile froze.

Then the main door opened again.

And she entered.

Lisa.

Lisa Wang. My stepmother. Chloe's real mother. The woman who hadn't shown her face for three years after my grandfather died.

She wore a white qipao — my mother's favorite style. White pearls. She looked elegant, gentle, like a victim. She had even made herself look thinner, paler, like she had been crying.

"Sophia," she said softly, tears already in her eyes, walking towards me. "My daughter... I finally see you again. After your grandfather's death, I was too heartbroken to stay in New York..."

She opened her arms to hug me.

Everyone watched. If I pushed her, I would look like the unfilial daughter. She planned this.

In my last life, I hugged her back. I forgave her. And three days later, she poisoned my mother's IV.

Not this time.

I didn't move. I let her hug the air.

Then I took out my phone and played a voice recording, loud enough for the whole hall to hear.

It was Lisa's voice from yesterday, talking to Chloe on the phone. My bodyguard had recorded it when Chloe was crying in the stairwell.

_"Mom, that bitch Sophia made me an intern! She made me drink coffee! You have to come back and kill her like you killed her mother!"_

_"Keep your voice down! I'm coming back tomorrow. Your father still loves me. We will make her disappear before the will is finalized. Just like we did with the old man."_

Silence. Dead silence.

Lisa's face turned white. Her arms were still in the air.

My father stumbled. "L-Lisa? What... what is this recording..."

I put my phone down.

"Auntie Lisa, welcome home," I said calmly, sipping the red wine a waiter gave me. "Before you sit down, I have two questions from the board."

"First, three years ago, my grandfather's heart medicine was replaced with vitamin C. The pharmacy record shows your ID, Lisa Wang. You signed it."

"Second, my mother's coma — the doctor just found a rare chemical in her blood today. A chemical only found in your skincare factory."

I walked closer to her, still holding Alexander's hand.

"You wore white for my mother tonight. But you know, in my last dream, my mother told me she hates white. She likes red now. Like blood."

Lisa started shaking. "You... you forged that recording! David, you believe me right? I love you! I love this family!"

My father looked at me, then at Lisa, sweating.

Alexander finally spoke, his voice cold enough to freeze the room.

"Mr. Lane, Mrs. Wang entered this mansion without invitation to the CEO. According to Lane Family Rule #3 written by old Mr. Lane, any outsider who disrupts a family banquet can be removed by security."

He clapped his hands.

Two bodyguards came in.

"Remove her," I said.

"No! David! David save me! Chloe! Chloe help me!" Lisa screamed as she was dragged out, her white qipao tearing on the floor.

Chloe ran in from the kitchen — she was working as a serving intern tonight — and saw her mother being dragged.

"MOM!"

She tried to pull the bodyguards, but she was too weak. She fell to the floor, crying, holding Lisa's hand.

I looked down at both of them on the floor.

"Chloe, you have two choices tonight. You can leave with your mother and lose your intern job — which means you will never be a designer in New York again. Or you can stay, bring me a new glass of red wine, and watch your mother leave."

Chloe looked at her mother, then at me, tears and hate in her eyes.

She slowly stood up, wiped her tears, and said, "One... one red wine, CEO Lane."

Lisa stared at her daughter in disbelief. "Chloe?!"

Security dragged Lisa out completely. The door slammed.

The whole banquet was silent. All the investors stared at me — scared, but also impressed.

I raised my wine glass.

"Sorry for the interruption, everyone. A small family cleaning. As you know, Lane Group now has a new rule — we don't keep thieves in the house."

"Tonight, I announce — Starlight Revival Collection will launch next week, designed by me. And Knight Empire will invest $500 million as first round."

Alexander added, holding my hand up, "Make that $1 billion. My wife's designs are worth it."

Gasps.

My father sat down heavily on a chair, looking 10 years older. He knew — he had lost both women, and he had lost Starlight.

Chloe brought me the red wine, hands shaking even more than this morning. Her mother's scream still echoed outside.

"Your wine, CEO Lane."

I took it.

"Good girl, Intern Chloe. Now go back to the kitchen. Tonight you will wash all the dishes. 100 sets. By hand."

She didn't argue this time. She just whispered, "Yes, CEO Lane," and walked away, broken.

I turned to Alexander.

"Mrs. Knight, are you satisfied?" he whispered in my ear.

"Not yet," I whispered back. "Tonight, I want to visit my mother in the hospital. The doctor said the poison is clearing... she might wake up."

"Then let's go," he said, picking up my coat like a gentleman serving his queen. "After you, CEO Lane."

We left the banquet hand in hand, leaving my father alone in the big mansion, surrounded by investors who now only wanted to talk to me.

The Lane Family was mine again.