Chapter 13 When my mom answered my call, her voice trembled with emotion. "Carol, you finally called me! It's been so many years since you've come home. How have you been? I heard you started a company-is it tiring..." I cut her off. "You should come pick up your daughter. She's at the Kentridge Police Station." "What?" I briefly explained the situation and was about to hang up when my mom burst into sobs. "Carol, you're my real daughter. We've already disowned Leila. I don't want to bring her back-I want to bring you home. Please, would you come home?" No, I wouldn't. I was too busy. "No." By the time I was named one of the Capital's Top Ten Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs, the year was drawing to a close. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the CEO's office, kicked off my heels, and picked up a glass of red wine. I sipped it quietly, gazing at the glittering city lights outside. I was thirty years old. It took me fifteen years to get here-from fifteen to thirty. The journey wasn't easy. Jumping from a building, though, had only taken three years. But to transform from a desperate, miserable heiress to a strong woman standing at the top of her game took twelve more. I was glad I took those twelve extra years. A lot had changed in those twelve years. For instance, Shaw City's leading company had collapsed-that was my parents' business. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Their downfall wasn't pretty; rumor had it they even mortgaged their villa. Leila ended up in prison. After losing her financial support, she turned to crime, which eventually led to someone's death. She was sentenced to twenty years. 1/2 ТКО ВОПus As for Shane, desperate to rebuild the family's fortune, he came to the capital and used their remaining money to start a new company. And right now, he was waiting outside my office, hoping to meet me. He'd been waiting since morning. Now, it was night. My secretary knocked gently on the door. "Ms. Lowe, that gentleman still refuses to leave." I nodded, set down my glass of wine, slipped back into my heels, and stepped outside. A disheveled Shane immediately stood up with a forced smile, his eyes clouded with sorrow that couldn't be masked. The once confident and handsome man now looked like he'd aged twenty years. He was awkward, unsure, a shadow of his former self. When we met, he didn't call me Carol anymore. Instead, he greeted me formally, "Good evening, Ms. Lowe." I motioned for the secretary to pour him a glass of water and smiled as I spoke. "Mr. Lowe, I've reviewed your proposal. I'm very sorry, but it doesn't meet my expectations." Shane let out a strained laugh, his cracked lips moving soundlessly for a moment before he managed to utter a word. I stood up. "If there's nothing else, I'll be heading out. It's getting late." He stood to see me off but suddenly spoke, his voice trembling. "Sister... Mom and Dad miss you. Could you go see them? They think about you every day. I paused. Before I could respond, he sniffled and added, his voice breaking, "You've changed so much. You feel like a stranger. We're still family. Could you... stop being so heartless?" I turned to look at him, and for a moment, the image of him dragging me out of Leila's room and hurling cruel words at me in our previous life came rushing back. "When I was fifteen, I never begged any of you to stop being so heartless. So now, you shouldn't beg me to stop either." That was my answer. Shane froze, his head dropping as the last trace of energy drained from him. And I, stepping into the calm night under the lazy glow of the city, walked away humming softly, my heels clicking against the pavement. The girl who had once lain broken in a pool of blood no longer needed anyone's love. She had picked herself up, brushed herself off, smiled proudly, and learned to love herself instead. 2/2