Chapter 2

Four years later, inside the intensive care unit of a hospital, a doctor said, "I'm sorry. We've done everything we can, but Raymond's condition isn't improving. You should go in and say your goodbyes."

Say goodbye to him!

Victor Harper's brow furrowed in deep anxiety as he pressed the doctor.

"Doctor, isn't there anything else you can try? If my father doesn't make it, the entirety of the Harper family's assets will be forfeited to the state... Damn it, what are we supposed to do? None of us have seen Samira in years. Neither has he! God knows what was going through his head. How could he ignore the grandsons who kept him company every single day, just to obsess over that wretched girl?"

For days, a dark cloud of panic had hung over the Harper family.

On his deathbed, Victor's father, Raymond, had drafted a bizarre will.

He had left fifty-one percent of the Harper Group's shares to his eldest granddaughter, Samira. The rest of the family, meanwhile, was left to fight over a meager ten percent.

In short, Samira was set to become the majority shareholder.

But there was a catch. If Samira didn't return before Raymond took his last breath, all of the Harper family's assets would be surrendered to the state.

Because of this, the family had spent the last few days tearing the city apart trying to find her.

Despite their frantic efforts, she seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.

Ever since her divorce from Damian, there hadn't been a single sighting or word from her.

"If you ask me, that girl is doing this to spite us! Who knows what rock she's been hiding under all these years!"

Amelia Harper, Victor's second wife, spat the words, a furious twitch pulling at the corner of her mouth.

Years ago, while pregnant with twins, she had successfully driven Samira and her mother out of the family. After later giving birth to her third child, Amelia had been certain her position in the Harper household was untouchable.

She never imagined she'd end up with absolutely nothing.

Even with her three children standing right in front of him, the old man still favored Samira.

"Dad! Mom! Grandpa's awake!" Bianca Harper called out.

The family surged into the hospital room.

"Sam... My Samira..."

Raymond had been comatose for over twelve days. He was running out of time.

Even at death's door, his only concern was his eldest granddaughter.

Her four-year disappearance had eaten away at him. He had even begun to suspect that Amelia had somehow orchestrated his beloved granddaughter's murder.

"Raymond! Rick, Ryan, and Bianca are your grandchildren too, aren't they? This will is completely unfair! You're leaving them with next to nothing! They'll be begging on the streets if you actually let the state take everything!" Amelia snapped.

Raymond painfully parted his dry lips. "Sam... Let me see Sam. As long as she isn't here, none of you will get a single cent..."

"It's been four years, Raymond!" Amelia hissed in protest. "Who knows where she went? Besides, if she actually cared about you, wouldn't she have come to see you one last time?"

A flash of impatience crossed Bianca's eyes. Unable to hold her tongue any longer, she whirled on Damian.

"Damian, do you have any idea where my sister went?"

Damian stood like a statue. He didn't have the answer to that either.

Four years ago, right after their divorce, he had fully expected Samira to cling to him. At the very least, he thought she'd make a scene.

Instead, to everyone's shock, she had packed up and left the very next day. She took nothing but her ID. She had even left behind the bank card tied to the account where Damian had deposited a hundred million dollars.

For the next four years, there was absolute radio silence. And Damian's pride certainly wouldn't allow him to be the one to reach out first.

Four whole years.

Even now, Damian couldn't quite believe she had given up on him that easily. He had drafted countless plans to shake her off the second she showed her face again. In the end, they had all been useless.

Samira had simply vanished from his world.

"Sam... Sam!" Raymond wheezed again.

"Oh no, Grandpa's crashing! Get the doctors, quick!"

The frantic beeping of the ECG monitor signaled that Raymond's heart was giving out. Tears welling in their eyes, the family members crowded around his bed.

Though, in truth, they were weeping less for the dying old man and more for the fortune about to slip into the government's hands.

Click, clack, click...

The sharp, rhythmic strike of high heels suddenly echoed down the hospital corridor.

Click.

The door to the hospital room swung open.

A woman in a flawlessly tailored white suit stepped inside. She carried a limited-edition handbag, and oversized sunglasses obscured nearly her entire face. Her naturally long, slender legs were accentuated by the towering heels.

She carried herself with an icy elegance that seemed to drop the temperature in the room by several degrees.

"Who is that? Do we know her? Who let her in here?"

"It's me. I'm here to see my grandfather."

The woman slowly lowered her sunglasses before stepping toward the bed.

"Samira!" A collective gasp of shock rippled through the family.

She had changed drastically.

In the past, Samira had worn her hair long and perfectly straight. Now, it was a rich, wavy brown. It used to reach her waist, but now...

The curled ends bounced lightly around her shoulders.

She had undergone a total metamorphosis. Gone was the meek, sweet girl next door; in her place stood a mature, striking, and fiercely ambitious businesswoman.

Even more striking was her stunning figure, far more defined than before. But the naive innocence that used to shine in her eyes was completely gone. One look into her sharp gaze made it clear she had walked through fire over the last few years.

"Samira? Oh, thank God, you're finally here! Our family would have been ruined if you hadn't shown up..."

For the first time in their lives, the Harpers were genuinely thrilled to see her.

She quickly closed the distance to the bed.

"I'm sorry, Grandpa. Forgive me for being so late."

"Sam..." Raymond wheezed, painfully forcing his eyes half-open. "I'm just glad to see you're safe and sound. What a relief..."

With those words, he reached a trembling hand out toward her. But a second later, his arm dropped limply back onto the mattress. His head lolled to the side, and his eyes slid shut.

BEEEEEP—

The ECG monitor flatlined, letting out a single, continuous wail to announce Raymond's passing.

"Grandpa? Grandpa!" Samira cried out, tears spilling down her cheeks.

She knew he had been the only person in the entire Harper family who had ever truly cared about her.

"Oh, spare us the crocodile tears! If you actually gave a damn about Grandpa, you would have come back ages ago! But the second it's time to claim the inheritance, you miraculously appear?" snapped Derick Harper, Victor's eldest son.

His voice dripped with venomous sarcasm.

Derick had never once treated Samira like an older sister. And now that she was the primary beneficiary of Raymond's estate, he despised her more than ever.

"That's enough! Someone make the calls and start arranging the funeral!" Victor barked.

Looking visibly weighed down by grief, he placed a hand on Samira's shoulder and gave it a gentle pat.

"Sam, since you're back, you should come live at home!"

"That's right, you should come back and stay with us!" Amelia chimed in cheerfully, though her lips twitched with poorly concealed disdain. "Besides, your grandfather wrote a will on his deathbed. He wanted you to inherit fifty-one percent of the Harper Group's shares. His illness must have clouded his judgment. How could he entrust such a massive corporation to a young girl who knows absolutely nothing about business? Sam, you're still young and naive. You really should just let your father continue running the company."

Amelia spoke with the breezy authority of someone who assumed Samira would just roll over and obey.

Deep down, she was convinced the girl was just as dim-witted as her mother had been. And once Samira was back under their roof, she would be entirely at her mercy.

Samira, however, remained stone-faced.

"I'm not discussing this right now," she replied, her voice ice-cold. "My only priority is taking care of Grandpa's funeral."

"Yes, yes, of course you're right. Raymond's funeral is what matters most. Everything else can wait," Amelia said half-heartedly.