Chapter 2

2

At 3:00 PM that afternoon, the receptionist at Lumin Tech called.

“Ms. Lana, Deputy Justice Silas is downstairs. He says he has something to discuss and doesn't have an appointment.”

Silas.

My own brother.

It had been thirty years.

He stood in the lobby wearing his judicial uniform, his posture rigid, his eyes sharp. The receptionist offered him water, but he didn't touch it.

I stepped out of the elevator, my heels clicking against the marble floor.

He turned toward me.

He scanned me from head to toe. There was no recognition in his eyes, only cold scrutiny.

I wasn’t surprised. That fire had erased who I used to be.

After I escaped, I had seven surgeries. The face I wore now bore no resemblance to the girl who had stood on that stage at eighteen.

In his eyes, Sienna had perished in the prison fire long ago. A disgraced woman who died behind bars couldn’t possibly be the CEO of Lumin Tech.

“Are you Ms. Lana?”

He stood up, towering over me. That oppressive, condescending air was identical to the day he stood at my ceremony and shouted that I had cheated.

“I am,” I said. “What do you want?”

Silas curled his lip. “Ms. Lana, I heard about the situation with Natalie. Isn't it a bit inappropriate for an elder to say such things to a young girl?”

“What things?”

“You accused her mother of exam fraud. Words like that lead to lawsuits.”

I laughed.

“Deputy Justice, you work in the courts. You should know better than anyone―which one leads to a jail cell: defamation or public exposure?”

His expression remained stoic, but his pupils contracted.

I continued, “I only stated a fact. As for whether a lawsuit is coming, you know the truth better than I do.”

“Ms. Lana,” he lowered his voice. “I didn't come here to argue. Natalie and Julian are genuinely in love. Do you really have to be the mother who stands in their way?”

“Standing in the way.”

I had heard those same words thirty years ago.

That year, Seraphina had missed the Blackwood cutoff by a single point. Silas had stood before me and said, “You’re the older sister, can’t you just let her have it?”

I didn't.

So, on the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, Silas and my parents teamed up to frame me. Silas used his connections to pull my answer sheet and tampered with the marks. They presented “evidence” to the Education Board―my perfect scores were branded as a fraud.

They stripped me of my records and sentenced me to seven years.

In prison, Seraphina sent a message through an intermediary: “Just stay put. I’ll go to Blackwood for you.”

My fingers tightened into a fist.

“Ms. Lana?” Silas’s voice snapped me back to reality. “I’m speaking to you.”

I looked up at him.

“Deputy Justice, have you ever done something that keeps you up at night?”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing.” I turned away. “As for Natalie, my answer hasn't changed. Please leave.”

Silas didn't budge.

He took a step forward, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Ms. Lana, Lumin Tech is growing fast. But a business always has cracks. As someone in the judicial system, I’m quite thorough when I want to be.”

I didn't look back.

“Be my guest.”