LIORA'S POV
I stared at the vibrating phone, my hand squeezing it tightly. Everything around me went quiet.
Buzz. Buzz.
It rang again. Without checking the screen, I switched it off. I didn't care who was calling. I wasn't going to just sit around anymore.
***
"Liora, it was sold to them by a relative," the lawyer said, adjusting his glasses with a tired sigh.
"What?" My voice cracked, disbelief turning into pure fury. "It was registered in my name!"
"He's your father. And these are the Sterlings."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I snapped. "That I should just sit around while my property is stolen from me?!"
"I know you're angry, but even if the signatures were forged... you can't do anything."
"I will take it to court! Even if it means my father has to pay!"
"Taking it to court won't help you..." He leaned closer to me, lowering his voice. "No lawyer will touch this case. No judge will support you, because this is the Sterling family we are talking about. You are trying to fight a war you can't win... Even I can't help you."
I let out a bitter chuckle. It was happening all over again. The exact same way everyone had abandoned my mother.
"Liora, you're still too young to face them. They play a completely different game... Let it go. It was your father's decision."
Too young? I looked at him in silence, noticing the faint tremor of fear in his eyes. He was terrified. He wasn't going to help me.
Suddenly, the television mounted on the wall flickered on.
William Sterling filled the screen, wearing that same venomous, perfect smile he wore ten years ago when he destroyed my mother.
My hand tightened around the edge of the desk until my knuckles turned white.
"That is the head of the family you want to fight," the lawyer whispered, his voice trembling.
"Hello, everyone," Mr. William Sterling said warmly to the camera, his polished voice smoothly filling the office. "I’m truly grateful for your continued trust and support."
“Liora, don't go near them! Run away from them!” my mother's memory echoed in my head. My nails dug deeper into the wood of the desk.
"Your trust gives the Sterling Empire the strength to deliver excellence in every project," William continued on screen. Every word sounded dipped in poison. "Because a better home builds a stronger family. I want every person to live in a place that nurtures love, peace, and beautiful memories.”
Beautiful memories? The man who ruined innocent families was now selling fairytale dreams to the public.
I stood up abruptly from my chair. "I will handle this myself since you're too cowardly to help me," I said, grabbing my folder and my umbrella.
"Liora!" the lawyer called out nervously.
I paused at the door, but didn't turn around.
“...And I have even greater news to share with all of you who have placed your faith in us,” William’s booming voice continued from the broadcast.
"Please be careful," the lawyer urged. "I strongly advise you to let this go!"
“Construction has officially begun on our newest flagship estate,” William announced proudly.
My blood froze instantly as the news camera cut to a live feed of Macas Road—my mother's building.
Bulldozers were tearing through the mud like iron monsters. Demolition workers were hurling furniture and personal mementos out into the pouring rain—her things. My things.
No... No, no, no!
“In the next three to four weeks,” William declared with a wide smile, “a new, beautiful community will rise on Macas Road.”
I turned and stormed out into the rain.
“Liora!” the lawyer yelled, standing up quickly, but I was already running—leaving behind my bag, my documents, and whatever pride I had left.
The rain lashed my face like icy whips, but it did nothing to cool the fire burning inside me.
"Macas Road! Faster, please!" I begged the taxi driver, my voice shattering.
The drive was pure torture. As the car got stuck in traffic, my knee bounced uncontrollably.
“I’m going to catch you!” my mother’s memory echoed softly, her laughing voice chasing me around our old living room.
“Mum!” I laughed, running away from her on little legs.
"Stop right here!" I yelled at the driver, pushing the car door open before he even came to a complete stop.
My knees nearly buckled. My mother's building looked like a slaughterhouse. Bulldozers roared while workers carelessly tossed her belongings into deep mud puddles like garbage. Books were drowning. Clothes lay trampled. My mother's precious vinyl records were scattered across the gravel, their covers ripped to shreds.
I looked up at the front entrance; the door was hanging off its hinges like a gaping wound.
"Throw everything out! Don't leave a single item!" a heavy-set man in an expensive suit barked near the entrance. "Demolition begins tomorrow morning!"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I screamed, sprinting toward him.
He picked up the last framed photograph of my mother and tossed it over his shoulder.
Splash.
It hit a murky puddle, the glass shattering instantly.
I stared down at the ruined photo, my chest heaving. "I asked you what the hell you are doing?!" I snapped.
Charging through the mud, I grabbed him by his tie and yanked him down to my eye level. "Who gave you permission to touch my things?!"
"Who the hell are you?!" he shouted, shocked. "Get your hands off—"
"Call your boss out right now!" I demanded.
"Get your hands—" He tried to shove me away hard.
"I will cut off those hands if you lay a finger on my woman."
A deep, lethal voice pierced straight through the sound of the pouring rain.
My body went completely rigid.
Even in my worst nightmares, I would recognize that voice anywhere.
I turned quickly, and the site manager scrambled backward, disappearing into the crowd of workers.
Damien Sterling was standing in the pouring rain—tall, broad-shouldered, and dangerously serene. His tailored black suit clung to his powerful frame like a second skin, the rain tracing sharp lines down his jaw and neck.
His dark eyes were locked onto mine.
"Liora Hale..." he murmured smoothly. His gaze traveled slowly over my drenched body—taking in my trembling hands, my heaving chest, before rising back to my face. "Look at yourself."
He took a slow step closer, using one hand to loosen his tie slightly while my fingers dug painfully into my palms.
"Soaked. Furious. Standing in the middle of a storm," he said, a dark smirk playing on his lips. "Exactly where I wanted you."
"You did this," I whispered through gritted teeth, consumed by rage. "You're erasing the last piece I have left of her."
Damien tilted his head slightly, rainwater sliding down his throat. "I warned you to come to the mansion last night, didn't I, Liora?"
He reached out and gently brushed a wet strand of hair away from his face. "But you ran away... Now look at where that got you."
A wild surge of anger exploded inside me.
His bodyguards moved instantly to intercept me, but Damien raised a single hand, stopping them dead in their tracks.
I closed the distance in three furious strides, grabbed his tie, and yanked him down hard until his face was just inches from mine.
“How dare you,” I snarled.
The entire construction site fell dead silent. The roaring bulldozers, the shouting workers—everything seemed to fade into nothingness.
"How fucking dare you!" I spat, rain dripping down our faces.
Damien didn't flinch. Instead, a slow, dangerous smile spread across his lips as his eyes dropped to my hand tightly gripping his tie.
“Ms. Liora Hale,” he purred, his voice dropping to a low, lethal whisper. “Take your hand off my tie... unless you want this building reduced to rubble before you can even turn around.”
