CHAPTER ELEVEN
1686 Words
Monroe Group – Rosette’s Office
After Sebastian left, the office fell into a strange silence.
Rosette stood still for a moment, then turned slowly to Ryan, her eyes filled with curiosity.
“I didn’t know the Vanders had another son.”
Ryan didn’t reply immediately.
He walked past her and sat down, his posture unusually heavy, like something was weighing on him.
Rosette hesitated for a second before sitting across from him.
For once, she wasn’t sharp or defensive.
She was… listening.
Ryan leaned back slightly, exhaling.
“I don’t know if I should trust you,” he said quietly.
A pause.
“But I will.”
Something about those words made Rosette’s chest tighten slightly.
Ryan’s gaze drifted away, as if he was looking into the past instead of the present.
“The Vander family was going through a crisis back then,” he began. “Not something the public knew about… but it was enough to push us to the edge of bankruptcy.”
Rosette stayed silent, letting him speak.
“Our parents already had it under control,” Ryan continued. “They had a plan. Everything was going to be fine.”
His jaw tightened.
“But Sebastian… he didn’t know that.”
A faint bitterness crept into his voice.
“He thought the family was collapsing. So he decided to ‘fix’ it.”
Ryan let out a dry laugh.
“He went looking for help… from someone he shouldn’t have gone to.”
Rosette’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she said nothing.
“That person had enemies,” Ryan continued. “Dangerous ones.”
His voice grew colder.
“And because of Sebastian’s decision… we got dragged into it.”
Rosette felt her fingers curl slightly on her lap.
“There was an attack,” Ryan said.
He paused.
For a moment, it seemed like he might stop talking altogether.
Then he continued, his voice lower now.
“Sebastian was the target.”
Rosette’s breath slowed.
“My mother found out,” Ryan said. “She went to stop it… to protect him.”
His eyes darkened.
“I was on my way to the company to warn him…”
A long pause.
“But I was too late.”
Silence filled the room.
“When I got there…” Ryan’s voice wavered slightly, almost breaking, “it wasn’t Sebastian lying there.”
Rosette felt her chest tighten.
“It was my mother.”
The words hung in the air like a weight.
Ryan swallowed, his composure cracking.
“She was on the ground… covered in blood… and it was raining…”
His hands clenched slightly.
“I held her… and she was already fading.”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“And Sebastian…”
Ryan’s eyes hardened.
“He was just standing there.”
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
“From that day on,” Ryan continued, “everything changed.”
His lips pressed into a thin line.
“My father disowned him.”
“And I…” he paused, then let out a quiet breath, “I stopped seeing him as my brother.”
Rosette watched him carefully.
She could see it now.
The anger.
The pain.
The grief he never let anyone see.
Ryan leaned forward slightly, his voice rough.
“I keep seeing it,” he admitted. “Every time I close my eyes.”
A pause.
“The rain.”
“Her blood.”
“My hands…”
He shut his eyes briefly.
“I wish I could have done something.”
That was the first time his voice truly broke.
Rosette didn’t think.
She stood up and walked over to him.
Then gently—
She wrapped her arms around him.
Ryan froze.
For a second, he didn’t react.
Then he stiffened slightly, as if remembering himself.
He pushed her back—not harshly, just enough to create distance.
He quickly wiped his face, regaining control.
By the time he stood up, his expression had returned to its usual cold composure.
“Miss Monroe,” he said, his voice steady again, “it seems I’ve said too much.”
Rosette didn’t reply.
She just watched him.
Ryan turned and walked toward the door.
Without looking back—
“I’ll take my leave.”
The door closed behind him.
Silence returned once again.
Rosette remained where she stood, her gaze fixed on the door.
Something in her chest felt… different.
Softer.
Warmer.
A small, unfamiliar connection had formed.
And for the first time—
Ryan Vander wasn’t just an enemy.
Flashback — The Truth No One Knows
It started on a quiet night.
The Vander mansion was silent—too silent.
Sebastian woke up, his throat dry. He rubbed his eyes and stepped out of his room, heading for the kitchen.
As he passed by his parents’ bedroom—
He stopped.
Voices.
Raised.
Tense.
He had never heard them argue like this before.
“…we’re running out of time,” Mr. Vander’s voice said, low but strained.
“We’ll fix it,” Mrs. Vander replied. “We always do.”
“Fix it?” he snapped. “The company is about to collapse!”
Sebastian froze.
Collapse?
“…bankruptcy is not something we can hide forever,” Mr. Vander continued.
Sebastian’s heart dropped.
The Vander Group… going bankrupt?
He quietly stepped away, returning to his room.
He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Sleep never came.
Thoughts raced endlessly through his mind.
The Vander Group… falling?
Everything Father built… gone?
He clenched his fists.
No.
That couldn’t happen.
Not under their name.
Not in his father’s time.
He thought of telling Ryan.
But he stopped himself.
Ryan would either dismiss it… or handle it alone.
Sebastian didn’t want that.
He wanted to fix it.
Himself.
The Next Morning
Sunlight filled the mansion, but Sebastian felt none of its warmth.
He walked into the living room and saw his mother.
She smiled the moment she saw him.
“Sebastian.”
He walked straight to her and hugged her tightly, resting his head on her lap like he always did.
He was her boy.
Ryan belonged to their father.
Sebastian belonged to her.
“You and Dad were arguing last night,” he said quietly.
Her fingers gently brushed through his hair.
“It’s nothing.”
Sebastian lifted his head, staring at her.
“I know about the company.”
A brief pause.
She was surprised—but she didn’t show it.
“Don’t worry,” she said softly. “Everything will be taken care of.”
But Sebastian didn’t believe her.
That Same Day
Sebastian made a decision.
A reckless one.
The underground club was dim, filled with quiet danger.
That was where he saw her.
Elegant.
Calm.
Deadly.
Ravenna Blaze.
She noticed him immediately.
A faint smile curved her lips.
“Well… if it isn’t the young master of the Vanders.”
Sebastian walked straight to her.
“I need your help.”
Her brows lifted slightly.
“Oh?”
“The Vander Group is in financial trouble. I want you to help.”
Ravenna studied him for a moment.
Then laughed softly.
“And what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Send money,” Sebastian said bluntly. “From another account. Make it look like a gift.”
Her laughter deepened.
“How… naive.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“And what do I gain?”
Sebastian didn’t hesitate.
“When I become CEO, I’ll give you whatever you want. Resources. Influence. Access.”
Ravenna’s eyes flickered with amusement.
“Alright,” she said.
Sebastian left, thinking he had solved everything.
He didn’t understand the world he had just stepped into.
Two Weeks Later
His phone rang.
Ravenna.
Sebastian answered, surprised.
“I need something from you,” she said.
She named a price.
A heavy one.
Sebastian froze.
He didn’t have that kind of money.
He couldn’t ask his parents.
He couldn’t tell them what he had done.
So instead—
He hung up.
And blocked her.
What Sebastian didn’t know…
Was that Ravenna wasn’t the only player.
There was someone else.
Someone watching.
Someone waiting.
The Night Everything Ended
Rain poured heavily.
The sky was dark and merciless.
Sebastian drove through the empty road, his mind unsettled.
Then—
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He picked it up.
“Hello… Mr. Vander.”
The voice was distorted.
Sebastian’s grip tightened.
“Who is this?”
A low chuckle.
“Your life is in my hands.”
Sebastian’s heart pounded.
“…Did Ravenna send you?”
The voice laughed.
“No.”
A pause.
“I couldn’t get to her.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened.
“So I decided… to get to someone close.”
His breath hitched.
“You.”
A message came through.
Location.
Back at the mansion—
Mrs. Vander saw it.
Her instincts screamed.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Without hesitation—
She followed him.
The Final Moment
Sebastian arrived first.
The place was empty.
Too empty.
“Show yourself!” he shouted.
Silence.
Then—
A gunshot.
Sebastian froze.
Slowly—
He turned.
His mother stood behind him.
Or rather—
She had been standing.
Now—
She fell.
“Mom…?”
His voice shattered.
He rushed to her, dropping to his knees.
Blood mixed with rain.
“No… no… this wasn’t supposed to happen…”
Moments later—
Ryan arrived.
He stopped.
Everything around him blurred.
All he saw—
Was his mother.
On the ground.
Bleeding.
And Sebastian…
Right beside her.
Ryan ran to her, holding her tightly.
“Mom…! Stay with me—!”
Then he looked up.
At Sebastian.
“What did you do…?”
Mr. Vander arrived last.
His world collapsed in a single second.
He walked forward slowly.
Then—
He slapped Sebastian.
Hard.
“You are no longer my son.”
And just like that—
Everything ended.
But the Truth…
No one knew.
Not Ryan.
Not Mr. Vander.
Not even Sebastian.
That from the shadows—
Someone had been watching all along.
Pulling the strings.
Smiling.
End of Flashback
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