The Heiress Returns
731 Words
Silence slowly returned to the bar.
The manager glanced at Luca and noticed the change in his expression. Luca’s face had grown quiet and moody, like their words had settled somewhere deep inside him.
The manager walked over to him.
“You know,” he began gently, “you’re the most hardworking employee I have.”
Luca looked up at him.
“You even stay until I’m done locking up, and that’s not even your job.”
He placed a reassuring hand on Luca’s shoulder.
“Don’t mind everything they said tonight. Time and chance happen to everyone. Just keep hustling—your time will come.”
Luca gave a small nod but remained quiet.
Then the manager suddenly brightened.
“You know what?” he said. “I actually have an outside job I’d really like you to be part of.”
Luca raised an eyebrow slightly.
“What’s it about?”
“It’s a party I’m catering,” the manager explained. “And I’d love for you to be part of it.”
Luca sighed softly.
“You know I don’t like parties… and I don’t really have what to wear.”
The manager chuckled.
“It’s not a party for you,” he said. “We’re there to work. So I guess you can wear the clothes you already have for working.”
Luca thought about it for a moment.
“I’ll think about it, sir.”
The manager nodded.
“Yes, you do that. Just let me know what you think.”
He grabbed his keys and switched off the last light behind the counter.
“Now let’s go home,” he said. “It’s quite late.”
They both walked down toward the roadside in silence.
The night air was cool, and the streets were beginning to empty as most people had already gone home. The manager raised his hand and hailed a taxi that slowed to a stop beside them.
He opened the door and turned back to Luca.
“Get home safe,” he said with a tired smile.
Luca nodded.
“You too, sir.”
The manager stepped into the taxi, and Luca stood there for a moment, waving him goodbye as the cab pulled away and disappeared into the quiet street.
Now alone, Luca walked over to the nearby bus stop and waited for the bus that would take him home.
His shoulders were slightly slumped, and the night felt heavier than usual.
Earlier that same day.
A plane had just landed.
Outside the terminal waited a sleek Mercedes Maybach, its polished surface reflecting the bright airport lights. Standing near it was the Hart family’s loyal butler, patiently waiting at the arrival terminal.
He was there to receive Elena.
As Elena walked out from the arrival terminal, several people in the airport immediately turned their heads.
Some whispered.
Some stared.
She was Elena from the Hart family.
Famous, wealthy, and admired.
Elena had never grown up in a poor environment. She had never known lack, hardship, or the struggles most people faced. Her life had always been surrounded by luxury, comfort, and influence.
But wealth did not mean peace.
The only real problems she had ever faced came from within her own home.
Her stepmother, Isabella, and the endless rumors surrounding her stepbrother Jonathan, who many believed would inherit the country’s most powerful business empire.
The whispers had grown louder over the years.
Elena had grown tired of it all.
That was why she had decided to return home—to get more involved in the family business and, more importantly, to personally take care of her sick mother.
After exchanging the usual pleasantries with the butler, Elena sighed softly.
“I would like to go home,” she said.
“I’m jetlagged.”
“Yes, Miss Elena,” the butler replied respectfully.
Moments later, they left the airport.
Inside the moving car, Elena leaned her head slightly against the window.
The city lights passed by in soft blurs as the Mercedes Maybach glided smoothly along the road.
Childhood memories slowly began flooding back into her mind.
The old streets.
The familiar buildings.
The city she once called home.
Then, just ahead, through the tinted glass and the blur of passing lights, Elena noticed someone standing alone at a bus stop.
A stranger.
Still.
Unmoving.
And for some reason, she kept looking.
- Writer
