Episode 6
554 Words
Shadows of the Past
The collaboration between Larson Automotive and Emerald Motors had barely begun, yet the tension between their CEOs was already legendary.
Every meeting ended with an argument.
Every disagreement somehow produced a better idea.
Neither Kyle Larson nor Jade Jordan was willing to admit that they made a surprisingly effective team.
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The next morning...
Jade arrived at City General Hospital with Diana Ross.
She carried a bouquet of white lilies, her mother's favorite flowers.
Jenny Jordan lay peacefully on the hospital bed, surrounded by the soft hum of medical equipment.
Jade gently held her mother's hand.
"Good morning, Mom."
"I've been keeping my promise."
"Emerald Motors is doing well."
She smiled faintly.
"And... I've met someone incredibly annoying."
Diana laughed quietly.
"You mean Kyle Larson?"
Jade rolled her eyes.
"Who else?"
"I've never met someone so cold."
She looked back at her mother.
"I wish you were awake. You'd probably tell me to be patient."
A single tear slipped down her cheek.
"I miss you."
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Outside the room...
A man watched from the end of the corridor.
Jessy Jordan.
His beard had grown uneven, and his once-neat clothes were now wrinkled.
Guilt weighed heavily on his heart.
He wanted to walk into the room.
He wanted to hug his daughter.
But every time he tried, shame stopped him.
He quietly turned away before Jade could see him.
---
Meanwhile...
At Larson Automotive...
Kyle was reviewing the latest vehicle prototype when Verona entered.
"Miss Jordan sent over revised design files."
Kyle took the folder.
After several minutes of reading, he spoke.
"She's talented."
Verona smiled.
"That's the first compliment you've given her."
"It wasn't a compliment."
"Oh?"
"It was an observation."
Verona chuckled.
"If that's what helps you sleep at night."
---
Later that afternoon...
Jade left Emerald Motors alone after a long meeting.
As she walked toward the underground parking garage, she heard footsteps behind her.
She stopped.
The footsteps stopped too.
She turned around.
No one.
She continued walking.
Again...
Footsteps.
This time, faster.
"Who's there?" she called.
Silence.
A cold breeze swept through the nearly empty garage.
Just as she reached her car, she caught a glimpse of a figure dressed in black disappearing behind a concrete pillar.
Without thinking, she ran after the person.
"Stop!"
She rounded the corner.
No one.
Only a small object lying on the ground.
A silver bracelet charm.
Jade picked it up, confused.
"This wasn't here before..."
A strange feeling washed over her.
For a brief second...
A blurry childhood memory flashed through her mind.
A little boy...
Crying in the rain.
Before she could remember anything else, the memory vanished.
Her phone rang, snapping her back to reality.
It was Diana.
"Jade! Where are you?"
"I'm in the parking garage."
"Come back upstairs. The investors are waiting."
"I'm on my way."
Jade slipped the charm into her handbag, unaware that someone had been watching her the entire time.
From the shadows, the mysterious figure smiled.
"Very soon..."
"You'll remember everything."
Far away, at Larson Mansion...
Kyle opened the wooden box containing his faded bracelet.
For reasons he couldn't explain...
His heart felt unusually restless.
It was as though destiny had begun whispering that the person he had searched for all these years...
Was closer than ever.
End of Episode 6
- Writer
