Chapter 4
1233 Words
The morning light spread across the Liang Estate slowly, cautious and pale, as if unsure whether it was welcome. Birds called from the bamboo groves, but their songs sounded muted beneath the tension that threaded through the property. Servants moved briskly, avoiding eye contact, aware that something had shifted since the storm.
Mei Lin stood in the courtyard, hands buried in her linen pockets, watching mist drift over the koi pond. She felt an invisible weight pressing on her chest. Her father’s recorded message echoed in her mind. Secrets in the tower. Rot in the family. She could not pretend any of this was imagination.
A soft crunch of gravel behind her signaled Zhang Wei’s approach. He walked with the steady confidence she remembered, though his expression held a gravity she had not seen in their youth.
“I checked the tower again,” he said. “The lock is broken.”
Mei Lin turned to him fully. “Broken how?”
“Forced,” he replied. “Clean break. Someone used a tool, not a key.”
Her pulse quickened. “So whoever went inside wanted something specific.”
Wei nodded. “And they wanted it badly.”
Their eyes drifted toward the tower. It loomed at the far end of the gardens, tall and quiet, almost regal. Ivy clung to its outer walls. The iron gate at its base looked untouched from a distance, but now that Mei Lin knew the truth, the stillness felt sinister.
“We should check inside,” she said.
Wei’s gaze sharpened with concern. “Not yet. If someone broke in before us, they might still be watching. You cannot walk into danger without knowing who benefits from you being harmed.”
Mei Lin bristled slightly, though she knew he meant well. “I will not sit idle.”
“Then step carefully,” he replied.
Before she could answer, a voice cut across the courtyard.
“Talking strategy already?”
Minghao approached, hands in his pockets, posture deceptively relaxed. His shirt was crisp, his hair immaculate, though the shadows under his eyes revealed he had slept poorly. He moved like someone who believed everything belonged to him and had for years.
Mei Lin stiffened.
Minghao looked at her with a faint, mocking smile. “Planning how to fulfill Father’s little condition? Zhang Wei, you always did follow our father’s orders without question.”
Wei met his stare without flinching. “I follow what is right for the families.”
Minghao scoffed. “Spare me the virtue. You think marrying her will save your sinking company.”
Mei Lin’s jaw clenched. “Enough, Minghao.”
He tilted his head. “Then tell me why you two are whispering by the tower. Something interesting inside?”
Wei froze for a fraction of a second. A fraction too long.
Minghao’s smile widened slightly. He had seen it.Mei Lin stepped forward. “The tower is none of your concern.”
“Oh, I think it is,” Minghao replied. His voice dropped to a dangerous softness. “Father kept records there. Records of the family’s dealings. Records that could ruin reputations if read by the wrong person.”
Mei Lin felt the ground shift beneath her. He knew. At least part of it. Minghao offered a polite nod, dripping with false grace. “I must prepare for the board meeting. Try not to embarrass the family again.”
He walked away, leaving the two of them staring at each other.
“He knows something,” Mei Lin said.
“He suspects. That is enough to make him dangerous,” Wei answered. “We have to move before he does.”
Mei Lin exhaled, both frustrated and energized by the challenge. “Then help me get into the tower.”
Wei studied her face. “Only if we leave quietly and return quickly. If anyone sees you entering, the rumors will consume you.”
“Then let us go now.”
They moved through the garden with deliberate calm, pretending to enjoy the morning scenery. The willow branches brushed against Mei Lin’s arm as they followed the winding path that curved toward the far side of the estate. A gardener looked up briefly before returning to trimming hedges. No one else was nearby.
When they reached the tower gate, Mei Lin finally saw it clearly. The iron lock hung at an odd angle, nearly split in two. Someone had struck it with force, probably more than once. Fresh metal scraped against metal. The wound was recent.
Wei pushed the gate gently. It opened with a soft groan.
Inside, the air smelled of dust, old paper, and stone. A single narrow staircase spiraled upward, lit only by slivers of morning light sneaking through the tiny windows. Their footsteps echoed faintly in the confined space.
They reached the first floor landing. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with binders and ledgers. Many appeared untouched for years. A thick layer of dust covered most surfaces.
Except for one set of shelves.
Mei Lin stepped closer. Several binders were missing, leaving clean rectangular outlines where dust had not settled.
Someone had taken documents.
“We are too late,” she whispered.
Wei’s jaw tightened. “Look at this.”
He held up a ledger lying open on a table. Its pages were crumpled at the edges, and a chair was still slightly pulled back as if someone had left in a hurry. Mei Lin scanned the contents. It showed financial records from almost fifteen years earlier. Payments, transfers, loans, all meticulously listed.
One name appeared multiple times.
Liang Minghao.
Mei Lin’s stomach dropped. “He was manipulating the finances even then.” Wei nodded grimly. “And your father hid these records. Which means he knew.”
“Why not expose him?” Mei Lin asked.
“Perhaps he was trying to protect the family. Or perhaps he did not have enough evidence yet.”
The realization sent a chill through Mei Lin. The rot her father mentioned ran deeper than she imagined.
Wei’s voice softened. “Your father was preparing you for something larger than inheritance. He wanted you to finish what he could not.”
Mei Lin closed the ledger carefully. Her hands shook slightly, but she forced her breath to steady. “If Minghao stole the most incriminating documents, he plans to erase his tracks.”
“Or he is preparing to strike first,” Wei added.
They exchanged a look heavy with implication.
Then a faint noise sounded below them. Soft. Sharp. Like a door closing.
Mei Lin’s eyes widened.
“Someone is here,” she whispered.
Wei’s hand tightened around her wrist. “Stay behind me.”
Footsteps echoed from the base of the tower. Slow. Intentional.
Wei extinguished the small lantern on the table, plunging them into dim, natural light. Mei Lin’s breath hitched as the footsteps drew closer.
A figure appeared at the bottom of the staircase, but remained in shadow.
Mei Lin could not see the face, only the silhouette.
Not Minghao.
Not a servant.
Someone else entirely.
The figure took one step closer. Their voice rose, calm and chilling.
“You should not have come here.”
Mei Lin froze.
She had recognized the voice.
The person standing in the shadows knew her name.
And they were not supposed to be on the estate at all.
- Writer
