Two weeks feel like two years.
The media circus doesn't die down—it intensifies. My mother gives three more interviews, each one painting herself as the desperate parent and Marcus as the predatory billionaire. Tabloids run headlines like "Tycoon's Twisted Obsession" and "Heiress Held Hostage?"
The only good news is that Professor Chen granted me an extension on all my coursework. The bad news is everything else.
Catherine Wu files the petition for early access to my trust. The Chen family responds within twenty-four hours with their own legal team—expensive, aggressive, and determined to paint me as an impressionable child being manipulated by a man twice my age.
They're not entirely wrong. But they're also not entirely right.
The FBI interviews me twice. Agent Morrison is polite but
