For when you're broken

Four

Chapter Four

The chandelier in Mrs. Li’s mansion cast a cold glow over the marble floors, each crystal glinting like a gleam of a knife.

Sophia stood by the tall windows, clutching her phone. On the TV, a news anchor’s voice droned, teasing a “Zhang Group exposé.” Mrs. Li, in a silk robe, flipped through channels with a manicured nail, and a smirk.

“Sophia, dear,” she said, voice like honey over ice, “get his schedule. Find out about the summit. Do it now.”

Sophia’s fingers tightened around her phone. She saw Leo’s face in her mind, years ago, in their tiny apartment, handing her his coat in a freezing storm, his own shoulders shivering. “Mom, I don’t—”

Mrs. Li’s eyes narrowed. “Stay with that fraud, and you’re no daughter of mine. Penniless. Erased from our world. Choose, Sophia.”

Her heart pounded. She felt Leo’s warmth in her memory, but her mother’s cold threat pushed against it. Shaking, Sophia unlocked her phone, found Leo’s Asia Green Tech Summit schedule, and sent it to Mrs. Li. Her stomach twisted with guilt. She went into the bathroom, her bare feet cold on the marble floor, and looked at herself in the mirror. She could see her guilt staring back.

Meanwhile, in a private club filled with cigar smoke and dim lights, smoke wreathed the heavy velvet curtains. Mrs. Li sat across from Mr. Wei, a powerful Lin Dynasty Group boss known for his ruthless deals. He pushed a document across the dark wooden table — a fake will with the Zhang Family crest, naming a distant cousin as the new heir.

“This will bury him,” Wei said, his voice low. “The media’s ready.”

Mrs. Li’s lips curved. “Good. He’ll beg by tomorrow.”

They leaked the document. Within hours, headlines screamed across screens: “Delivery Boy’s Empire a Lie!” Mrs. Li sipped her wine, savoring the thought of Leo’s fall. “A fraud can’t wear a crown,” she murmured.

The Maybach SUV glided through the city, its leather seats cool against Leo’s tailored suit. Neon signs streaked past the tinted windows. He flipped through notes for the Asia Green Tech Summit, where tycoons like Mukesh, the energy magnate, and Gautam, the infrastructure titan, awaited his pitch for the Green Core Initiative. His first real stage as Zhang heir. His pulse quickened.

A tablet on the armrest blinked to life. Breaking news: “Zhang Heir a Fraud! Forged Will Revealed!” The anchor’s voice was a knife, slicing through Leo’s calm. A grainy image of the forged will flashed, the dragon crest distorted. Leo’s jaw tightened, his reflection pale in the dark glass. The driver glanced back, eyes wide, then quickly away.

“Sir, the summit host…” the driver began, voice trailing off as Leo’s phone buzzed.

Leo gripped the tablet, knuckles white, the zeros in his bank account now a distant memory. “Keep driving,” he said, voice steady but hollow.

The airport terminal buzzed with Illuminated billboards, their hum drowned by the chaos of flashing cameras and shouting voices. Leo stepped out of the SUV, his suitcase heavy in his hand. Reporters swarmed like wasps, microphones thrusting forward and lenses glinting.

“Fraud, Mr. Zhang? Did you steal the fortune?” one shouted.

“How’s it feel to crash, Zhang?” another sneered.

Leo’s chest tightened, but he kept his head high, his eyes burning. The summit host’s call echoed in his mind: “We can’t have controversy, Mr. Zhang. Your slot’s canceled.” A bystander in the crowd smirked, muttering, “Big shot’s done.” Leo pushed through, each step felt heavier, his voice, his power, silenced by the frenzy. He boarded a regular flight, not the private jet he’d expected

At Zhang Group HQ, the glass-walled office felt like a cage. Mr. Chen stood by the window. “The board saw the headlines,” he said, his voice grim. “They’ve frozen your assets and authority. A legal investigation has started.”

Leo’s hands clenched. “It’s a lie. You know it.”

Mr. Chen’s eyes softened, but he shook his head. “They need proof, Leo. Until then…”

Security appeared, their faces blank. “This way, Mr. Zhang.” They escorted him out, past staff who whispered behind their hands, their gazes dodging his. Outside, Leo stopped at a coffee shop, his black card in hand. The barista swiped it, frowned. “Card declined, sir.”

Leo looked at the machine, feeling the rejection hit him hard. His business, his reputation, everything was lost. He walked into the evening, while the city’s busy lights seemed to laugh at him.

In his cramped apartment, the bulb flickered, casting jagged shadows on the cracked walls. Leo slumped on the couch, the same one he’d slept on nights Sophia pushed him away. His phone glowed with the news clip, the forged will’s image frozen onscreen. He zoomed in, his heart racing. The date was blurry and slightly wrong, just a small hint that something was off. But there was no clear proof. No way to argue or fight back.

He dialed Mr. Chen, once, twice, ten times. The line stayed busy, each unanswered call a nail in his chest. He slammed the phone down, the sound swallowed by the empty room. “Something’s off… but what?” he muttered, his anger dissolving into despair. The city’s pulsing glow taunted him through the window, a world he no longer belonged to.

Back at Mrs. Li’s mansion, the TV replayed Leo’s airport humiliation, cameras catching his strained face. Sophia stood frozen, her throat tight. Mrs. Li lounged on a velvet sofa, wine glass in hand. “He’s nothing now, Sophia. Come home to your real family.”

Sophia’s mind hovered over her phone, then typed: “I’m sorry.” She sent it anonymously, her heart pounding, and deleted the message from her history. Mrs. Li’s voice cut through. “You’ll thank me, Sophia. You’re a Lin, not his shadow.”

Sophia stayed silent, her resolve crumbling under her mother’s gaze, the threat of disownment a blade at her back.

There was a soft knock at Leo’s apartment door, almost drowned out by the buzzing light bulb. A courier with a blank face gave him a small locked box with the Zhang family crest carved on it. A note from Mr. Chen said: “For when you’re broken.”

Leo ran his fingers over the words and remembered Mrs. Li’s warning from that night, Do you think your grandfather didn’t keep secrets?, like a ghost haunting him. He held the box but felt too tired to open it, his mind racing. Did she know more? Was this her plan?