Chapter 1: The Girl Who Lost Everything
The rain fell relentlessly over the crowded streets of Rivergate City.
Cars rushed past puddles, people hurried beneath umbrellas, and towering skyscrapers disappeared behind thick gray clouds.
Hidden among the city's luxury districts was a run-down neighborhood where broken streetlights flickered and old apartment buildings leaned with age.
On the third floor of one of those buildings, a seventeen-year-old girl tightened the worn strap of her school bag before staring at the unpaid bills spread across a small wooden table.
Hospital bills.
Medicine receipts.
Rent notices.
Every piece of paper reminded her of the life she could barely hold together.
Evelyn Hart took a slow breath.
"There has to be a way..."
She picked up the last envelope.
Final Payment Notice.
If she couldn't pay by the end of the week, her father's treatment would stop.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she swallowed the lump in her throat before slipping the envelope back into the pile.
She couldn't afford to cry.
Not anymore.
The kettle whistled from the tiny kitchen.
She quickly poured hot water into a cup of instant noodles—the only meal she would eat that day.
After three hurried bites, she grabbed a small paper bag containing fresh clothes and rushed out the door.
Every morning followed the same routine.
School.
A part-time job at a café.
Then the hospital.
Sleep for a few hours.
Repeat.
She didn't remember the last time life had felt easy.
...
The automatic doors of St. Victoria Medical Center slid open.
The familiar smell of disinfectant filled the air.
Doctors hurried through the corridors while nurses pushed patients from one ward to another.
Evelyn smiled politely at the reception nurse.
"Good morning."
The nurse returned the smile.
"Your father has been asking about you since dawn."
Evelyn nodded.
"I'll see him first before heading to school."
Room 407.
She knew every c***k in the hallway leading there.
Pushing open the door, she forced herself to smile.
A middle-aged man sat motionless on the hospital bed.
Machines quietly monitored his heartbeat.
His once-strong hands rested weakly beneath a thin blanket.
Only his eyes moved.
"Dad."
His face brightened instantly.
"My little star..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"You came."
Evelyn walked over and gently adjusted his blanket.
"Of course I came."
"You know I always will."
He chuckled softly.
"You should be worrying about your studies instead of this old man."
She shook her head.
"You've said that every day for seven years."
"And my answer is still the same."
"You're my father."
"I'll never leave you."
Silence filled the room.
Her father stared toward the rain outside the window.
"If your mother were here..."
His sentence faded.
Neither of them finished it.
Seven years ago...
One rainy night.
One car accident.
One family destroyed.
Everyone called it a tragedy.
Everyone except Evelyn.
Even as a child...
Something about that night had never made sense.
She still remembered her mother's terrified scream before the crash.
She still remembered seeing headlights chasing them.
But every adult insisted it was only her imagination.
Her mother died instantly.
Her father survived.
Barely.
Since then, he had never walked again.
Evelyn quietly held his hand.
"I'll find the money."
Her father looked at her with worried eyes.
"No."
"I don't want you working yourself to exhaustion."
She smiled gently.
"I'll be fine."
"I always am."
The lie tasted bitter.
Because she wasn't fine.
Not even close.
As she left the room, she didn't notice the man standing at the end of the hallway.
Dressed in a black suit, he watched her every movement.
His expression never changed.
He lifted his phone.
"The girl is exactly as you described."
A voice answered from the other end.
"Good."
"Keep watching."
"It's almost time she learns the truth."
The man ended the call without another word.
Outside, thunder echoed across the city.
Completely unaware, Evelyn hurried toward school...
