Candle in a Black Hole

Chapter 1 Prologue At the Akkarabadi Manor Amidst the frenetic pace of the city’s business district, a colossal white manor stood with regal poise. Its opulent architecture served as a grand testament to the immense wealth of its inhabitants. Though technically on the city’s outskirts, the value of this plot of land was so extortionate that it remained utterly beyond the reach of the common man. However, within the vast expanse of the drawing room, the atmosphere was as heavy as a gathering storm. "Father... Grandfather... what on earth is this madness?" Maya, a petite young woman with soft, light-brown hair, asked in a voice that trembled with frailty. Her beautiful golden-brown eyes stared at the elders before her in sheer disbelief. At twenty-three, she had only just begun to taste the freedom of the world, yet she felt as though she were being cornered. Beside her, she watched her family with a face drained of all colour. "Maya, darling... listen to me first," Banharn, a middle-aged man burdened by the weight of the family legacy, spoke feebly. He avoided his daughter’s gaze. At this moment, ‘Bodi Group’—the technology empire he held dear—was spiralling into a critical void. Scrambling for investors was his only remaining path, and the offer from Grandfather Pin oldest friend, ‘Grandfather Frost’, was the final straw he had to clutch. "But Father... he’s more than ten years my senior! Not to mention the scandals with famous starlets that crop up every fortnight," Maya protested, her heart sinking at the mere mention of ‘Alex Zandier’. He was a powerful man who had the whole world questioning whether he was a brilliant entrepreneur or an international mobster hiding his claws beneath a bespoke suit. "Maya... I think he might be a bit standoffish, but at least he can look after you," Yaya tried to console her, her trembling hands gripping her daughter’s tightly. "Mother! How can you even say that?" Maya snapped in disappointment. "We’ve only just discussed how he switches companions every time he’s at an event or in the papers. Why throw me into that bonfire? Grandfather, please, tell me what is truly happening to our house!" "Maya..." Banharn let out a long sigh. "The firm has been haemorrhaging money ever since our best researchers were poached. We haven’t kept pace with the world for a long time, child. Without this capital, everything Grandfather and I built will fall into ruin." "And how can you be so certain, Father, that this money hasn't come from some mafia dealings, like in those novels?" she pressed, her voice laced with suspicion. "Have you been reading too much of that romantic rubbish, Maya?" Grandfather Pin, who had been silent for a long while, thundered. "Frost is a friend of mine. He’s watched you grow up. If his grandson were a villain, do you really think we wouldn't know?" "If he’s truly that decent, then why is he so obscenely wealthy while everyone else is going bankrupt, Grandfather?" "Enough!" Grandfather Pin rose to his feet in a fit of rage. "There will be no further argument. Just wait for him to arrive and settle the wedding date!" With that final, cold command, the elder stalked away, leaving a piercing silence in his wake. Maya turned to her father with a reproachful look, but she was met with an even colder ultimatum. "If you don't marry him... then pack your bags and move into a rented flat. I’ll sell off every one of your posh apartments. Without Mr Zandier, Bodi Group is nothing but a heap of rubble!" He turned and left immediately, unable to bear the sight of her a moment longer. Left alone, the two women were silent until Yaya began to sob uncontrollably. "I’m so sorry, Maya... your grandfather’s side of the family has truly done all they can to help." Maya slumped into her seat, her strength spent. She let out a hot, desperate breath. Her mind drifted to another man—the one who had just confessed his love, and whose proposal to be her boyfriend she had accepted only a few days prior. "How did it come to this?" she whispered softly to herself. At the Zandier Estate Nestled within the undulating folds of three interlocking mountain ranges, the Zandier mansion stood as a formidable monolith. Its Victorian architecture, draped in obsidian black and punctuated by striking veins of gold, commanded the landscape—a sprawling kingdom that broadcasted a billionaire’s untouchable reign. Inside the opulent drawing room, the air was thick, charged with the static of an impending clash as grandfather and grandson locked eyes in a silent, stubborn duel. Alex Zandier, a man of thirty-seven whose imposing stature reached a towering one hundred and ninety-seven centimetres, reclined against his leather armchair with a calculated arrogance. His eyes, the hue of deep-sea emerald, flickered with a frigid light. A cigarette hung precariously from his lips, sending thin, grey ribbons of smoke into the air—a subtle act of defiance directed at the elder across from him. "What exactly are you playing at? And why wasn't I consulted... you old fossil?" Alex asked, his voice level but laced with a razor-sharp edge of provocation. Grandfather Frost, a man who had weathered a lifetime of storms, remained utterly unfazed by the blatant lack of respect. He raised his teacup, taking a composed sip. "And if I had spoken, would you have listened? No, it is far more efficient to settle the matter first and inform you of the aftermath. As for those starlets you parade through the papers every fortnight... stop bringing them into my house. I find them utterly loathsome." Alex let out a dry, cynical smirk, exhaling a cloud of smoke with nonchalance. "And tricking that family into a marriage? Aren't you afraid they’ll come and burn this decrepit pile of stones to the ground?" He didn't outright refuse or agree; he knew all too well that beneath the mask of a refined gentleman that fooled the world, Grandfather Frost was a man who could snuff out a life without a second thought. "He is an old friend of mine, and I have seen the cracks in that firm for a long time," Frost replied with a heavy sigh. "I waited for him to plead for my assistance, but alas, his pride is far too steep. He has liquidated almost every asset he owns just to keep that company breathing until today." Two Days Prior... At an upscale café in the heart of the City. "Frost, you old devil... what’s so bloody urgent that you had to drag me out today?" Grandfather Pin greeted his lifelong friend, his voice taut with anxiety. Grandfather Frost set his teacup down with practiced composure. "Pin... about your firm. Shall I lend a hand? I’m prepared to have my grandson invest and salvage whatever is left of the wreckage. But," he paused, his piercing gaze locking onto Pin’s, "there is a single caveat." The proposal sounded simple enough, yet it was the final, fraying lifeline that was impossible to refuse. Pin stiffened, his expression darkening instantly. "I have only one granddaughter, Frost... and that grandson of yours? The papers are full of his sordid affairs with a different woman every week. Not to mention he’s more than ten years Maya’s senior. Are you truly asking me to sell my own flesh and blood?" Frost let out a weary sigh, delivering the most cutting truth of all. "If you go bankrupt, Pin, what sort of life will your granddaughter have then? At the very least, under my protection, she will never know want. Go home and sleep on it. If you decide to proceed, simply send word. The moment those two put pen to paper on the marriage registry, Bodi Group will be hauled out of the abyss." He left it at that, rising to depart and leaving his old friend submerged in a heart-wrenching choice—between the pride of the family dynasty and the future of his most beloved granddaughter.