A month later.
The city had mostly moved on.
At least on the surface.
New scandals replaced old ones.
New headlines replaced ours.
But beneath all that—
Things were changing.
Quietly.
And powerful people always notice quiet changes first.
I stood outside the competition hall.
Hands in my pockets.
Heart racing.
Today was the final round.
Months of work.
Months of pressure.
All leading here.
Inside—
Judges.
Investors.
Business leaders.
People whose names appeared in newspapers.
People who could open doors.
Or close them.
My phone buzzed.
One message.
Unknown number.
The same one.
Her.
"Good luck today."
I smiled immediately.
No matter how many times it happened—
It never got easier.
Because every message proved something.
She hadn't given up.
Neither had I.
The competition lasted hours.
Presentations.
Questions.
Challenges.
The pressure was relentless.
Exactly how the judges wanted it.
But this time—
I wasn't intimidated.
Not anymore.
Because compared to fighting billionaires?
A presentation felt easy.
When my turn ended—
The applause surprised me.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
But real.
Respectful.
Earned.
One judge approached afterward.
Older.
Experienced.
The kind of person who noticed details.
"You've improved."
Simple words.
But they meant everything.
"Thank you."
He nodded once.
Then said something unexpected.
"Your name keeps appearing lately."
My stomach tightened instantly.
Because that could mean anything.
The judge smiled slightly.
"Not because of the scandal."
A pause.
"Because of your work."
For a second—
I couldn't answer.
Because that was exactly what I'd been fighting for.
To become more than a headline.
More than a rumor.
More than someone's boyfriend.
My phone buzzed again.
This time—
It wasn't her.
It was Adrian.
Meet me. Immediately.
No explanation.
Never a good sign.
An hour later—
I entered Adrian's office.
Something felt wrong immediately.
He wasn't relaxed.
Wasn't smiling.
Wasn't making sarcastic comments.
And that alone worried me.
"What's going on?"
Adrian looked up from his desk.
Then tossed a newspaper toward me.
I caught it.
Looked down.
And froze.
Front page.
Large headline.
A business investigation.
Several companies.
Financial records.
Suspicious transactions.
One name stood out immediately.
Ashford Holdings.
Her family's company.
My pulse quickened.
"What is this?"
Adrian leaned back slowly.
For once—
His expression was completely serious.
"Someone is digging into your future father-in-law."
Silence.
"What kind of digging?"
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The kind that destroys empires."
The room felt colder instantly.
Because powerful families survive scandals.
They survive rumors.
They survive criticism.
But investigations?
Real investigations?
Those were different.
I looked back at the newspaper.
Reading the headline again.
Then again.
Something was happening.
Something big.
And for the first time—
The cracks in her father's perfect world were starting to show.
The question was—
Who made the first crack?
And how far would it spread?