Lucas stood there like his body had forgotten how to move. His eyes remained fixed on Maya, but he no longer felt present in the room. The words she had spoken kept repeating in his head, each time cutting deeper than the last.“How could you?” he asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. “You fooled me…”Maya crossed her arms, her face hard and distant. “I never said I loved you the way you loved me,” she replied coldly. “You assumed that on your own.”Lucas shook his head slowly, as though refusing to believe what he was hearing. “You cried in court,” he said. “You begged me to stay strong. You told me you would wait for me.”Jake laughed from behind her, the sound sharp and cruel. “She deserved an award for that performance,” he said. “I almost believed she cared about you too.”Lucas turned his head toward Jake, his eyes burning. “You destroyed my life,” he said.Jake stepped forward confidently. “No,” he replied calmly. “You destroyed your own life the moment you thought

Lucas slowly raised one hand, not in surrender, but in dismissal.“For people who talk so much,” he said calmly, “you seem to have forgotten how to solve simple digital problems.”The tech experts fell silent for a moment, surprised by his tone.Lucas let out a short breath and continued. “Since you all believe I am useless here,” he added, “maybe I should wish you good luck in losing all your money.”A faint, careless smirk crossed his face, one that surprised everyone. Without waiting for a response, he turned his back on them.Rain tapped softly against the pavement as Lucas took a step forward, ready to walk away and leave the humiliation behind him.“Wait!” the wealthy man suddenly shouted.Lucas stopped walking, but he did not turn around.“Prisoner!” the man called out again, his voice filled with panic.Lucas clenched his jaw slightly. “I am not a prisoner,” he said evenly, without looking back.The man coughed and tried to steady himself. “I don’t know your name,” he said qui

“If this is real…” he murmured under his breath, his voice low and uncertain, “…then this changes everything.”He looked down at the card again, turning it slightly between his fingers. It looked so ordinary. So simple. And yet, according to Andrea Rogers, it held more wealth than most countries.Lucas gave a faint, disbelieving shake of his head.“I could eat,” he said softly, reminding himself. “I could get proper clothes… a place to sleep… a house.”He paused, his jaw tightening slightly as another thought crept into his mind.“A fresh new start as the world's second richest man .”For the first time since leaving prison, the crushing weight of uncertainty began to lift slightly from his chest. He imagined walking into a fine restaurant, ordering anything he wanted without checking the price. He imagined stepping into a high-end boutique,buying expensive clothes without thinking about the cost, choosing clothes that actually fit him, that made him look rich and important.But j

Some people shook their heads in amusement.Others whispered to one another while glancing at Lucas, and a few laughed openly without bothering to hide their contempt.He could feel their eyes on him, and could hear fragments of their conversation.“Did you see that?”“He actually thought he could hug that man with how wretched he looks .”“What a joke.”Victoria, who had already begun walking away with Henry, suddenly stopped and turned back, she had not yet finished. She looked at Lucas again, her expression filled with irritation and superiority.“Do you know what is truly embarrassing?” she said loudly enough for those nearby to hear. “It is not even your situation. It is the fact that you still do not understand your place.”Lucas said nothing, but his gaze shifted toward her.“You are standing here,” she continued, gesturing toward him with a slight wave of her hand, “trying to buy cheap, worn-out clothes in the middle of the night, and yet you still carry yourself like you ar

Lucas remained standing where he was, his entire body still as he tried to process what he had just heard. Maya’s parents, however, seemed completely unbothered by his presence. They continued sipping their drinks by the pool, speaking to each other in low tones and occasionally laughing, as though Lucas was nothing more than an insignificant interruption in their morning.For several long seconds, Lucas said nothing.Then he slowly shook his head, as though trying to clear the disbelief clouding his mind. He took a small step forward, his eyes fixed on them.“Wait,” he said, his voice firm but controlled. “I need to understand something.”This time, Maya’s father glanced at him, though his expression carried clear irritation, as if Lucas was disturbing his peace unnecessarily.Lucas swallowed slightly before continuing.“Were you really the ones who just called the house I bought for you a dog house?” he asked, his voice filled with disbelief.Maya’s mother let out a soft, amused c