Sonia's face twisted with rage almost instantly."Oh, please!" Sonia snapped angrily as she finally found her voice. She threw both hands into the air in frustration before glaring fiercely at me. "Would you stop acting as though you're some kind of genius who planned every single thing that happened?"She glared before pointing an accusing finger directly at my face."You keep talking as though all of this happened because of you," Sonia said through clenched teeth, her voice becoming louder with every word she spoke. "Meanwhile, you know very well that you were nothing more than an ordinary man who happened to get lucky."I remained completely silent.I simply looked at her calmly and allowed her to continue speaking.Seeing that I wasn't interrupting her only encouraged her further."You knew absolutely nothing about the strange illness that suddenly attacked every one of us," Sonia declared loudly as she folded her arms tightly across her chest. "Don't stand there pretending other

LEONARD'S POVThe moment I returned to my mansion, the silence that welcomed me felt strangely comforting after everything that had happened at the banquet. The events of the evening replayed briefly in my mind, I loosened the tie around my neck as I slowly climbed the staircase.Although the evening had been exhausting, there was still one thing occupying my thoughts. The gemstone, ever since the Vice President of Cardinia had presented it to me as a token of gratitude for saving his life from the poisoned wine, the mysterious stone had behaved in a way that made absolutely no sense.It refused to let me touch it. No matter how many times I tried, it always released a powerful force that sent me flying backward. Yet… Other people could touch it without experiencing anything unusual. That mystery had continued bothering me for days.Tonight… I wanted answers. After entering my bedroom, I quietly shut the door behind me before walking toward one corner of the room. A large antique book

SONIA'S POVI lay motionless on my bed with my eyes fixed blankly on the white ceiling above me. No matter how hard I tried to clear my thoughts, the events from the previous evening refused to leave my mind. Every single moment replayed itself.."I still can't believe it," I whispered bitterly to myself, my voice barely audible in the quiet room. "How could everything possibly turn out like this?"The bedroom remained silent. No answer came.I slowly closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions raging inside me."No," I murmured firmly as I shook my head. "There has to be another explanation. There has to be."Slowly, I pushed myself into a sitting position and leaned against the padded headboard behind me. Folding my arms across my chest, I forced myself to stop thinking emotionally and begin thinking logically.Almost immediately, my father's words from the previous night echoed clearly inside my mind."Maybe Leonard isn't really the owner of Evergre

SONIA'S POVSlowly, I turned away from the television and looked at my parents, who were just as stunned as I was.My voice trembled as I spoke."So... Leonard never needed the money after all."Neither of them answered immediately.I swallowed hard before continuing."Look at what he just did. He took forty billion dollars..." I pointed helplessly at the television. "...and simply gave every single dollar away."My mother finally let out a deep breath before shaking her head bitterly."No," she said through clenched teeth. "That wasn't charity."I looked at her in confusion."What do you mean?"She folded her arms tightly across her chest, and anger gradually appeared on her face."Don't you understand what he just did?" she asked, her voice becoming sharper. "That boy only wanted revenge."I frowned and asked."Revenge?""Yes," she replied immediately. "He took every dollar we had. He made us empty all our accounts. Then, instead of keeping the money for himself, he threw it away to

LEONARD'S POVI had just finished speaking with the manager of Golden Stone Orphanage when a sudden commotion broke out near the front gate. Loud voices drifted across the courtyard, followed by what sounded like an argument. I frowned slightly and shifted my attention toward the gate. From where I stood, I couldn't make out exactly what was happening because a number of visitors and reporters were blocking my view.I looked at the orphanage manager and asked calmly, "Mr. Harris, what is happening over there? It sounds like someone is arguing with the security guards."The manager looked in the same direction before shaking his head apologetically."I'm afraid I don't know either, Mr. Storm," he replied honestly. "Everything was perfectly peaceful just a moment ago. Whatever is happening seems to have started only now."He smiled politely before adding, "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'll go and see what the problem is."I nodded and said."Please do. I'd also like to know what h