RISE OF THE LOST HEIR: ASHES TO EMPIRE

FIVE: DEBTS AND GOODBYES

A week later, Grandma Martha went in for her first chemotherapy session.

The pain was unbearable. Levi had never seen her so fragile. She begged to stop, whispered that she didn’t want to continue, but the doctor insisted the treatment was necessary.

Another week passed.

The doctor called Levi into his office and explained gently, “We need at least half of the payment to continue her next cycle. The treatment is working—but delaying it now could undo her progress.”

It felt like the ground shifted beneath him.

---

“Hello, Martha. You look much better than the last time I saw you,” Elsa said softly as she walked in, a bundle of flowers and freshly baked cookies in her hands.

“Elsa!” Martha smiled weakly. “Last time you saw me, I was unconscious, so yes—this is an improvement.” She patted the seat beside her. “Come, sit. How are you, child?”

“I’m okay,” Elsa sighed. “Sorry I haven’t visited in weeks. Things have been… a lot. And now my parents are suddenly talking about moving out of state for school.” She scoffed. “I didn’t even get time to process it.”

“Oh, please,” Martha waved her hand. “You’ve done more for us than that girlfriend of Levi’s. I hear he hasn’t even seen her lately.”

Elsa’s expression faltered—guilt flickering sharply across her face. Martha didn’t miss it.

“Elsa…” the old woman said carefully. “Do you know where that girl is?”

Elsa forced a tiny laugh. “Wh—no. Why would I?”

“Then what is it? Your eyes gave something away.”

Elsa hesitated, then exhaled. “I think I’m… stuck in the biggest dilemma of my life.”

“Ah,” Martha murmured, folding her hands. “You young people always think too much. But we all need someone to talk to. Go on.”

Elsa looked down at her fingers, twisting them nervously.

“What if you know a secret that’s not yours to tell? And the people involved… you care about them. You know that revealing it will break one of them completely, but keeping it is eating you alive. You can’t even look them in the eye. What do you do then?”

Martha blinked, stunned by the weight of what Elsa implied.

Elsa tried to brush it off. “Sorry, I know it doesn't make sense and sounds crazy—”

“Sense or not,” Martha said gently, “that sounds like a heavy burden for someone your age.”

She continued softly, her voice calm and full of old wisdom.

“It doesn’t matter whether you love them, or whether the truth will hurt them. What matters is: will it free them? Sometimes people stay trapped in situations that harm them, simply because they’re afraid to let go. Like you—your parents want you to leave the state, and you’re scared. Not because it’s wrong, but because it means leaving behind your friends, your favorite spots, your neighbours… everything you know.”

Elsa swallowed hard.

“And it’s the same with your secret,” Martha said. “If telling the truth will free the person suffering in the dark, then withholding it becomes its own kind of cruelty. Secrets rot the heart, Elsa. They turn into guilt, and guilt slowly becomes resentment—not toward the secret, but toward the person you’re protecting.”

Elsa whispered, “And what if they hate me instead?”

“Then your conscience will be free,” Martha answered. “And a free conscience is far more precious than someone loving you for a lie.”

Martha squeezed her hand. “Always follow your heart, Elsa. You’re a sweet girl. Don’t let fear clip your wings. If I could, I’d take Levi far from this town too, but instead I’ve left him with more burdens.”

Her voice cracked.

“Martha…you'll get through this” Elsa whispered.

“I won’t get through this,” Martha said simply, tears welling. “When I die—and if you’re still here—be there for my mijo. Comfort him. Advise him to leave this town. You’re the only one I trust to ask. Not Tommy. Not Clarie—I never even see her. Not even his father… I don’t know who that man is.”

“What are you saying?” Elsa’s voice shook.

“I’m saying I won’t make it,” Martha said softly. “Forget the improvement—I feel death coming. And when it comes, I’m leaving Levi in your hands. Don’t let him carry his pain alone. Promise me.”

That evening, Elsa understood the depth of Martha’s love—and Levi’s desperation.

Martha wanted Levi free from every chain holding him back, even if it meant letting herself go.

And Levi wanted to keep her alive, no matter the cost.

Elsa finally nodded.

“If he hurts, if he feels lost or burdened—and I’m there—I’ll comfort him. I’ll guide him. I’ll encourage him to keep going. I promise.”

Martha closed her eyes and let out a long, trembling breath, as if a weight had lifted. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

Immediately outside, the first winter rain began to fall. People’s voices echoed through the halls, cheering at the unexpected shower.

Elsa looked up at the grey window.

Give me strength, she whispered silently.

She wasn’t even sure why she made the promise—whether out of love, guilt, or fear.

But it was done.

---

Elsewhere in the city, Levi sat impatiently in a long queue, tapping his foot against the tiled floor. When he heard the rain begin, he thought of how Grandma Martha would always call him immediately—“Mijo, get inside! Don’t let the rain soak you!”

Her phone wasn’t with her.

The realization only tightened the knot in his stomach.

“Next!” the secretary called.

Levi stood and entered the office.

“So, what brings you to Platinum Bank today?” the man behind the large polished desk asked calmly, sipping his coffee.

“I’d like to take a loan,” Levi replied, voice unsteady.

“You filled out a form, yes?”

Levi handed it over. The man skimmed through it, then raised a brow, with a slight smirk.

“You consent to using your grandmother’s house—as it’s now in your name—as collateral?”

“Yes.”

“And you understand that if the loan isn’t repaid within the given time, the property will be seized?”

“Yes. I agree.”

The banker nodded, then gestured for the secretary carrying a stack of documents.

“Sign here… here… and here,” she said.

Levi hesitated for only a moment.

Then he clicked the pen and signed it all.

Minutes later, he stepped out into the rain as his phone buzzed with the credit alert. A knot twisted in his gut—fear, regret, uncertainty.

Had he made a mistake?

Would he ever be able to pay it back?

It didn’t matter.

He could keep his grandmother alive. That was all that mattered.

He rushed to the hospital, cleared all pending bills, and even paid for her next session.

The next morning, as they wheeled Martha in, she asked him how he got the money.

“All you need to do is heal up,” he whispered, kissing her forehead.

____

Two Weeks Later

For a while, Martha seemed to be improving. Levi worked extra shifts. The Snows and others who cared visited often, bringing food and warmth to the ward.

But then—suddenly—Martha collapsed.

The ward erupted into panic. Doctors rushed her to emergency. Levi got the call and sprinted the whole way to the hospital, lungs burning, heart pounding.

“Doctor— I thought you said she was responding well?”

“We thought so too,” the doctor said grimly. “Please stay calm. We’re attending to her.”

He waited alone, trembling, unable to sit or breathe.

After an eternity, the doctors came out.

“We did everything we could. She’s in very poor condition, she won't make it. She wants to see you.”

His world blurred. He ran inside.

“Hey… hey, mijo,” Martha whispered as he hugged her gently.

He swallowed back tears. “Grandma—”

“No,” she said softly. “No crying now. Just listen. I told you I was ready for this long ago. So promise me—when I’m gone—take everything important to you and leave this place.”

“Grandma…”

“Levi.” Her tone was firm. “It’s my final wish. Promise me.”

Tears slipped from his eyes. He nodded slowly. “I promise.”

“Come here,” she whispered, pulling him into a weak embrace. They held each other as both cried quietly.

“Live for yourself, Levi,” she murmured. “Live and be happy, mijo—”

Her voice faded.

Levi lifted his head, dread tightening his chest.

“Grandma? Grandma!”

No response.

The doctors stepped forward.

“Time of death—11:54 a.m. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Levi didn’t hear anything after that.

He walked out of the room like a ghost, climbed to the hospital rooftop, and the moment the cold wind hit him—

He broke.

Every tear he’d held back for years poured out.

Every memory of his grandmother flashed before him—her laughter, her cooking, her warmth, her sacrifices, her love.

He cried until his throat burned.

He cried until he couldn’t breathe.

In one afternoon, he lost the only family he had.

And somewhere deep inside, he knew this was the beginning of a new chapter—one he wasn’t sure he was ready for.

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