RISE OF THE LOST HEIR: ASHES TO EMPIRE

SEVEN: CYCLES AND NOSTALGIA

The year drew to a quiet close in Northwood Crest—quiet in a way that didn’t feel natural.

It was the kind of quiet that settles only when something important is missing.

People noticed Levi’s absence long before they admitted it.

The bakery owner would glance at the door each morning.

The grocery cashier would pause every time a tall silhouette passed the window.

Children who used to run after him whispered questions their parents didn’t know how to answer.

But the truth was sobering:

No one knew where Levi went.

No one even knew who to ask.

His grandmother was gone.

Elsa and her family had relocated—packed up their memories and moved to New York.

And Tommy and Clarie? They revealed their relationship two weeks after Levi left, choosing each other without shame, though the neighborhood’s eyes burned holes into their backs.

Time didn’t pause for heartbreak.

It simply moved forward without asking permission.

_____

Levi spent a week in Los Angeles, wandering streets that never slept, trying to convince himself he could learn to breathe again. But L.A. was too loud, too glittering, too full of everything he felt he wasn’t ready for.

So he left.

And found himself in San Francisco, California—a city that looked completely different depending on the hour you caught it.

By Day

San Francisco was a painting dipped in sunshine.

Cable cars clattered down hilly streets.

Cafés spilled warm smells of sourdough bread.

Vendors hollered near the Wharf, tossing fresh crabs into buckets of ice.

Tourists took pictures with the bay winds sweeping through their hair like invisible fingers.

The sky had that blue-grey tint unique to coastal cities—clean, sharp, and cold on the lungs.

By Night

The city glowed with a kind of elegant arrogance.

Buildings shimmered gold.

Restaurants hummed with laughter.

Fisherman’s Wharf turned smoky with grilled seafood, and the air filled with salty mist drifting off the Pacific.

Street musicians played soft blues near Flearidge Lane, a street Levi now walked past every day.

Shops with glowing signs lined Marlin Row, selling everything from hand-made noodles to imported cigars.

And tucked between them, the new bakery district of Copperlight Avenue, always warm and always breathing with people.

But San Francisco was more than just a place—it was an ecosystem of success stories.

And towering above them all was one empire.

$Hale Conglomerate$.

A name people didn’t just recognize—they respected, feared, worshipped.

It was said the Hales could revive a dying business before breakfast and turn it to the next biggestbefore lunch.

Their reach stretched across states, borders, oceans.

The founder, William Hale, now in his late 80s, built his empire brick by brick, with important subsidiaries like:

The Hale Pharmaceuticals and Hospitals

Hale Construction company

The Hale & Co. Luxury hotel chains

L&T Shipping companies

Pacific Rim, Media network

Pacific Rights Legal empire

L&T Food industries

Along with his son, Leo Hale, they were known as "Business Gurus."

The Hales were an extremely important family, with connections that reached the highest levels of government and even the military. People often sought their help or approval. There was a widespread, persistent rumor that William Hale secretly controlled one of the biggest mafia networks in the country.

No one knew the truth.

But everyone feared the possibility.

Still, the immense power of the Hale name made people listen with respect and a little bit of fear.

People believed that anyone who worked for a Hale company was lucky, because the pay and benefits were fantastic.

And perhaps it was fate, or maybe just coincidence, but:

Levi’s new job fell under a construction branch owned by Hale Conglomerate.

---

It wasn’t a glamorous job—just basic site work, moving equipment, taking orders—but the pay was solid.

A construction worker in San Francisco could earn around $1,200 to $1,500 per week, depending on overtime, but in Hale they earened $1,800. Levi earned enough to eat full meals without calculating tomorrow’s hunger.

For once, life didn’t feel like a punishment.

He saved enough to rent a small apartment in Bernal Heights, a peaceful yet lively neighborhood filled with colorful small houses, balconies strung with lights, and narrow streets where neighbors knew each other by name.

He had a friendly, talkative Canadian Next-door neighbor named Luke, who was always well-informed and eager to chat.

Sometimes, when evening settled and the wind brushed against his window, Levi found himself drifting into memories he didn’t ask for—his grandmother’s soft voice, her dreams for him, her belief that he was meant for more.

He’d smile, eyes stinging.

Then—

“HEY! Are you done daydreaming!?”

A voice thundered across the construction site.

Levi snapped out of his thoughts.

“Ah—sorry, boss!”

He grabbed his safety helmet and hurried back to carrying metal beams.

San Francisco was nice.

His workplace was not.

Harold, second-in-command under the site manager, was the living definition of miserable authority—loud, lazy, and allergic to actual work.

Each day, he sat under a shade eating something new—noodles, burgers, pastries—his belly growing as his patience shrank.

“I CAN’T WORK WITH LAZY PEOPLE LIKE YOU! MOVE IT!” Harold roared, his face turning red.

The workers grumbled quietly to each other as they hurried.

"Maybe if he actually supervised us instead of spending the whole day on his phone, we'd be done faster," muttered Diego, one of the stockier workers.

"It's funny that you think he actually knows how to supervise," Karan, an Indian worker, chuckled under his breath.

"Seriously, how did a guy like that get this job? I wish the real boss—the company big boss—would come down here and catch him goofing off," Marcus added, and they shared a quiet laugh at the thought

Harold spun. “WHAT’S FUNNY!?”

They scattered.

He yelled until he tired himself out, then waddled back to his fan-cooled office to nap.

At closing, Levi declined the workers’ bar invitation.

He wasn’t rude.

He wasn’t cold.

He was simply… not ready.

Attachments hurt.

And he’d run out of pieces to lose.

---

“Yo, Levi!” Luke called from across the hallway as he reached home.

The neighborhood was warm and lively—brick houses with flowerpots on windowsills, kids playing soccer across the street, old men watching from porches, dogs barking like they owned the block.

“Evening, Luke,” Levi replied.

“You’re back early! Harold finally freed you?” Luke laughed.

Levi gave a tired smile. “Goodnight, Luke.”

“Don’t tell me you’re locking yourself in again.”

“What else should I be doing?” Levi shrugged.

““Bro—go out. Have fun. If you don’t have friends, I’ll drag you with me!” Luke said cheerfully. “There are places in this city that only come alive at night! The night is young, and so are we!"

Luke… I’m beat, man.” Levi chuckled, unlocking his door.

“Come on! It's going to be fun!” Luke shouted, but Levi was already inside, quietly closing the door on the invitation.

---

The next morning was routine again:

Up. Shower. Breakfast. Work.

Repeat.

Until something unexpected broke the cycle.

A girl appeared in front of him—literally popped into his path.

“Hi!”

She was a lovely, dark-skinned woman, slim, wearing a bright floral dress, and absolutely beaming. She looked like she had just stepped out of The Buttercup Bakery on his path home.

“Uh—hi,” Levi said, confused.

“I’m Teyana! Sorry if I startled you, but we’re having a promo at the bakery today.”

He blinked.

"My boss just created some new recipes for our snacks," Teyana explained. "She wants people to try them and tell us what they think. So, she’s offering two of our popular items for the price of one, but only if you also buy one of the new snacks and give an honest review."

"Okay," Levi said, still trying to process the sudden sales pitch.

"It's only for ten people, and I actually saved the last spot for you," she confessed, her cheeks turning a little pink. "I see you pass by here every single day, completely focused on your own world, and I thought the last spot should go to someone who isn't our usual customer—someone with a fresh view."

"Ah! I’m sorry, but I really don’t think I need to buy any bread or cookies right now," he said, trying to move past her.

She quickly stepped in front of him again. "Oh, please come on! It's not expensive, I promise! And I literally saved a spot for you! If you don't take it, who else am I going to find this early?" She looked truly concerned. "Tell you what: if you don’t like any of the new snacks or anything you buy, you can come back tomorrow, and I will personally refund you from my own money. I'm going to lose the money anyway if you don't buy."

She stood there, practically pleading. Levi felt awkward, uncomfortable with all the attention. He decided it was easier and quicker to just agree than to argue.

"Fine!" he conceded.

"Fine! Like, okay!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up with excitement.

"Okay—" she said, running to open the bakery door and happily waving him inside.

---

This was completely outside his routine, an unexpected detour. But as he stepped inside, he felt a sudden sense of ease.

The bakery was warm, beautifully designed with inviting colors and playful drawings that made your stomach rumble.

Everything was neatly arranged, —a little world made of cinnamon, sugar, and coffee beans, the whole place smelled deliciously sweet. Wooden chairs and pastel cushions filled the small space. It felt welcoming.

The aroma actually reminded him, just for a moment, of the Maple Lane Diner back home where Elsa worked. For the first time since he left Northwood, he felt a small pang of nostalgia, but it quickly faded as Teyana returned with a tray of fresh, warm pastries.

"Enjoy!" she whispered, stepping back toward the counter.

"Who is that?" Her colleague, Asha, a woman with confident eyes and a friendly smirk, asked as she walked out.

"I don't know, he hasn't told me his name—yet," Teyana whispered back, her eyes still on Levi. She was clearly smitten.

"Ohh! Is he the one you saved the last spot for?" Asha teased.

"Well, I have to say, he's handsome. Definitely strong-looking," Asha said, giving Levi a quick once-over. "Hmm, the type of guy who’d look good on my bed.”—"

"Asha!" Teyana interrupted, both embarrassed and possessive.

"Relax, I don’t steal what belongs to other women… unless they let me," Asha finished with a playful wink and went back into the kitchen.

Teyana clearly felt a connection to Levi. He was the quiet boy who passed by every morning, lost in thought, incredibly good-looking, yet totally uninterested in anything around him. He was exactly the kind of genuine, private person she wanted to know.

As Levi took his first bite of the warm pastry, feeling the simple comfort of the bakery, the biggest question remained unasked: After everything he'd been through, was Levi truly ready to let anyone new into his life?

He didn’t know the answer.

And that uncertainty…

was the beginning of everything that followed.

______