RISING FROM THE ASHES : FROM PRISONER TO SHADOW TYRANT

BEYOND PRISON AND DISOWNMENT

"You’re saying.… This is the man I’m supposed to marry?" 

Scarlett Caspian’s calm voice echoed inside the vast office as she held the thin file between her elegant fingers, her sharp eyes scanning the photograph clipped on the first page.

Her secretary, who stood respectfully across the desk, lowered her head slightly before answering.

"Yes, Miss Scarlett. This is the young master Ethan Carvendish."

Scarlett did not reply immediately.

Her eyes remained fixed on the photograph.

A young man stood there, his expression cold, distant, and completely detached from the world around him, yet there was something hidden inside those eyes, something deeper than pain, something far more dangerous.

In the other photos as well, in every family photo, while the adopted son stood proudly at the center, Ethan remained at the edge, like an unwanted servant who had accidentally wandered into the frame.

Not a single complete photograph of him existed. In every image, he was either cut in half or reduced to a fragment of a hand or shoulder, as if someone had deliberately erased his presence.

"Why isn't there any proper photo of him?" Scarlett raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

The secretary gave an awkward smile under Scarlett’s questioning gaze, "Well, Miss Scarlett, we tried very hard to obtain a proper one from the Carvendish family, but inside the entire mansion, apart from Young Master Charlie’s collection of photos and portraits, there was not a single proper photograph of Young Master Ethan."

Scarlett tapped on the first photo, "What about this?"

"This was taken by our people when they randomly spotted him on a downtown street," the secretary said softly.

Scarlett hummed with a faint smile, her fingers slowly traced the edge of the photograph.

"He went to prison," she said calmly, her tone neither judgmental nor sympathetic, merely stating a fact.

"Yes," the secretary replied carefully. "Three years. The entire elite circle knows about his scandal. After that incident, his reputation was completely destroyed." 

"Prison destroys reputation? Since when?" Scarlett sneered, "My grandfather, who fought for years in the war, was imprisoned simply because he questioned those in power. He was imprisoned because he stood up for the rights of his fellow soldiers. If I remember correctly, his reputation only rose after he went to prison.... Looks like the Carvendish family has a very unique way of understanding things."

The secretary remained silent and pointed at the other line from the data they've collected about Ethan, "Recent rumors circulating within elite circles say the Carvendish family has officially disowned him."

"Interesting!" Scarlett’s lips curved very faintly, not in mockery, but in interest.

"Disowned…" She repeated quietly, as if tasting the word. 

To the outside world, Ethan Carvendish was nothing more than a fallen heir, a man abandoned by his own blood, a name erased from his own family.

But Scarlett’s eyes did not see a fallen man.

They saw something else.

Something even her secretary was not qualified to understand.

"Miss Scarlett," the secretary hesitated before speaking again, "forgive me for asking, but… are you truly willing to accept this marriage?" 

Scarlett slowly lifted her gaze.

Her eyes were calm, yet they carried a pressure that made the secretary lower her head instantly.

"Do you think," Scarlett asked quietly, "that I would agree to something I do not want?" 

Her secretary’s body stiffened immediately in a tensed state.

"No, Miss Scarlett."

Scarlett closed the file halfway before placing it on the table, her fingers resting on the photograph as her eyes turned cold.

"This is all?" She asked calmly, but the pressure in her voice made the secretary’s back stiffen instantly.

"Y-Yes, Miss Scarlett… This is the official data available in elite records."

Scarlett’s lips curved slightly, but there was no amusement in it.

"Official records are often the most useless," she scoffed coldly. "This is nothing more than basic and mediocre information."

The secretary lowered her head further, not daring to interrupt.

Scarlett tapped her finger lightly on Ethan’s photograph.

"I don’t care about meaningless labels like prison or disownment," she continued, her voice turning sharper with every word. "I want to know everything about this man. Every detail. Not a single thing should be missing."

Her eyes narrowed faintly.

"Collect something valuable," she said. "Not this pile of useless information anyone can obtain.... I want the truth… not the lies the world chose to believe."

The secretary bowed her head apologising for disappointing Scarlett, "I understand, Miss Scarlett. I’ll use every available channel to obtain the complete truth, and I apologize for failing you."

"Do your job properly this time," Her voice was calm again, but the authority in it remained absolute. "And prepare everything for tomorrow."

"Yes, Miss Scarlett." 

"And don't forget to send the invitations." 

Her secretary nodded respectfully.

"Sure, Miss Scarlett." 

Scarlett leaned back slightly in her chair, but her eyes still fixed on Ethan’s photograph.

Her voice dropped to a whisper only she could hear, "So… you really survived after all!"