Chapter 1 Meeting Ex-Boyfriend Again

At the highest level of Aegis Law Firm, Vanessa Owen trailed behind the assistant, and her steps wavered with every move.

An old, washed-out T-shirt hung loosely on her frame, while frayed jeans brushed her knees, and the sight clashed sharply with the polished luxury of the building around her.

With trembling hands, Vanessa gripped her battered handbag and pressed her nails into her skin because the sting helped her hold on to what little pride she had left.

There was nothing left for her beyond this moment.

Since her parents had been sent to prison, she had gone from one law firm to another across the city, yet none of them were willing to touch the case.

Only Aegis Law Firm, after listening to her story over the phone, had agreed to give her an appointment.

"Miss Owen, you may step inside now. The lawyer you scheduled with is still tied up in a meeting, so our boss will be seeing you instead," the assistant said with practiced politeness as she pushed the heavy wooden door open.

After steadying herself with a slow breath, Vanessa stepped inside the office and kept her gaze lowered.

"Go ahead and sit down," a deep and unsettlingly familiar voice said, cutting through the room and sending a cold wave through her body.

In that instant, Vanessa could not move.

Her head snapped upward, and her gaze locked onto the man seated behind the wide desk.

A sharply tailored black suit covered him from shoulder to toe, and his shirt was fastened all the way up with deliberate precision. Gold rimmed glasses sat neatly on his nose, while the eyes behind them looked distant and cold, and their sharp scrutiny felt impossible to escape.

In the past five years, that face had haunted her sleepless nights again and again, sometimes carrying the stubborn youth they once shared, and other times reflecting the bitterness and shame left behind by their separation.

However, nothing in her memories compared to the commanding authority and control that radiated from him now.

Standing before her was Shawn Madison, the man she once loved and lost.

How could fate be this cruel? Vanessa's thoughts collapsed into silence as her eyes drifted to the nameplate resting on the desk. Chief Lawyer, Shawn Madison.

She then recalled the assistant's earlier words, realizing that the law firm belonged to him.

In that moment, she felt ridiculous, like a helpless target who had wandered straight into a predator's carefully laid snare.

Without giving her a chance to gather herself, Shawn moved first. He reached for the slim file on the desk with steady fingers and spoke in an unhurried tone. "Owen Group has declared bankruptcy, and the outstanding debt has reached thirty billion."

There was no emotion in his voice, and the words sounded as impersonal as a news broadcast. "Chairman Felix Owen and his wife, Diane Owen, are under investigation for commercial fraud and embezzlement, and both have already been taken into custody."

Every sentence struck Vanessa with brutal force, and the impact rattled her already fragile composure.

Color drained steadily from her face as the silence stretched on.

After setting the file aside, Shawn leaned back into his broad leather chair. His hands came together calmly, and his attention finally lifted from the papers to rest on her.

What met her gaze was open ridicule.

"Vanessa Owen." He said her name without warmth, as though she were no more than a stranger passing through.

"I have a question for you." He inclined his body forward just enough for the lenses of his glasses to catch a cold glint. "How did the young woman who once stood before the entire school and announced that I would never be good enough for her fall to this point?"

The moment those words landed, Vanessa lost her train of thought entirely, and a sharp ringing filled her ears.

Shame and humiliation rushed through her without mercy.

Her lips shook, and forming words became painfully difficult.

"Shawn..." Her plea came out rough and strained. "My parents were set up. I know I have no standing to come here and ask you for help. But I have nowhere else to go anymore. I'm begging you to help me. If you agree to take this case, I will do whatever you ask. Anything you want."

While the last of her words left her mouth, Vanessa dropped to her knees on the cold marble floor with a hollow thud.

Nothing about their separation years ago had ended with grace, which was why Vanessa would never have stood before Shawn like this unless she had been truly cornered.

At the center of her desperation was a fragile hope that Felix and Diane could still be pulled back from the brink of prison.

Because there was no other path left, she forced herself to cast aside what little pride she had left and face Shawn.

From his position above her, Shawn stared down without the slightest flicker of feeling crossing his face.

Seconds crawled forward inside the suffocating quiet of the office.

With every moment that passed in silence, Vanessa felt her chest grow heavier, and her hope sink lower.

Clarity finally struck her then. This meeting had never been about offering help, but about allowing him to see just how broken and pitiful his former girlfriend had become.

After all, expecting him to abandon old wounds and rescue the family of the woman who once hurt him so deeply had been nothing more than a cruel illusion.

That realization crushed her spirit and wrapped her in a suffocating wave of hopelessness.

Slowly, Vanessa pushed herself up from the floor, and it felt as though every trace of strength had already abandoned her.

With great effort, she lifted her lips into a strained smile and said faintly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Madison. I apologize for taking up your time."

After those words, she turned her back on him and began to walk away, and each movement felt unbearably heavy.

To her, every step forward felt dangerous, as though she were walking along a sharpened edge that led only toward ruin.

Eventually, her fingers closed around the icy surface of the doorknob.

Once she stepped through that door, her parents would have no chance left, and their lives would be destroyed.

Just as she gathered the courage to open it, Shawn's voice cut through the silence behind her. "Stop."