Chapter 3 In bankruptcy

After the funeral, and saying goodbye to the people who accompanied them, Ariadna looked out the window, towards the garden where she and Melina used to play when they were children. For a moment she thought she saw her sister among the rose bushes, smiling as she used to do, before her pride and arrogance separated them.

"I'm sorry, sister," she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek, "I hope you can forgive me, I'm so sorry."

Athena entered the room a little later, her face showing the pain and how exhausted she felt.

"Ariadna, darling, you should eat something." She said sweetly.

Ariadna turned to her.

"How could I eat when Melina is gone? Mom, I... I was so cruel to her, and yet she never reproached me for how I treated her."

Athena sat on the edge of the bed, as tears filled her eyes.

"We all made mistakes, we failed Melina in some way." Mixed feelings invaded her, all generated by the guilt she felt.

At that moment Leonidas arrived, his face had that studied expression of false concern, although his eyes lacked true emotion.

"Ariadna, you must get over it, you can't continue like this."

Ariadna turned to look at him, unable to believe what he said, his lack of empathy.

"Get over it? Are you serious, Leonidas? My sister is dead."

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in an elegant Italian villa, Dimitrios Galanis read the news, the headline caught his attention, 'Tragedy dulls engagement of the heiress Kallistos.' The mention of that last name made Dimitrios' mind flood with memories.

"It's time" he muttered to himself. "Time to go back and do justice."

He remembered the words his sister had told him before she disappeared, "Ariadna and Leonidas behaved like monsters towards me, they did terrible things to me at school."

He ordered his luggage to be packed, he was determined, his revenge against Leonidas, but mainly against Ariadna, was about to begin.

Meanwhile, in the Kallistos mansion, Athena was crying in her room, Nikolaos entered, on his face you could see the suffering for the death of his daughter.

"Athena, what happened to us? How did we fail Melina in this way?"

Athena stared at him, her gaze was full of reproach.

"You don't have to ask, you know it as well as I do, we always put Ariadna over Melina, and now Melina is gone."

Nikolaos dropped into an armchair, giving a long sigh, feeling guilt choking him.

"I was the worst parent to Melina, a terrible father."

At that moment, his phone began to ring insistently, it was Theodoros Petros.

"Nikolaos, I know this is not the time, but you should think about your companies, maybe you should talk to the vice president, leave the company decisions in his hands for a while, so you can take a few days to be with your family.

Nikolaos sighed, he was silent for a moment, thinking.

"I think you're right, friend, now I can't concentrate on business, when I can't even with myself."

A month later, Leonidas prepared a romantic dinner in his apartment, placed candles, champagne, and soft music, shortly after Ariadna arrived, still dressed in mourning.

"Leonidas, what is this?" She asked, annoyed that he didn't respect her pain.

"I tried to cheer you up, my love, it's time for you to stop mourning, you can't be like this forever, life goes on."

"I can't do this, not now, I hope you understand, I'm sorry, Leonidas."

Before he could answer, she turned around and left the apartment, Leonidas felt furious and frustrated at her rejection.

Ariadna wandered through the streets, her mind was clouded by pain and guilt, without realizing it, her steps took her to the train tracks, she stopped at the edge of the platform, watching the rails.

"It would be so easy to meet you, little sister." She thought, taking a step forward.

But thinking about the pain it would cause her parents, she stopped, it was the first time she thought of others, before herself.

Meanwhile, at the offices of Kallistos Enterprises, Nikolaos was facing a tough crisis. After leaving the company in the hands of the vice president to be with his family, things had gone terribly wrong.

"Damn it! How is this possible?" Nikolaos shouted, then hit the desk hard with his fist. "How could you steal such a large amount of money in such a short time?"

The vice president, sitting in front of him, paled terribly.

"Mr. Kallistos, you see, I... investments, the market, no..."

Nikolaos interrupted him.

"You will not get out of here, I will hand you over to the police, vermin like you cannot walk free." The man paled even more, but made no attempt to escape. The mastermind behind all this had promised to help him and a million-dollar sum.

Nikolaos nervously loosened his tie. He felt like a fool, but it was too late to regret it. The damage was done, and Kallistos Enterprises was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Days later, he called an emergency meeting with investors, and the tension in the boardroom was palpable.

"Gentlemen, I know the outlook for the company is not encouraging, but I know that with your support we can get ahead." Nikolaos' words were pleading.

The investors turned to look at each other, all shaking their heads.

"We are sorry, Nikolaos, you know it is risky, too high an investment, without the assurance that it will work."

When everyone left, Nikolaos slumped into an armchair, feeling defeated.

"Mr. Galanis." A voice startled him, it was Dimitrios, who had been watching the meeting from a corner."

"Who are you?" Nikolaos asked distrustfully.

Dimitrios smiled with a certain mockery.

"Someone who can save your company."

Nikolaos' face lit up with hope.

"Are you serious? Are you willing to invest?"

"Of course, that's why I came, but I have one condition for doing so."

"Whatever, you tell me." Desperate Nikolaos was willing to accept whatever.

Dimitrios' gaze flashed with malice as he stared at him.

"I want you to grant me your daughter Ariadna's hand in marriage." He said coldly.

Nikolaos paled upon hearing such madness. Was this man asking him to sell his daughter?

"You can't be serious, it's madness." He said as he stood up.

"I'm very serious, Mr. Kallistos, it's this or ruin, you decide."

Nikolaos dropped back into his chair.

"I need time to think about it." He managed to say.

Dimitrios nodded.

"I'll give you 48 hours, Mr. Kallistos, not a second more."

Dimitrios stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Nikolaos tormented and confused.

That night, upon arriving at the mansion, Nikolaos called Athena and Ariadna to his office, his sad and gloomy face indicating that something bad was happening.

"Dad, what is happening?" Ariadna was worried seeing him in that state.

Nikolaos took a deep breath before speaking.

"The company is on the verge of bankruptcy."

Athena brought her hands to her mouth, stifling a scream.

"What are we going to do? We can't go bankrupt."

"There is a solution, an investor has offered his help, but..." She paused.

"But what, Dad?" Ariadna asked.

Seeing his daughter, Nikolaos felt his heart break.

"He asked for your hand, daughter."

Ariadna felt the world crumble around her.

"No!" she exclaimed, furiously. "You can't force me to marry a stranger, I'm engaged to Leonidas, have you forgotten that?"

Athena stood up.

"Nikolaos, you can't be considering that proposal, using our daughter as a bargaining chip, that would be a very low thing to do."

Nikolaos sank into his chair, seeming to age 10 years in a matter of minutes.

"We have no choice, the situation is worse than you imagine." He said with deep regret.

"What do you mean, Dad?" Ariadne asked as a lump formed in her throat.

"That we have to vacate the mansion, it no longer belongs to us, we've lost it."

"What?" Athena and Ariadne couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"Dimitrios Galanis not only offered to invest in the company, but he bought all our debts, the mansion, the cars, everything that was ours, now belongs to him."

The two women remained silent, trying to process the news that Nikolaos was giving them.

"I need to be alone, and I'm really sorry about all this." He said, then stood up and left the studio.

Stunned, Athena and Ariadna didn't know how to react.

"This can't be happening, there must be something that can be done."

"I'm going to call Leonidas, he'll know what to do, I'm sure his father will offer to help us."

Ariadna waited anxiously for Leonidas to react, and he finally answered.

"Ariana, honey, what's going on?"

"Leonidas, we're in trouble." She paused for a moment, feeling embarrassed. "A man named Dimitrios Galanis bought all our debts, since the vice president ruined the company, he wants me to marry him or we'll be out on the street."

Leonidas remained silent for a moment.

"What? Marry another man? Impossible, don't worry, love, I'll find a solution, no one is going to take my fiancée away from me.