Liam’s POV
Vanessa told a little about her family’s business.
Her mother was part of an old lineage and was the heiress to a large investnt fund with stakes in many companies. But she and her family had been in crisis for decades, slowly losing their wealth and prestige.
Her father, on the other hand, was a rising entrepreneur in the industrial sector. The marriage ended up happening so he could take over as CEO of the family business.
"My father didn’t do a bad job, nor a brilliant one," Vanessa comnted lightly. "But my mother never liked him at all." She never considered divorce and preferred to live her whole life as a bitter and withdrawn woman.
Her only hobby was traveling the world and tasting the best cuisines available. Even with her own children, she wasn’t particularly loving.
On the other hand, Vanessa had more praise for her father, especially about her relationship with him when she was younger.
"But..." she sighed softly. "I don’t really know why, but my brother always hated ." She began to recount how when she was around 9 years old and her brother was 15, everything started to get worse.
Leo was skilled at everything, and the simple pressure of being compared to him was bad enough. But that was only the beginning of her problems.
After he started helping their father more with the business, he quickly beca his trusted advisor. And Leo managed to use that position to turn the man against his own daughter.
The story sounded absurd. But I couldn’t help but rember the disdain with which Alfred looked at Vanessa from the mont we stepped into the eting room onward.
Furthermore, he did indeed listen to everything his firstborn said. He blindly trusted Leo’s advice.
"As ti passed, my brother got involved in every aspect of my life. He managed to turn my parents against , then it was my teachers, and even my friends."
Vanessa comnted on how he was simply too charismatic and convincing, while she was just an insecure young girl.
"At one point, I thought I was going to break, that I would give up on everything, but..." Vanessa recounted how she t Seraphina when she was 14. And the two had been inseparable ever since.
Furthermore, as she got older, Vanessa learned to close herself off from the world and be tougher, not letting any of it push her away. Finally, when she got an opportunity, the girl ran away from everything. From her family and especially from her brother.
"To tell you the truth, I stole a necklace from my mother and used the money from the sale to start my business." She admitted with sha.
"After that, many things happened," Vanessa continued. "I managed to establish myself, but years later, I ended up getting back in contact with my family. I was actually forced to because of business..." she admitted with a tired voice.
In truth, Vanessa had suspicions that her older brother had found her. Then he did everything to get involved in her business.
But I still couldn’t understand that story. Why would a brother do that to his own sister?
"But... why? Why all this?" Seeing that she had finished telling the whole story, I finally asked.
"Well, that’s a question I had for a long ti too," she admitted. "In fact, this story must sound too crazy to be true. That’s why almost no one believed ."
Vanessa sighed deeply and began to tell about how one day, when she was still 15, she went to her brother’s room. They were alone and their parents weren’t ho, so she thought it was the perfect opportunity to ask about the matter.
"The other tis I had asked about it, or even begged him to stop, he simply pretended he didn’t know anything."
She fell silent for a few seconds, her body trembling softly at the mory.
"But this ti, he decided to be honest." She began to recall what Leo had told her that day.
"He said that, at first, he had done it to make sure he would be chosen as the heir to the entire inheritance," Vanessa explained.
However, according to her, as she grew more and more desperate, Leo seed to enjoy the situation even more.
She shivered in fear, her voice weakening as she rembered the twisted smile he wore that day. Vanessa told how Leo explained that it had all been entertaining to him.
"I think he’s always been a sadistic person..." Vanessa added with a distant look. "I rember once seeing him smiling in a terrifying way while torturing a stray dog."
I clenched my fists, fury pounding inside at the thought of what kind of man Leo really was.
I had t many terrible people in my life, but probably none as unapologetically cruel as him.
"I think back then, I was just his way of relieving stress. And I probably wasn’t the only one he did this to."
"I rember there was a girl he used to be friends with. Everyone said she acted strangely, and she had no other friends. But in public, he always defended her."
That said, Vanessa discovered that behind her back, he was slowly turning more and more people against the girl, until she was completely isolated.
But when she finally decided to take her own life, he seized the mont and gained fa by giving a speech about the importance of showing empathy to those around you.
There was no evidence that he had ever done anything to her. All of their exchanged ssages were normal, or even supportive.
On top of that, he was skilled: the way he turned people against his friend was always indirect, ensuring no one ever saw him as guilty.
"My older brother is truly a terrible person," Vanessa finished her story with a sigh.
"And I think, just to mock once again, he insisted that my parents invite here. After all, it’s on this trip that they’ll decide who will inherit the family fortune."
"Obviously, he’ll be the winner," she sighed. "Most of the etings we’ve had were with investors and people close to our family."
Vanessa sighed once more and admitted she was already exhausted with everything. She even said I didn’t need to put much effort into it.
After all, it wasn’t as if this was a competition she had any chance of winning.
"Just enjoy this trip and relax. After I lose, I hope my brother will finally leave alone."
"No!" I answered fiercely, clenching my fists so tightly that a drop of blood fell to the floor. "I can’t accept that."
I stepped closer to the girl, staring straight into her eyes.
"I’ll put an end to him," I declared, not even knowing how. "And you’ll be the heir."
Reviews
All reviews (0)