️REED️

The elevator dinged open, revealing a small group of people already inside. As I stepped in, the women among them immediately lit up, eyes wide with admiration, faces flushed with barely hidden excitement.

I smirked, stepping inside with easy confidence and pressing the button for my floor.

From behind me, I could hear the barely contained squeals, and I knew, if I turned around, I’d find dreamy stares fixed on me.

“He’s so hot,” one of them whispered, clearly thinking I wouldn’t hear.

A low chuckle slipped from my lips, and the elevator erupted into a fresh wave of giggles.

Father had always insisted I use the private elevator. Said it was more "appropriate" for someone in my position. But where was the fun in that? I wasn’t just a businessman. I was a man of presence. Forest green eyes, rich dark skin, stark white hair. I turned heads without trying. And honestly? A little attention never hurt anyone.

And that was all it ever was, and all it would ever be. A little attention. I’d never act on it. Getting involved with any of them would cost me my head, and Father wouldn’t hesitate to take it.

The elevator gradually emptied, one person after another stepping off, until I was the last one left. When the doors slid open on the top floor, I strode out with purpose and made my way to my destination: my father’s office.

Off to the side sat Miguel, his secretary, stationed at his usual desk.

“Is he in?” I asked, my tone polite but distant.

“Yes,” Miguel replied quickly, too quickly.

I raised a brow at his nervous expression, but brushed it off. Maybe he’d done something to earn Father's wrath. Wouldn’t be the first time.

I walked up to the heavy double doors and pushed them open. The moment I stepped inside, the air shifted. Heavy. Charged. Wrong.

My gaze fell first on my mother, elegant and beautiful, her rich dark skin glowing under the soft light, dark silky hair cascading down her back, and forest green eyes mirroring mine. She stood in the corner, tense, her eyes locked on mine. Wide. Fearful.

Something is definitely off.

I shifted my attention to the other side of the room, and spotted Lia, my secretary. Dressed professionally as always, her soft porcelain skin and long black hair gave her a delicate look, but right now she seemed frozen in place. Her large black eyes held something I couldn’t place.

Then, beside her was… Ryder.

My older brother. My rival. My constant shadow and nemesis.

He stood with that ever-smug, victorious smile pulling at his lips. I didn’t need an explanation to know he was behind whatever storm was brewing. He was the spitting image of Father: same dark skin, same piercing green eyes of my mother's, and the white dreadlocks he’d inherited from father was tied back neatly—save for two strands framing his face just to emphasize the arrogance he wore like a crown.

My gaze finally landed on Father. He stood with his back to me, wearing a pristine black suit, his own white dreadlocks immaculately styled. The silence pressed on my chest like weight.

Still, I pushed it all aside and got straight to the point.

“Father, you called for me,” I said, stepping forward.

“There you are,” my father replied in that deep, commanding voice of his. He turned slowly to face me… and that’s when it happened.

I didn’t even have time to flinch.

He hurled a glass of whiskey straight at me. It struck me square in the eye, shattering on impact.

A sharp gasp tore from my mother’s lips as I stumbled backward, clutching my left eye, blood seeping through my fingers as I sank to my knees.

“Ah!” I hissed through clenched teeth as the whiskey seared into my injured eye, intensifying the pain tenfold.

“Byron!” my mother cried out, rushing forward.

“Quiet, Lilian!” my father barked, silencing her with a glare. “Don’t you dare say a word! You know I’d listen to you any other day, but not today.”

“I know, Byron,” she said, her voice soft, trembling. “I know what he’s done is serious… but he could lose an eye.”

“And if he does, then so be it,” my father snapped. “That’ll be the price he pays for doing something this reckless.”

What have I done? No… that’s not the question. What has Ryder done this time?

Still clutching my eye, I watched with my good one as Father turned back to his desk, grabbed a handful of papers, and hurled them at me.

“You thought I’d never find out?!” he shouted.

Blood smeared the sheets as I reached down and picked them up with shaky fingers. My vision blurred, pain clouding my ability to focus, but I forced myself to try. It was hard. Hard to read anything and decipher meaning to it. Not with an injured eye and a disarray brain, but my father's next words made everything painfully clear.

“You had the audacity to invest fifty million dollars of company funds into a Bitcoin scheme, and it turned out to be a scam!”

My gaze shot toward Ryder and Lia.

So this is it. This is what they’ve done. This is what they've framed me for.

“How could you be so reckless? So foolish?” Father thundered. “What the hell am I supposed to tell the board? Or the media?!”

“Father…” I murmured, rising unsteadily to my feet, my balance wavering. “Father, please… let me explain.”

“Explain what, you fucking fool?!” Father roared, grabbing the bottle of whiskey from the table and hurling it at me. I barely managed to dodge it as it shattered behind me.

“You think I wouldn’t find out?” he spat, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “You’re lucky you’re still alive, and that’s only because Ryder begged for your life.”

“I didn’t do it, Father!” I shouted, desperation bleeding into my voice. “Why would I do something so stupid?!”

“Because you are a fool,” he snapped. “It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve pulled a reckless stunt.”

“Byron!” my mother cried, stepping forward, trying to calm him… but the damage was already done.

His words lodged deep, piercing something inside me I didn’t know could still break. My own father… the man I looked up to… saw me as a fool. There are certain things that you never come back from, and this is one of them. This will forever be registered in my memory.

“No, Lilian,” Father growled, dismissing her. “I’ve had it with him. For years, I’ve turned a blind eye to his stupidity, but not this time.”

“Byron, please,” my mother sobbed, sinking to her knees. “He’s your son.”

“Get up, Lilian,” he said coldly, refusing to look at her. “Your pleas won’t change anything.”

Then he turned to me.

“Reed Kairo Xalden,” he said, each word like a nail sealing my fate. Whenever he used my full name, it was never for anything good. “You are hereby stripped of your inheritance. And starting now, you’re being sent to the farmland.”

My breath caught.

“You’re going to work there indefinitely, until you learn the value of money.”

“Father, please let me explain,” I said, taking a step toward him.

“No! Get out of my office!” he roared, his anger refusing to be swayed.

“Ma, please… help me here,” I turned to my mother, my voice cracking.

“Byron, please,” my mother pleaded softly, her eyes glistening with helplessness.

“Father, I didn’t do it. I don’t even know what happened,” I said, my voice trembling, my vision beginning to blur, my head feeling dizzy.

“Get the hell out of my office before I call the guards on you!” he barked.

“Father, please…” I whispered, the words barely holding together.

“You’re still here?” he spat, reaching for the telephone and furiously punching in numbers.

I knew then, I had to leave. The last thing I wanted was to crumble completely in front of his staff, to ruin whatever pride or image I had left.

“Ma…” I croaked, tears threatening as I slowly turned to go, my eyes never leaving hers.

“Byron, please…” she cried, her voice breaking.

“Ma… please… help me…” I remember it being the last thing I said before the darkness called to me.