“Emily, bring me the business report,” Stephanie said as she made her way to her office.

Greeting came from different corners as she walked past. People stood the moment they saw her. Some murmured “Good morning, ma,” while others simply nodded, but one thing was clear—her presence alone made everyone adjust themselves. Her aura wasn’t loud, but it carried the kind of energy that made people move out of her way without being told.

“Here, ma,” Emily, her personal assistant, said as she hurriedly followed behind Stephanie, clutching a folder to her chest.

Stephanie pushed open her office door and walked in without stopping. “Were you able to get him to agree to the meeting?” she asked, flipping open the folder before she even sat down. Her eyes never left the papers.

“Yes, ma. He agreed to have the meeting with you,” Emily replied, slightly out of breath.

“Good,” Stephanie said finally raising her head. “Get everything ready. We have to get that partnership.”

“Okay, ma.”

“You can leave now.” Stephanie paused, then added, “And Emily, you can have a day off tomorrow.”

Emily blinked. “Really, ma? I mean… can you handle it all by yourself?”

“Emily,” Stephanie sighed, looking at her over the papers. “I will be fine. Just get everything I need together, and I will have Lara take care of other stuff. Just go take care of yourself. You need it.”

Emily smiled, clearly relieved. “Okay, ma. Thank you.”

When Emily walked out, closing the door behind her, Stephanie allowed herself to lean back in her chair. She let out a slow breath, the kind that came with satisfaction. Her lips pulled into a small smile—not a soft one, not gentle. But the type that came when a plan was working exactly how you wanted.

Everything was falling into place.

She picked up the report again, but her mind wasn’t really on the numbers. Instead, it drifted to the real reason she wanted the partnership. Jonathan Adams. The one person who didn’t know he was walking straight into a trap. The one person she needed to get close to.

Her fingers tapped the table lightly. “Jonathan Adams,” she muttered. “You have no idea.”

She stood up and walked toward the large window behind her desk.

Stephanie crossed her arms. She remembered a time she used to look at the world with wide eyes and hope. But that ended years ago. Hope died with her parents.

Now she had goals. Plans. And Jonathan Adams was step one.

A soft knock came on the door. “Come in,” she said without turning.

Lara poked her head in. “Ma, the finance team said they’ll send their report in an hour.”

“Fine,” Stephanie said.

“And also, the designers want to confirm the color theme for the presentation slides.”

“Tell them to use black, white, and gold. Nothing too loud.”

“Yes, ma.”

“And Lara,” Stephanie added. “Emily will be off tomorrow. Handle everything.”

Lara nodded. “Yes, ma.” She left as quickly as she came.

Stephanie turned back to the window. Her reflection stared at her—strong, calm, collected. Nothing like the frightened girl who ran from her burning house all those years ago.

She had changed. She had become someone else—someone who wasn’t scared anymore.

Her office phone rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. She walked back to her desk and picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Ma, I just wanted to confirm the time for tomorrow’s meeting with Mr. Adams,” Emily’s voice came through.

“9 a.m. sharp,” Stephanie said.

“Yes, ma. I’ll add it to your schedule.”

“And Emily?” Stephanie said.

“Yes, ma?”

“Make sure everything is perfect. I want no mistakes.”

“Okay, ma.”

Stephanie hung up and leaned back again. She could already picture it—Jonathan walking into the meeting room, probably smiling politely like he always seemed to do in interviews.

People always said he was different from his father. Soft. Gentle. The type of man who apologized when someone bumped into him. The type who laughed easily. The type who trusted too quickly.

Stephanie let out a small laugh. “Too easy,” she whispered.

She went back to her table and opened her laptop. Her fingers moved across the keyboard, checking documents, preparing files, setting things in place. She liked working. It kept her focused. It kept the memories from creeping in too much.

Hours passed. Calls came and went. Staff walked in and out of her office. Meetings were scheduled, emails sent, people assigned tasks. And through it all, Stephanie kept her face unreadable. Calm. Firm. Controlled.

No one knew that beneath that calm was a fire that had been burning for decades.

She took a sip and let out a small breath.

Her mind drifted to tomorrow again. Jonathan Adams. The last thread connecting her to everything she lost.

He didn’t know who she was. He didn’t know what his father had done. He didn’t know the history soaked in blood and ashes.

But he would know soon.

Stephanie walked back to her desk, placed the cup down, and sat slowly. She opened the folder Emily brought earlier.

“Empire Group Annual Partnership Proposal,” the title read. Under it was the Adams family company logo.

Her jaw tightened.

She traced the edge of the paper with her finger. A small habit she had whenever she was thinking deeply.

“Time’s almost up,” she whispered.

She imagined walking into their company one day, watching everything fall apart from the inside. She imagined the shock on Mr. Adams’ face when she finally revealed who she was. The panic. The fear. The regret—if he even had any left. And also imagined Adams empire burning the same way her home once did.

It made her smile again.

Not a soft smile. Not a happy one.

But the smile of someone who had been waiting too long.

Her phone vibrated again. A message from Emily:

“Everything is ready for tomorrow, ma.”

Stephanie typed back: “Good.”

She closed her laptop and stood up. The day was almost over, but her mind was running full speed. From tomorrow onward, everything would move faster. The game was starting.

“Good night, ma,” one of them said.

“Good night,” Stephanie replied with a small nod.

She stepped into the elevator and leaned against the wall. The soft hum of the elevator filled the silence. Her mind was already planning her moves, one after the other.

When the elevator doors opened at the lobby, the security guard greeted her. “Good night, ma.”

“Good night,” she answered.

She stepped outside into the cool evening air. Cars passed, people walked by, But Stephanie didn’t pay attention to any of it. Her mind was somewhere else.

Somewhere darker.

Somewhere filled with smoke and screams and broken promises.

She opened her car door, paused, and looked up at the sky for a moment.

Everything was finally coming together. Jonathan had played right into her game, and she was going to raze everything they had built to the ground. Slowly. Carefully. And without mercy.

She slid into her car, shut the door, and whispered the words that marked the beginning of everything:

“See y’all in hell.”