Chapter Twenty

Katherine

The atmosphere around me felt really damp with silence in the aftermath of Jayden’s hurtful and bitter words. It was as if the whole world had frozen right around me, and all that remained was the bitter sting of raw rejection.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my phone clutched very tightly in my hand. As my fingertips hovered over the screen, trembling ever slightly as I stared at Jayden's name. Why did it feel like I was holding onto a lifeline that was slipping away from me? Why?

I dialed his number again and again,, for the hundredth time, hoping, praying that this time, he’d answer. But he just refused to.

The call went straight into voicemail.

I stared at the screen for a long moment before finally deciding to leave another message. The words came out even more shakier than I intended.

"Jayden, please… pick up. Pick up the bloody phone. I don’t understand. You can’t just walk away like this. You simply can't. Not after everything we’ve been through. Please, don’t do this to me. I… I still love you. Don’t make me lose you. Please." I said over the phone sobbing

I hung up and stared at the blank screen, my heart pounding really hard against my chest.

I dialed again, but still, no answer. I was met with that same cold, dark silence.

The night dragged on in an agonizing quiet form. I couldn’t bring myself to stop crying. It wasn’t just the breakup, it wasn’t just the pain of losing Jayden. It was everything in general. My father in jail. My family’s name in total ruins. My future crumbling right before my eyes and I jusy couldn’tdo anything to stop it.

Nothing had turned out the way I thought it would. It turned out in the most horrible way I could have imagined

After hours of pacing around my apartment, I finally made a decision. I just couldn’t stay here, crying all night long, wallowing in my own misery. I needed to face the one person who could, perhaps, shed some light on the darkness swallowing me whole.

My father. He was part of the reason for my current predicament.

I grabbed my jacket, wiped my eyes, and walked out the front door.

The prison was colder than I had originally anticipated, the heavy gates kept creaking as they opened for me. The guards didn’t speak as I merelywalked past them, their eyes merely impassive. I could feel the heavy weight of their stares on my back, the judgment, the resentful looks.

I wasn’t here as a visitor, not anymore. I was here as his daughter, someone who had once believed her father could do no wrong.

I was now no longer certain of that.

I was led through the sterile hallways bybsome guardsto a small room with a single table, and two chairs opposite each other where my father sat, his face looking very tired, his eyes heavy with guilt. He should be guilty for all the pain he caused me

He looked older now, his usual confidence already replaced with something I had never seen before. Shame.

I sat down across from him, the glass between us cold and impersonal.

"How are you holding up dad?" I asked softly, my voice still shaking. Despite my attempt to remain composed and calm, I found it hard to be.

He didn’t answer just immediately. He just stared at his hands and his fingers twisting together in a nervous habit. I hadn’t seen him like this in years.

"I’m really sorry, Kat, I am." he muttered finally, his voice thick with regret.

I didn’t even know what to say.

I had spent my entire life idolizing him, believing he was this untouchable, above reproach powerful man. But now, sitting across from him in this cold, gray room, I realized I had been wrong all my life.

I waited, my heart pounding in my chest as I waited for him to say more.

"I… I did it," he finally admitted to me, his voice barely above a whisper. "I embezzled money from the company. I had been for years. It started small, you know, just taking a little here and there. But then… then it got out of hand."

I felt my stomach drop.

All these years, I had been proud of my father, never questioning him, believing he was above reproach. But now, it felt like everything I had known was built on lies.

"How could you? But why? Was it that shut of a secretary that got you to do it?" I whispered, my voice barely audible as my heart shattered.

But I was furious

He looked at me then, his eyes full of regret. "No no, I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want to lose everything we had. But it was greed, Kat. I couldn’t stop."

I swallowed hard, trying to force back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"I thought I could control it, but the more I took, the more I needed. It was like a drug, and I couldn’t break free. And now look where we are."

I couldn’t speak. I was numb, my mind spinning as I tried to piece together everything he had said. The weight of his betrayal was suffocating.

"I thought I was protecting you. But now, I see it. I see what I’ve done." He paused, his voice cracking. "I’m sorry, Katherine. I’m so sorry."

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to steady myself. "Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you ask for help?"

He shook his head slowly, looking at the floor. "I didn’t want to drag you into this. I didn’t want you to be like me."

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. "What am I supposed to do now, Dad?" I finally managed to ask.

He didn’t answer immediately. He just sat there, staring at the table, as though he was lost in his own thoughts.

"I don’t know," he whispered after a long pause. "But you have to make things right. This mess—it’s bigger than both of us now. I don’t know how, but you’ll find a way."

I stood up abruptly, unable to take the suffocating weight of his words anymore. "I don’t know if I can," I whispered, barely holding it together.

I turned and walked out of the room, the guards closing the heavy door behind me with a heavy thud.

I sat in my car, staring out the windshield, still sobbing but I didn’t really see anything. The streetlights blurred as tears filled my eyes once more.

I had wanted answers, but all I found was more pain, more questions.

I cant believe I thought I was prepared for this. Nothing had prepared me for the rubbish I had just witnessed.

The one person I had looked up to, the one person I had trusted without question, had failed me.

And now, everything was broken.

The drive home was a damp blur. I couldn't even remember the streets I passed or the turns I made. All I could think about was my father’s admission, his regrets, his brokenness.

But then I thought about what he had said at the end. He was right. This was bigger than both of us.

There was a part of me that felt like I should walk away from it all, leave this life behind and find something new, something where I wasn’t bound to my family’s mistakes. But deep down, I knew I couldn’t do that.

I had to face the consequences. I had to make things right, somehow.

But as I sat in my empty apartment, I realized just how far I had fallen.

Jayden was gone. My father was in jail. My life, the one I thought I had everything figured out, was crumbling.

And yet, somewhere deep within, I knew I had to rise from this. I had to fight. For myself, for my family—whatever was left of it.

And that fight, that battle, was only beginning.

Jayden. He betrayed me, that bastard. It took a while but now I had come to that realization. I am going to make his life hell. 

I took out my phone and dialed his number but it too me straight to voicemail as predicted .

"Jayden you fucking cunt, I will make you life hell. You hear me? Hell! I screamed as I threw my phone at the back of my car still driving.

This was all him. And Emilia? PhI'm not done with her at all, she caused all of this. She is the reason my father was in prison. She is the reason my life was in total shambles.

I sped through the streets with full determination as I was on a quest to ruin the life of the very people that ruined mine. Kane Group company was very dear to Richard right? I will bring it to the ground