chapter 7
After Winnie was gone, the house felt different.
Not better.
Just hollow.
My parents went cold with me for a few days, then slowly started acting like nothing had happened, all for the sake of the family and, more importantly, for the sake of their precious son.
Ethan had changed too.
At least on the surface.
The spoiled prince who had never faced a real problem in his life suddenly started going to the company every day, learning operations, shadowing managers, walking around like he intended to save the empire.
One afternoon, he stopped me in the living room and smiled with all the confidence of a man too stupid to know he was already losing.
“Just wait,” he said. “You can hold fifty percent all you want. I’m still going to crush you and bring Winnie back in style.”
I looked at him like I’d look at a clown who had forgotten he was wearing makeup.
“You? You and Winnie only have one future. Getting thrown out together.”
The Meng company was not enough for me anymore.
I wanted something that belonged completely to me.
My company.
My name.
My power.
He laughed. “You? If this company ever lands in your hands, it’ll go bankrupt in a week. A country girl like you doesn’t know the first thing about business.”
I pouted a little on purpose. “That would be terrible. If the company went under, I’d have to starve.”
He laughed harder and walked off like he had already won.
The next day, my secretary came to see me privately.
“Ms. Meng, your brother has been falsifying internal reports. It’s strange. The company is stable, but the paperwork he’s preparing makes it look like operations are collapsing.”
I did not even look surprised.
“Don’t stop him,” I said. “Let him keep going. And if necessary, help him a little.”
My secretary blinked but nodded.
A few days later, the family summoned me into the living room.
My father slammed a stack of documents down onto the coffee table.
“Madeline, the company is in crisis. The cash flow is on the verge of breaking. Right now, only you can save the family. Transfer your shares back to me temporarily so I can stabilize everything.”
My mother jumped in right away. “The sudden change in shareholding caused a chain reaction. Give them back to your father for now. Once everything is stable again, we’ll divide things properly between you and your brother.”
She took my hand and spoke with forced tenderness.
“You’re my real daughter. I know that now. I won’t favor anyone over you again.”
My brother glared at me. “This mess happened because the shares landed in your hands. It’s your fault. This is the part where you make up for it.”
Then my father pushed the financial reports toward me.
“You’ve started learning company matters, haven’t you? Then you can understand the numbers. If this keeps going, Meng Group is finished.”
I did not even bother pretending to study the pages.
I already knew what they were.
Carefully prepared lies.
Clean ones.
Professional ones.
But lies all the same.
I looked up at my father. “So the company really is on the brink of bankruptcy?”
He nodded anxiously. “Yes. Why would I lie to you?”
I took a slow breath, then smiled.
“Okay. For the sake of the Meng family, I’ll hand them over.”
The joy on their faces was immediate and disgusting.
My mother squeezed my hands. “I knew you were the good daughter.”
I smiled back.
Yes.
I was.
Just not in the way they thought.
The transfer was completed.
And two days later, the company’s cash flow developed a hole so enormous it made my father’s original lies look modest.
He stormed at me in a panic.
“Madeline, did you do something? How did the company collapse this fast?”
I widened my eyes innocently. “What are you talking about? Weren’t you the one who said the company already had a cash-flow problem? The shares are back in your hands now. You’re in charge. If there’s a problem, why are you asking me?”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then the real fall began.
Debt piled up.
Banks moved in.
The once-glorious Meng Group slid toward bankruptcy so fast it barely looked real.
The mansion itself was seized and marked for liquidation.
My brother pointed at me and screamed, “You’re a curse. Ever since you came back, nothing good has happened!”
I just nodded.
“That’s true,” I said. “I’m actually in a pretty good mood.”