In the state library, Jenna buried her head in her textbooks, studying for her college entrance exams, when her phone buzzed.
"Hello, Mom." She whispered, eyes still glued to her textbook. "I'm still at the library, I'll call you when…"
"Jenna, you need to come home, right now." Her mother's voice was a jagged wreck.
Jenna's breath hitched. "What's wrong Mom?" She asked, already shoving her books into her bag.
"I can't say, just come home." Her mother replied with a sob. A loud crash echoed in the background followed by a man's barked orders. Then, the line went dead.
Jenna didn't wait, she bolted.
The cab ride was a blur. Her phone was blowing up… texts from friends, alerts from news apps. She couldn't bring herself to look. She powered the phone off and stared blankly out the window until she reached the house.
When she got home, the front door was hanging open.
"Mom!" She yelled. The living room was a wreckage of overturned furniture and shattered glass.
It was a mess. The rubble of her old life was everywhere but the house was eerily quiet.
"Mom!" She called out again, heading upstairs.
She found her mother in the master bedroom, huddled by the window like a ghost. Her hair usually pinned in a perfect chignon, was a wild thicket around her face. Her eyes were red and swollen.
"Mom, what is this? Where's dad?"
"Jenna," her mother's soft voice hitched as she spoke. "Your father… they took him. Embezzlement. Fraud. They're saying he stole millions."
Jenna's legs went weak. "That can't be true. Dad would never."
"They have evidence. Creditors, the bank, the press—they've already been here." Her mother's tears finally spilled.
Jenna rushed to her, hugging her. "Why didn't you call me earlier, Mom?" She hated that she wasn't here for her mother when she had needed her the most. She bit her tears down.
"I… I didn't want you to face all that." Her mother smiled through her tears, showing how much she loved her.
"What did they say?" She asked, dreading the answers her mother was to give to her.
"They're seizing it all, Jenna. The money, the house. Everything is gone."
Jenna held her tightly, the weight of the world crushing them both. "We'll figure it out, Mom. I promise."
Three years later.
Jenna stood across what was once her father's empire. Now it was just an affiliate of the Stanton Towers, a tech company, the memories flooding through her head.
Three years ago, her whole life had changed in a second. Her father had been arrested, and all her friends became enemies. Her betrothed Scott Castilian. had even betrayed her with her best friend Lily Stark.
Only her secret savings account had kept them afloat… a smart move, but a small one.
She remembered her last visit to her father in prison. He had been a shell of a man, refusing to explain himself. His final words haunted her: "Stay away from the Castilians." She never understood why.
Her father and Mark Castilian had been best friends. The marriage alliance with Scott was supposed to cement two empires—one self-made, one generationally wealthy. Instead, when the hammer fell, the Castilians didn't lift a finger.
A few days after she visited her father, the call came. Her father had committed suicide. Jenna didn't believe it, but she didn't have enough time to grieve before her mother collapsed with broken heart syndrome and had remained bedridden ever since.
Now, Jenna was back in Greenwood City. She had one goal: finish her advanced data science program at Caston Tech and get her mother the heart surgery she desperately needed.
"Just one year," she whispered to herself. "Just one year and we can leave forever." She turned around walking back to the campus.
She decided to stop at the supermarket to get some supplies for her apartment.
She had just gotten to the front of the supermarket when she sighted a familiar silhouette in the parking lot, making her blood run cold. She didn't bother to stop and walked ahead.
"Jenna?" The voice called out in a skeptical tone.
Jenna rolled her eyes at the sound of the voice. She didn't stop, just kept on walking.
"Jenna? Hey?" Lily Stark hurried towards her, her friends following behind. She grabbed Jenna's arm, forcing her to turn. "It's really you. I didn't know you were back." Lily had a cunning smile on her face. 'This bitch could dare to show her face in Greenwood after everything.'
"Lily, who is that" Samantha Grey, one of Lily's friends asked, meeting up with them.
"Oh, it's just an old friend," Lily said, her condescension thick enough to choke on. Lily looked Jenna up and down.
Jenna was dressed in black pants and a simple pink shirt. She had flats on and her hair was done up in a ponytail. Although she looked ordinary and different from the wealthy girl from two years ago, she was still as beautiful as ever, even with a bare face. Lily couldn't hide the jealousy in her eyes when she saw that pretty face that looked way better than hers, but she took delight in the fact that Jenna was beneath her now.
Jenna could understand the look on Lily's face but she didn't have the patience to deal with any drama. She tried to turn around and walk away but Lily held her back.
"Why are you leaving so soon Jenna? It's been so long since we both saw each other," her voice was soft and seemed caring but only Jenna knew what it meant.
"Let go of me Lily," she spoke up, feeling impatient.
"Wait! Jenna. The Jenna you always spoke of, Lily?" Debbie Jones, another of Lily's friends asked, somewhat surprised.
"Wait, the criminal's daughter Jenna? That Jenna?" Samantha Grey added.
Jenna's eyes darkened as she looked at Lily. How dare Lily speak of her father with such terms?
Lily loosened her grip on Jenna. "Hey girls don't say that, Jenna is an old friend, remember?" Her voice was dripping with fake honey. "It's not her fault her father was a thief. We shouldn't punish a daughter for the sins of her father."
"How dare you, Lily!" The rage hit Jenna like a physical wave. She didn't think; she simply wrenched her arm back with such force that Lily stumbled, her heels skidding as she nearly hit the pavement.
"Jenna!" A deep familiar voice barked from behind them.