The key turned. The door swung open.
They stepped into the pitch-black house, dragging suitcases.
“Why is it so damn dark?” Malik grumbled. “Ami! Turn on the light!”
His hand found the switch.
The chandelier snapped on, flooding the room with golden light.
Everything stopped.
Then Eloise screamed.
The house was transformed. And in the center, like the eye of a storm, sat Grandma in her red velvet armchair, immaculate in her silk suit, emerald ring flashing as she lifted a porcelain teacup.
Her eyes, cold and sharp, fixed on them.
Beside her sat me—no faded leggings, no stained T-shirt. Hair styled. Face calm. I looked at them like strangers who had tracked mud through my living room.
Eloise pointed a shaking finger. “It’s a ghost—she’s dead—”
“If I were a ghost,” Grandma said, setting down her teacup with a precise click, “I would have dragged you to hell the moment you crossed my threshold.”
Her voice filled the room. Heavy. Majestic.
Malik swallowed hard. “Grandma? What is this? Where did all this money come from?”
He spun toward me. “Ami, what did you do?”
“Shut up, Malik,” I said softly.
The room went quiet. He stared at me, stunned.
“Don’t you dare raise your voice in front of the owner of this house.”
“The owner? I’m the owner—”
Sterling Vance stepped from the shadows. “Good evening, Mr. Malik, Mrs. Eloise. I am Sterling Vance, head of the legal team for the Sterling Group and personal attorney for Chairwoman Harriet Sterling Pendleton.”
He gestured toward Grandma. “Whom you know as ‘that old woman in the back room.’”
Silence fell. Eloise’s lips trembled.
Grandma smiled, cold. “The woman you tried to kill slowly owns this house. And the land. And the company you worked for.”
Eloise sank to her knees. “Mother, we were so stressed—we took care of you—”
“Is that so?” Grandma asked softly.
Malik pointed at me. “This is all her. She’s trying to turn you against us. This Sterling nonsense—it’s a scam—”
Sterling stepped forward. “Mr. Malik, your grandmother has been the majority shareholder of the Sterling Group since before you were born. The only reason you ever held a position is because she requested you be given a chance.”
Malik’s mouth opened and closed.
“Shall we discuss the financial portion?” Sterling asked.
Malik’s phone buzzed frantically. He fumbled it out.
Subject: Immediate Termination – Gross Misconduct and Embezzlement.
