14/04/2026
Chapter 2: The Dying Ember
The heavy doors to the rooftop creaked open, groaning against the force of the wind. The guards didn't gently lead me; they dragged me, my heels skidding against the wet concrete. The rain had picked up a cold, needle-like drizzle that soaked through my midnight-blue silk gown until it felt like a heavy, freezing second skin.
They threw me down. I landed hard on my knees, the rough surface scraping my skin. I didn't cry out. I couldn't. My throat felt like it was filled with ash.
"Careful now," Meilong’s voice drifted over the sound of the rain. She was standing under a large black umbrella held by another guard, looking down at me like I was something unpleasant she’d stepped on. "We can’t have you looking too 'handled' before the police arrive. A su***de needs to look... peaceful."
I looked up at her, my hair plastered to my face. "You’re wearing my mother’s pearls."
Meilong touched the necklace at her throat, a slow, taunting smile spreading across her lips. "They look better on me anyway, don't they? Your mother had such a 'safe' taste. I prefer things with a bit more... fire."
I turned my gaze to Liang Hao. He was standing by the ledge, staring out at the night skyline as if he already owned every light in the city. He looked so calm. This was the man I had shared my bed with. This was the man I thought would help me carry the Li legacy.
"Hao," I rasped. "Look at me."
He didn't turn. "There’s nothing to look at, Mei. Just a girl who wasn't strong enough to keep what was hers."
"My father treated you like a son!" I screamed, the sound torn away by the wind. "He gave you a seat at the table when you had nothing!"
"And I took the whole table," Hao said, finally turning to face me. His eyes were dead. No regret, no anger. Just boredom. "Your father was a sentimental fool. He thought loyalty was a currency. I taught him and I’m teaching you that power is the only thing that matters."
He stepped closer, the guards moving aside to let him pass. He knelt in front of me, his expensive suit trousers getting ruined in the rain, but he didn't seem to care. He grabbed my jaw, his grip bruisingly tight.
"Tonight, the Li Corporation officially becomes the Liang Empire," he whispered, his breath warm against my cold skin. "The news will report that the grief-stricken Li Mei, unable to cope with the pressure of her parents' death and her own financial failures, took a leap of despair. The su***de note is already in your bedroom. It’s written in your hand or should l say a very good imitation of it."
"I will haunt you," I hissed, my eyes burning with a rage I didn't know I possessed. "I will be the shadow that never lets you sleep."
He laughed, a dry, hollow sound. "Dead girls don't haunt people, Mei. They just rot."
He stood up and nodded to the guards. They hauled me toward the edge. I fought then. I fought with every ounce of strength I had left, kicking and biting, but it was useless. They shoved me against the cold iron railing of the ledge.
The drop was terrifying. Below, the streetlights looked like tiny, uncaring stars.
"Do it," Meilong urged, stepping out from under her umbrella. Her face was twisted with a sudden, ugly envy. "Push her! I’m tired of looking at her face!"
"No," Hao said, stopping the guard's hand. He looked at me, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "Let her do it. Give her one last bit of 'Li pride.' Jump, Mei. Or we'll make it very, very painful for you before you go over anyway."
I looked at them one last time. I realized then that my love had been my weakness. My trust had been my blindfold. But as I looked into the abyss, the fear vanished. It was replaced by a cold, crystalline vow.
"I won't let your filthy hands be the last thing I feel," I said, my voice echoing with a strange, haunting authority.
I climbed onto the ledge myself. The wind tried to push me back, but I leaned into it.
"I'll see you in your nightmares, Liang Hao," I said. "And Meilong? Enjoy the pearls while you can. They’re stained with blood now."
I didn't wait. I stepped back.
The sensation of falling was a violent rush of air. For a heartbeat, I felt weightless. Then, the cold wind turned into a roar in my ears. The ground rushed up to meet me a wall of blackness.
If there is a God... if there is a Devil... give me back my life.
The impact was a white-hot explosion of pain, and then... nothing
