THE NIGHT EVERYTHING BROKE Last Thursday, I walked into a restaurant expecting the most peaceful night ever—just a quiet corner, a glass of wine, and a relaxing meal after a long, exhausting day at work. I never imagined I would walk out feeling like my entire life had been ripped open. My name is Natalie Brooks. I’m 29 years old, and until last week, I honestly thought my family was unshakeable. Strong. Safe. Solid. I believed that for twenty years. Everything started long before that night. THE FIRST LOSS When

A decade ago, a desperate ten-year-old boy stood trembling at a rich man’s door, begging for a single bottle of water to save his dying mother. The man’s cruel words that day would haunt Viktor forever—and shape the man he would become. But when fate finally brought them face-to-face again, Viktor had a choice: revenge… or redemption. Viktor never forgot the taste of fear. It was sharp, bitter, like the dry, choking medicine his mother couldn’t swallow without water that cruel afternoon. He grew up with almost nothing. Their small,

I never imagined that losing my mom would lead to a nightmare I couldn’t even see coming—one that would steal my future and test my patience with the universe in ways I could never have predicted. But when my dad’s girlfriend drained my late mother’s inheritance to spoil her daughter, I thought I’d lost everything. What happened next? Let’s just say karma has a way of delivering justice that hits harder than anything you could plan. I’m 21, and my life suddenly turned into a drama worthy of a 2