I forged Naum’s signature. I transferred the assets. The day the deal was finalized, I went to the office and told him. I remember the look on his face. At first it was confusion, then disbelief, and finally – devastating, silent pain. He didn’t scream, he didn’t threaten me. He just looked at me and said: “You didn’t take away my company, Asene. You took away my faith in people.” Then he packed his things and left. I never saw him again.
He tried to sue me, of course. But I was prepared. My lawyers, paid with the money from the deal, destroyed him in court. They portrayed him as an incompetent dreamer and me as the savior of the company. Naum lost everything. He was blacklisted, no one wanted to hire him. He was forced to work low-skilled jobs just to survive.
And I… I built an “Empire”. I turned it into a giant. I amassed wealth I had never dreamed of. But every night, when I lay down in my huge bed, I saw Naum’s face. His voice echoed in my mind. Over time, I managed to drown it out with noise, with work, with luxury. But he was always there, in the shadows.
“Get out,” Deyan said in an icy voice, bringing me back to the present. “Get out of my house and never come back.”
Lilia stood between us, torn. “Deyane, he didn’t know…”
“Does that change anything? Does that change the fact that grandpa is on his deathbed because we don’t have money for adequate treatment? Does that change the fact that you had to drop out of school and work as a waitress twelve hours a day? Because I know why you left the cafe, Lily! Because the shifts weren’t enough to pay for the new drugs, and you started cleaning offices at night! Does that change that fact?!”
I looked at Lilia. She was shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks. So that was it. She hadn’t found a better job. She had found a harder one. Even harder. And I, in my ignorance, felt good about leaving her tips that were a drop in the ocean of despair for her.
The guilt threatened to suffocate me. I had to do something. I couldn’t turn back time, I couldn’t erase my betrayal, but I could try to repair at least a small part of the damage.
“I’ll pay for everything,” I said, my words ringing hollow even to myself. “The best clinics, the best doctors. Everything you need.”
Deyan laughed. It was a dry, bitter laugh, devoid of any joy. “Now? Now you’ve come to your senses? Do you want to buy your forgiveness? Do you want to throw a few banknotes at us beggars so you can sleep peacefully in your silk sheets? No, thank you. We prefer to preserve the little dignity we have left.”
“It’s not about me, it’s about him,” I said, nodding toward the room where Naum lay. “He deserves a chance.”
“You took away his chance thirty years ago,” Deyan snapped. “Now go away.”
He opened the door and looked at me expectantly. I knew there was no point in arguing. Every word I said would only deepen the wound. I turned and walked towards the exit. At the threshold I stopped and looked at Lilia.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
She didn’t answer. She just looked at me with those eyes of hers, in which I once saw light, but now I saw only the reflection of my own monstrous deed.
I left the apartment building and found myself back on the gray, featureless street. But the world seemed different. As if someone had sucked the colors out of it. I got into my luxury car, which looked ridiculous and vulgar against the backdrop of the general misery. The leather interior, which usually brought me a sense of comfort, now felt like a coffin.
I was traveling home, but I knew I was returning to an empty shell. The past I had tried so hard to bury had not just woken up. It had come to claim its due. And it had the face of a nice girl serving me coffee, and an angry young man who had every right to hate me.
Chapter 3: Debt and the Dilemma
I returned to the mansion and the silence hit me like a physical blow. I walked around the rooms like a ghost. Every painting on the walls, every expensive item seemed meaningless, mocking. This was a palace built on the bones of a friendship. Wealth soaked in the tears of a ruined family.
I didn’t sleep all night. Images were spinning in my head – Naum’s sick, exhausted face, Lilia’s eyes full of pain, Deyan’s gaze blazing with hatred. His words rang in my ears: “Everything, every misfortune in this family, starts with you!”
In the morning I made a decision. I couldn’t accept their refusal. It wasn’t a question of buying forgiveness. It was a question of basic humanity. I owed it to them. I owed it to Naum.
I called my personal lawyer, Radoslav – a cool-headed and calculating man who had been with me for years and knew how to navigate the murky waters of law and business. I told him everything, not sparing a single ugly detail of my betrayal. Radoslav listened to me silently, without showing an ounce of emotion.
“The situation is delicate, Asene,” he said finally, in his even, analytical tone. “A direct offer of money will be met with hostility, as you have already seen. It will be perceived as an attempt to silence them or as an insult. We must approach it more intelligently.”
“What do you suggest?” I asked, ready to do anything.
CONTINUE READING IN THE NEXT PAGE
