Rain began to fall as eight-year-old Emily watched her father’s casket disappear into the earth, clutching a white rose with trembling hands. She didn’t fully understand death, only the deep emptiness it left behind. Beside her stood her stepmother, Monica, looking too polished for grief, her red lipstick untouched by the storm.
Richard Carter had been a respected real-estate investor, admired for his integrity and quiet wealth. His sudden death shocked Los Angeles and sparked whispers—not just about his life, but about his fortune. Emily knew none of that; she only felt the painful reality that her father was gone.
After the funeral, Monica drove Emily away in silence—until she pulled to a stop near Santa Monica Boulevard. “Get out,” she said coldly. Confused and frightened, Emily stepped out into the rain as the Mercedes sped off, leaving her alone in a black dress with her father’s photograph pressed to her chest.
A man in a dark suit noticed her—Daniel Reeves, her father’s former lawyer. Kneeling beside her, he gently asked what happened, his heart sinking as she whispered, “She left me.” Daniel immediately requested a copy of Richard’s will. Minutes later, rain dripping from his phone screen, he read the truth: every asset belonged to Emily in trust—Monica had nothing. And now, Emily wasn’t alone.
