"No! That thieving f***!" Jordan Everhart screamed, swiping everything off the table with one arm swing.
His voice reached an octave higher as he grabbed the box of memorabilia from the floor and threw it against the wall, sending everything inside scattering on the carpet with a primal scream.
Eighteen-year-old Celeste Everhart, who stood farthest away from her family, felt chills down her spine. She had never seen her father lose his temper like that, not even during the worst times in their family.
But maybe this was their worst time yet.
Even Mina Everhart, her stepmother, couldn't find words to calm or soothe her husband's anger. All she could do was stand behind him, her back against the wall, face as white as paper, and her hand half outstretched to touch him.
If only she dared to come any closer.
Jordan Everhart usually kept his temperament under control in front of his precious firstborn, Orion Everhart. But even that was forgotten.
Her older sister sat at the end of the sofa, crying silently with one hand over her mouth as she witnessed her strong father succumb to temporary madness. Her usual straight back was bowed, and her shoulders hunched—something Mina would have scolded her for doing, but today it felt only fitting.
Celeste knew it was bad, but seeing her father like this made everything more real.
The Everhart sugar company was going bankrupt, and it was no fault of her father's.
They were betrayed. His best friend, Julian Micklem, had embezzled funds, taken out loans, stolen money, sold company property, and run away with it, leaving the company under serious debt and Jordan Everhart the sole inheritor of that debt.
The box of memories from their old days was like salt to a freshly opened wound.
Even if he wanted to run the company, it was almost impossible considering the amount of money needed to keep the business afloat.
There was a large factory that needed maintenance, sugar fields that required attention, and hundreds of workers to pay.
Jordan Everhart would never climb out of his debt—blacklisted from ever borrowing money from any bank and doomed to leave behind a mountain of debt for both his daughters.
Or maybe only me, Celeste thought grimly. Mina would never let her only daughter inherit debt.
"S-Sweetheart? Please, can you calm down?"
"CALM DOWN! Hmm… let me see, Mina, let me see if I can calm down. NO, I CANNOT! HOW CAN I!?" He screamed at the top of his lungs, huffing before turning the heavy wooden table in front of him.
That was the last bit of energy he had before falling to his knees, crying into the palms of his hands.
"There must be a way, Jordan! We can still track him down," Mina said.
"Track him with what money, Mina? We are broke. This house of ours is as good as sold," Jordan answered, defeat in his voice. Whatever rage he had before was gone, like a fire doused in water. The room fell into complete silence as they faced the reality of what was to come—abject poverty.
"Unless…" Orion broke the silence.
"Unless what?" Mina asked, hope in her voice.
"What about… what about Uncle Erick? He's rich! Can't he help you?"
Even Celeste could feel hope in her heart. Erick might not be the kindest or gentlest man, but he was a friend to their father. Sure, they had a falling out a few years back, but surely it wasn't enough to break a childhood friendship.
"That's very sweet and smart of you, dear. But it's not that simple. The situation between the Brightwells and… well… it's complicated," Jordan said, waving away any explanation he had to offer.
Celeste couldn't help but feel disappointed. There was always an air of mystery and darkness around the Brightwell sons that piqued her interest. Despite being extremely wealthy, there seemed to be no information about them online.
"B-but sweetheart! We're going to lose everything! Can you please… just try?"
"Haaaah… I know for a fact they're not allowed to buy us out of this debt, Mina. And they're not generous either. The last thing we need is an army of sharks sniffing out our… my… blood," Jordan answered assertively, with a hint of fear at the end.
But Mina had lived her whole life in wealth. It seemed to her that her husband's life was worth the price of keeping that comfort.
"Jordan, do you really think you can pay all that money before you die? You're almost fifty. I'm almost fifty. Do you really want to leave behind debt for your daughters!? Look at them!"
Celeste, who had been listening carefully to the conversation, felt warmth in her chest. She had never felt like she was accepted in the family—just an affair child of her father and his old secretary.
But the fact that Mina had implied her well-being mattered as much as Orion's made her smile inside.
One by one, Jordan looked from Orion to Celeste.
"You're right, Mina," Jordan said with newfound determination. "The only thing left we have to lose is the well-being and future of our children." He stood up from the floor, took the phone hidden under the flipped table, and checked to see if it was on.
It was.
"Alright. I need to be alone for this. Everyone can go and wait in the living room. I'll come find you when I'm done with the call," Jordan said without looking at his family.
Mina quickly beckoned them to leave the room quietly, each hand on their backs.
Celeste glanced back at her father's hunched shoulders before the door fell shut behind them.
Mina grabbed them each by the shoulders; her eyes were teary, and her face pale.
Celeste could feel Mina's handshake as she whispered to them, "Go to your rooms. When we know what will happen next, we will let you know."
Celeste nodded, turning around slowly while Orion protested. She looked outside the window as she walked down the long hallway of their mansion, noticing spring arrive with the appearance of bright green leaves growing on each dark branch.
In her silence, Celeste secretly prayed for her family's well-being, hoping Uncle Erick would find a place in his heart to pity her family.
Suddenly, a familiar face flashed in the back of her mind. Celeste could feel the heat rising from her neck to her face, a smile blooming on her lips. Like a schoolgirl with a massive crush, Celeste felt like a fool as she ran to her room.