Chapter 1: My Dear Father, I'm Coming for You

"Mother… I hope you're resting, and heaven is treating you the way you deserved to be treated twenty years ago."

Eira leaned closer to touch her mother's tomb. "In Memory of Helen Hax, a loving mother and daughter…" she read it out loud.

"You know, I'm going to university this September, and I finally met the person who's going to help me take my father down. I know you probably don't care because you need to rest, but also, you don't need to worry. I will protect myself."

Eira paused and let her fingers trace the letters carved into the stone. A soft breeze rustled the leaves around her, and she took a deep breath.

"I wish you could see me now," she whispered. "I've waited so long for this moment. I've spent years planning, watching, learning everything I could about him. He thinks he's untouchable, but he doesn't know what's coming."

She stood up slowly, brushing the dirt off her knees. The sun was starting to set, casting a golden light over the cemetery. Eira turned and looked over the horizon.

"He won't even see me coming," she said quietly. "And when he does, it'll be too late."

As she walked away from the grave, Eira started thinking about her past.

Her life had been shaped by her mother's tragedy, and now it was time to take back what was stolen from them.

"I'll make him pay," she said quietly, "for you, Mother. For both of us."

Eira's thoughts went to her mother's life—the life that was stolen from both of them.

Helen Hax had once been the jewel of society, a wealthy heiress with a bright future ahead of her. Her family's fortune was vast, and she was adored by everyone who knew her. But then, she met him.

Eira clenched her fists, remembering the story she had pieced together over the years. Her father had been charming, convincing, and relentless. He wormed his way into Helen's heart, making her believe he loved her.

"They called it a fairy-tale romance," Eira muttered bitterly to herself as she walked down the cemetery road. "But it was all a lie… wasn't it, Henry?"

Helen, blinded by love, married him. He gained access to her wealth, and not long after, his true intentions became clear.

He manipulated her, slowly taking control of her finances, her life, and then—when he had everything he wanted—he framed her for the murder.

Eira could almost hear her mother's voice, so soft and kind, as she had imagined it all her life.

"He promised me the world, but he took everything."

Helen had been sent to prison, humiliated and betrayed by the man she thought she loved. And it was in that cold, unforgiving place that she realized she was pregnant.

Eira was born behind bars, her mother's final gift before she gave in to terminal breast cancer.

"I'm sorry, Eira," her mother's statement was so clear in her memories. "I didn't know… I didn't know he would do this."

Helen had died five years later, alone, with no one but the prison guards to witness her passing. But Eira had been saved, taken in by her aunt—her mother's late brother's wife.

Aunt Marion had raised her, giving her a life far from the wealth her mother once knew, but filled with love and care.

"Eira, sweetheart," Marion would often say, brushing back her hair when she was little, "you look just like your mother. She would've been so proud of you. But you have to understand, the world is not always kind."

Aunt Marion had never hidden the truth from Eira. She told her everything—about her mother's tragic life, her father's betrayal, and the injustice that had shaped their lives.

From a young age, Eira knew what had happened, and it heated the fire inside her.

Now, at twenty years old, that fire was stronger than ever.

"I'll never forgive him," Eira stated. "Not for what he did to her. Not for leaving me without a mother."

Her mother's life had been destroyed, but Eira had survived. She had prepared herself to take the one thing her father valued most—his power.

"Your mother's spirit lives in you, Eira. But don't let revenge consume you. You deserve more than this."

But Eira couldn't let go. Not until she was done taking her father down.

"I'll do what I have to," she said softly, as if her mother and aunt could both hear her. "And then, maybe, I'll find peace."

As Eira reached the cemetery gates, her phone buzzed.

She glanced at the screen and answered.

"It's done?" she asked quietly.

A calm male voice responded on the other end. "Yes. The contract is ready. We're just waiting on you."

Eira looked back at her mother's grave. "I'll be there soon."

"Take your time," the voice said. "But don't forget why we're doing it."

"I haven't," Eira replied and brushed her hand through her wavy, dark blonde hair. Her mother's reflection stared back at a nearby window.

She'd been told so many times how much she resembled Helen, with her small body and her sharp, striking blue eyes that people always said were her mother's legacy.

But behind those eyes was a girl who wanted revenge on her own blood.

"I'm coming," she added simply. Then, she ended the call and walked away.