The shouting grew louder.
Richard Ashford was getting closer.
Every second mattered now.
She clutched the journal tightly against her chest.
Like it was the most valuable thing in the world.
Maybe it was.
"Come on."
She led us into the old studio.
Then locked the door behind us.
The room felt frozen in time.
Dust covered shelves.
Old paintings leaned against walls.
Half-finished sketches remained exactly where they had been abandoned years ago.
Sophia Ashford's world.
Untouched.
Forgotten.
Hidden away.
Thunder rattled the windows.
The storm outside matched the tension inside perfectly.
"Read it."
Elena stepped forward.
Her voice almost a whisper.
My girlfriend slowly opened the journal.
The leather creaked softly.
Pages yellowed by time.
Words written decades ago.
The first entry wasn't what any of us expected.
"I feel lonely."
Silence.
She turned the page.
"Everyone sees Richard's ambition."
"Nobody sees how exhausting it is."
Another page.
"Victor says happiness matters more than success."
"I think he's right."
Nobody spoke.
Because suddenly—
Sophia wasn't a mystery.
She was a person.
A woman trapped between two futures.
Another page.
"Today Richard proposed."
Everyone froze.
My girlfriend continued reading.
"I said yes."
A pause.
"I don't know why I cried afterward."
The room became completely silent.
Because every person understood exactly what that sentence meant.
She turned another page.
Then another.
Months passed within the journal.
Years.
Entries became shorter.
More distant.
More tired.
Until finally—
One page changed everything.
A folded document slipped from between the pages.
Falling onto the floor.
Nobody moved.
Elena slowly picked it up.
Opened it.
Read it.
Then froze.
Completely froze.
"What is it?"
I asked.
No answer.
"Elena."
She looked up slowly.
Eyes wide.
"This isn't possible."
My pulse spiked.
"What?"
She handed the document to Adrian.
He read it.
Then his face lost all color.
For the first time ever—
Adrian looked shocked.
Genuinely shocked.
"What is it?"
I repeated.
Silence.
Then Adrian finally spoke.
"It's an ownership agreement."
My stomach tightened.
"So?"
He looked at me.
Then at her.
Then back at the paper.
"So according to this..."
A pause.
"Richard Ashford was never supposed to become majority owner."
The room exploded into silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Because that one sentence changed everything.
The empire.
The company.
The fortune.
The power.
Everything.
A loud bang suddenly echoed against the door.
Everyone jumped.
Another bang followed.
Harder this time.
Then Richard's voice.
"Open the door."
Ice ran through my veins.
The journal nearly slipped from her hands.
Another bang.
"Now."
The door shook violently.
And for the first time—
Fear appeared on everyone's face.
Because the truth was finally within reach.
And so was Richard Ashford.
My girlfriend looked down at the journal.
Then at me.
And whispered four words.
"He lied about everything."
The third bang hit the door.
Hard enough to crack the wood.
And suddenly—
The war wasn't coming.
It was here.