"Not good... not good... some unknown force has taken action against our company! And and..."

Richard’s hands trembled as he gripped the phone. He had just gone to bed, exhausted from handling company affairs, when the emergency call had jolted him awake. His heart pounded in his chest as he listened to the voice on the other end—one of his senior executives, his voice frantic, barely coherent.

"They’ve frozen our accounts, sir. All of them. The Sinclair Group has called in their full investment—every single dollar. And the penalties—the penalties are astronomical. We can’t cover them. We can’t—"

Richard’s blood ran cold. His grip on the phone tightened. His knuckles turned white.

"Who?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Who did this?"

"We don’t know yet, sir. But it’s coordinated. It’s systematic. Someone planned this. Someone planned this for a long time. We’re checking every angle, every possible source but whoever did this covered their tracks well. There’s no trail. No digital footprint. Nothing we can trace."

Richard ended the call and sat on the edge of the bed, his face pale, his hands shaking. The phone slipped from his fingers and landed on the carpet with a soft thud. He stared at the wall, his heart pounding.

"What’s going on?" Valeria’s voice came, still sleepy. She had woken up at his sharp intake of breath, her eyes blinking in the dim light. She sat up, her hand reaching for his arm. "Richard, what happened?"

He turned to look at her, his face etched with stress and exhaustion. The lines around his eyes seemed deeper, his skin paler. He looked like a man who had aged ten years in a single night.

"The company," he said, his voice hollow. "It’s over. The accounts are frozen. The Sinclair Group called in their investment. We don’t have the funds to cover it. We’re going to lose everything."

Valeria stared at him, her eyes wide. Her hand tightened on his arm. "Everything?"

"Everything," Richard repeated, his voice empty. "The business, the money, the reputation. It’s all gone. Nicolas... Nicolas walked right into their trap. He didn’t see it. He was too arrogant, too blinded by his own ego to realize he was being played. And now we’re all paying for his mistake...."

Valeria was silent for a moment. Her mind was running but her face remained calm. She had always been the practical one, the one who thought ahead, the one who prepared for the worst.

Richard muttered everything is over, over and over again. His shoulders sagged. He looked like a man who had lost all hope. His hands were limp at his sides, his eyes vacant, staring at nothing.

Valeria said firmly, her voice steady. "We still need to fight. We can’t just give up. We need to find a way to save the business."

Richard shook his head. "There’s no way. The penalties alone—"

Valeria interrupted firmly. "I don’t care about the penalties."

Richard looked at her, his brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Valeria’s eyes flickered with something cold and calculating. She had always been cunning, always thinking ahead. Even in the midst of disaster, her mind was working, planning, strategizing.

She had her own safety net.

Years ago, back when she was a model, she had set aside a portion of her income. She had saved diligently, investing in overseas accounts, building a cushion that no one knew about. She had never touched it, never told anyone—not even Richard. It was her secret, her insurance policy against the future. She had watched the wealthy families around her rise and fall, and she had learned one thing: never put all your eggs in one basket.

And over the years, she had quietly transferred small amounts from the company accounts into her personal funds. Nothing suspicious, nothing traceable—just small, careful withdrawals that no one had noticed. A little here, a little there, always below the threshold that would trigger an audit. Enough to build a comfortable nest egg. Enough to ensure that no matter what happened, she and Richard would be taken care of.

Now, that support was going to save them.

Valeria squeezed his hand gently.

Valeria said quietly, her voice calm and reassuring. "We need to fight back no matter what happened. Even if the company falls, you don’t need to worry about being homeless. We won’t. I’ve saved enough over the years to support both of us until we die. We won’t lose everything. We’ll still have each other. We’ll still have a home. We’ll still have a future."

Richard stared at her, his eyes wide with shock. "You... you saved? All this time?"

Valeria nodded. "I always knew this day might come. I prepared for it. I’ve been preparing for years."

Richard’s eyes filled with tears. "Valereee..."

Valeria said softly. "Don’t cry. We’re going to be okay."

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. "I don’t know what I’d do without you."

Valeria held him back, her hand stroking his hair. She said, a hint of humor in her voice. "You’d probably be lost without me."

Richard laughed, a broken, wet sound. "Probably."

He pulled back, wiping his eyes. "I’m sorry. I’m supposed to be the strong one. I’m supposed to protect you."

Valeria smiled. "You’ve protected me for over twenty years. It’s my turn to protect you."

Richard looked at her, his heart full. His friend had told him once that models were fickle. That if they found even more powerful backing, they would leave you without a second thought. It was best to use them for timepass and pleasure and nothing more. His friend had warned him, had laughed at him when he said he was serious about her.

But he had fallen in love with her. And they had been married for more than twenty years now. Other than small arguments, they were a happy couple. She had stood by him through every high and low, through every business victory and every personal loss. She had been his rock, his anchor, his safe harbor.

"Thank you," he said, his voice rough with emotion.

Valeria rolled her eyes, her tone irritated but affectionate. "Stop crying and worrying like a baby. Go and see what trouble our useless son caused. I’ll handle the rest."

Richard nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. "Yes, ma’am."

He stood up, his mind restless with worry but his heart lighter. The weight on his shoulders hadn’t disappeared, but knowing that Valeria was beside him made it bearable.

Now he just had to deal with the mess their son had created.