Virgin At 25-Chapter 103: EVERYBODY IS BEING USED…

Diana drove off to her parents house, the mansion appeared out of the quiet countryside like a warning, tall, dark, and painfully familiar.

Diana stepped out of the car slowly, clutching her bag to her chest as the messenger drove away without waiting. His taillights vanished down the parking lot, leaving her standing in the long, echoing driveway.

A cold breeze brushed her arms.

She climbed the front steps, trying to steady her breathing. But just as she reached for the door, voices drifted through the slightly open side-window.

She froze.

She recognized her aunt’s voice, sharp and calculating.

She recognized her uncle’s voice too, deep and impatient.

But there was a third voice.

A man she didn’t know.

Her heartbeat picked up, so she leaned closer.

"...the papers should’ve been signed by now," her uncle was saying.

"She’s the only surviving heir," the unfamiliar man replied. "Without her signature, you can’t touch the estate."

Diana’s breath caught.

Her fingers curled against the window frame.

Her aunt’s voice came next, low and irritated. "That girl is ungrateful. After everything we’ve done for her, she still finds a reason to drag her feet."

"She’ll sign," her uncle said firmly. "The marriage will force her hand. The Langleys agreed, once she signs over the estate, we split everything."

A violent tremor ran through Diana’s body.

Her lungs felt tight. She pressed a hand against her mouth to keep from making a sound.

Her aunt scoffed. "Victor assured me his son would handle it. She trusts him, she’ll listen to him."

There was a short, cruel laugh.

"Victor and Camila knows their role. They just need to keep her compliant."

Diana’s world tilted beneath her feet.

Aec knew?

Aec... agreed?

Her stomach twisted painfully as tears burned behind her eyes. Everything inside her wanted to run, but her legs felt like stone.

Her aunt’s voice struck again, sharp as metal. "Once she signs, we won’t need her anymore. We can finally take what her parents tried to hide."

That was it. Her heart broke.

She stumbled back from the window, tears slipping free. Her aunt... Her uncle...The Langleys... Aec.

All of them were using her.

Not protecting her.

Not supporting her.

Just waiting, waiting for her signature like vultures circling a dying animal.

She turned to walk away, feeling overwhelmed by what she just heard but it was too late... the door swung open and the unfamiliar voice she was hearing a while back was standing right in front of her

"Diana?"

Her uncle’s voice boomed from inside.

The man at the door smiled warmly and walked away.

Her aunt’s cold eyes flicked over her face.

"Why are you standing there? Come inside."

Diana lowered her head immediately, swallowing the panic clawing at her throat.

"Aunty... Uncle."

Her aunt’s expression soured instantly. "How many times must I tell you? Call us Mom and Dad."

Diana murmured something too soft to hear.

She stepped into the mansion, shoulders shrinking as her uncle closed the door behind her with a solid, deliberate click.

"Sit," he ordered.

She obeyed, lowering herself onto the rigid living room chair.

"What exactly is happening with the Langley family?" he asked, leaning forward with narrowed eyes.

Diana forced her voice to remain steady. "It’s nothing I can’t handle, Dad."

He scoffed loudly.

"When have you ever handled anything on your own? You’re emotional. You’re reckless. If we didn’t guide you, everything your parents left would rot in your hands."

Her chest squeezed painfully.

Aunt’s lips curled in disgust.

"We took you in. Raised you. Fed you. And yet you act like you owe us nothing."

Diana stared at her hands, knuckles white from gripping her dress. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The insults continued, one after another, thinly disguised as concern, but striking sharper than blades. She didn’t reply. She didn’t look up. She sat perfectly still, letting every word bruise her quiet heart.

When they were finally done, she whispered, "Can I leave now?"

Her aunt’s smile was cold enough to freeze the air.

"No. You’ll stay the night. We’re not finished with you."

A shiver ran down Diana’s spine.

"But Mom..."

Then her uncle looked up "that’s not a request Diana"

Hours later, long after they had gone upstairs, Diana wandered through the silent hallways. Sleep felt impossible. Her mind replayed the overheard conversation again and again until her chest ached.

A faint glow leaked from the study.

The door was slightly ajar.

Curiosity or desperation pulled her forward. She pushed the door open a little more and stepped inside.

Her breath caught.

Papers were spread across the desk.

Documents with her name printed at the top.

Transfer of Ownership

Estate Authorization

Power of Attorney

Her signature line was empty.

Beside the documents lay a folded letter.

Diana’s trembling fingers reached for it.

She recognized the handwriting instantly... delicate, slanted, beautiful.

Her mother’s handwriting.

The words blurred as tears filled her eyes...

"Diana is the sole heir. No one else must control her inheritance. Protect her for us and tell her we love her."

Her knees weakened. Her ribs felt like they were cracking inward.

She swallowed a sob.

Her aunt and uncle hadn’t protected her.

They had targeted her.

Manipulated her.

Caged her.

And Aec...

Aec had known.

He’d known the whole time. A tear slid down her cheek.

- - -

The car tires crunched over the gravel as they screeched to a halt outside the quiet apartment complex, his Mom’s house. Aec swung the door open, every muscle taut, eyes blazing.

"Stay here," he growled, slamming the door behind him as he stormed inside.

Ryan followed calmly, ignoring what Aec told him, leaning back just enough to keep his sarcasm intact.

The apartment was empty.

No sign of his mother. No warmth. No familiar scent of home. Only silence.

Aec’s fists clenched. He scanned the living room and then froze.

On the table, a single envelope waited. Plain, unassuming, cruel.

He ripped it open.

The note inside read:

"If you want your mother, do what your father wants."

Aec’s blood turned to ice. Rage roared in his chest, tightening every nerve in his body. He threw the letter onto the floor, eyes darkening to almost black.

Ryan stepped back against the wall, letting the storm build. His lips curled into a faint, dry smirk.

"Well," he said slowly, voice dripping with irony, "that’s... a fucked-up family."

Aec didn’t answer.

He bolted. Out the door, down the stairs, across the parking lot toward the car.

Ryan followed, hand brushing the car roof as he leapt into motion, his smirk widening. "Yeah, no kidding," he muttered, almost to himself.

Aec slammed the driver’s side door shut, breathing hard, eyes burning with fury. Ryan slid in beside him, calm and calculating, already planning the next move.

The car’s engine roared to life. Aec’s knuckles whitened against the wheel.

"Let’s go," he spat, voice low and sharp.

Ryan leaned back, still smirking. "Let’s go get your mother, then. And maybe teach your father a lesson he’ll never forget." He added almost laughing but Aec totally ignored him

The tires screamed down the empty street, carrying them toward God knows where... Aec kept driving with so much speed.

Ryan sat beside him, calm but alert, eyes flicking between Aec and the road ahead.

Without a word, Aec yanked his phone from the console. He tapped the screen once, hard, and pressed it to his ear.

"Dad," he growled, voice low at first. Then, as the line connected, it ripped out of him in a hurricane of fury...

"WHERE IS MOM?!"

Victor’s voice answered immediately, calm, deliberate, and utterly cold.

"I thought you were missing, Aec. I’ve been searching for you," Victor said, each word sharp, slicing through the air. "Almost forgot I could use your mother to get to you and it worked as always."

Aec ignored the jab, foot pressing harder into the accelerator. The speedometer climbed. His vision narrowed.

"WHERE IS MOM?!" he spat, teeth clenched, voice shaking with rage.

Victor’s tone didn’t waver. Didn’t flinch. "If you want your mother, go back to your wife. Get her to sign whatever document we send. Then you may resume your duties at the company... I mean you have to resume your duties at the company"

"And..." Victor Langley added as if he remembered something "Don’t let your mother end like Sharon"

Aec angrily hit the car wheel... Boiling with rage but the line went dead.

Aec’s phone slipped from his hand. He caught it just in time, jaw tight, eyes burning like coals.

Ryan didn’t speak. He let Aec simmer, the car moving faster with every heartbeat, the countryside blurring into streaks of gray and green.

The rage was palpable, almost alive. Aec’s mother wasn’t just missing, she was a pawn. And now, every ounce of his control, every shred of his patience, had been ripped away.

He slammed his fists on the steering wheel, the tires squealing around a sharp bend.

Ryan smirked, dark and knowing. "Fucked-up family, indeed," he murmured, voice low.

Aec didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. His next move was clear, nothing would stop him from finding his mother and punishing anyone who stood in his way.