Chapter One: The Heiress Reduced to Zero

At one in the morning, she sat inside a twenty-four-hour self-storage facility and opened the only property she was legally allowed to retrieve: an old leather case left by her mother, Gu Minglan, before her disappearance twelve years ago. The family lawyers had dismissed its contents as worthless. Inside were several faded letters, an old silk scarf, and a black metal badge. A minimalist balance was engraved on its face. Four small characters marked its back: Xuanheng Industries. Yanqiu remembered the name. Founded twenty years ago and dissolved twelve years ago, Xuanheng had posted losses of more than forty million yuan. It was the only failed investment on her mother's record.