Chapter Three: An Eighteen-Million-Dollar Ruin

She had died in a crash when Lena was five. Her father never spoke of her maternal family, saying only that they lived very far away. Ava traced the crest to Gu Horizon Holdings, the world’s largest property conglomerate, managing more than two hundred billion dollars across four continents. The founding family’s emblem was the lily in thorns. Across the city, Marcus sent a photograph of the hotel projection to an encrypted number. The reply contained one line: “Mr. Grant Gu has confirmed her identity. Do not let Lena Lin obtain the third crest.”