Ellen's POV

The walls of our mansion seemed to close in around me as the weight of the investor’s withdrawal sank in. My father and I sat in stunned silence, the enormity of our situation pressing down on us like a suffocating blanket.

“How could this happen?” I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. My father, pale and shaken, had no answer.

Before we could begin to process the disaster that had just unfolded, the phone father used to message Kamille rang, shattering the silence. I picked it up, and my heart sank as I saw Kamille’s name on the screen.

“Father, please let me take it," I said...