Seacity, the Ashford residence.

It had only been half a month since Evangeline Ashford’s parents died in a car crash. She was still drowning in grief, barely holding herself together, when the door slammed open with a loud bang and Bianca Whitley stormed in with a group of people behind her.

"Evangeline Ashford, didn’t I tell you to get out sooner? Why are you still here?"

Bianca stared at her with cold eyes. There was none of the fake warmth she used to put on when she called her niece.

Evangeline wasn’t surprised at all. The day after her parents died, her second uncle and Bianca had already dropped the act and shown their true colors.

They snatched away the Ashford Group, teamed up with lawyers and shareholders to hollow out every last bit of her parents’ assets, and now they were even coming for this villa too.

"This is my home! The ones who should leave are you! Don’t even think about forcing me out!"

This house held all her memories with her parents. No matter what happened, Evangeline would never walk away from it.

"Heh."

Bianca let out a sneer and stepped toward her in sharp heels, one click at a time, like she was pressing her straight into a corner.

"Evangeline Ashford, are you dreaming or what? Not just the company—everything your parents owned belongs to me now. Who do you think you are? If I say get out, then you get out."

As she spoke, Bianca pulled out the property certificate. Written clearly on it was the ownership of the house—Bianca Whitley.

"You must have gotten that through some shady trick! I don’t accept it!"

Evangeline’s eyes widened in shock. Instinctively, she lunged forward, trying to snatch the document back.

Bianca shoved her hard to the floor, her face twisted with ugly malice. "Who cares how I got it? The point is, you need to pack up and scram. This place has great feng shui, great surroundings too. I’m saving it for my daughter."

"Bianca Whitley, you’re disgusting! My parents trusted you so much, and this is how you repay them? If they’re watching from heaven, they won’t let you off. None of you will die well—"

Smack—

Before she could finish, a vicious slap landed across her face. Her cheek swelled almost instantly, hot and numb at the same time.

"You little bitch! How dare you curse me!"

Bianca flew into a rage. One slap clearly wasn’t enough for her. She grabbed Evangeline by the hair and yanked hard, then slammed her head toward the sharp edge of the table beside them.

"Bang"—the impact split Evangeline Ashford’s forehead open.

A savage burst of pain hit her so hard her face changed color on the spot. Her skin was ghost-pale, blood running down over it, making her look terrifying.

She was hurting so badly her teeth were chattering. She lifted her eyes and glared at Bianca Whitley, hatred burning in them. "I’m going to sue you!"

Bianca Whitley wasn’t scared in the slightest. She only sneered, laughing at how naive Evangeline was. "You’re still just a kid. Your parents are dead, you’ve got nothing, and no one’s backing you up. What exactly can you do to me? Hah. If you ask me, you should get lost and go beg on the streets."

She had already run out of patience and barked at the bodyguards behind her, "What are you standing there for? Move. Throw this little brat out."

"Yes, ma’am!"

Several bodyguards stepped forward. In no time at all, Evangeline was dragged outside.

The gates of the Ashford house slammed shut.

From that moment on, the Ashford family had nothing to do with her anymore.

Night had fallen. The sky hung low and heavy, thunder rumbling as lightning tore across the dark. Then the rain came down hard, a full-on downpour. The road was empty, not a single person in sight.

Evangeline walked without direction, one step after another like her soul had gone numb. The relatives and friends she used to know all avoided her like the plague. She had no one to rely on, no money on her, and nowhere to go.

The rain only got heavier. Her clothes were soaked through, clinging to her skin. She was freezing, starving, and in pain all over.

No one knew how long she kept going before her legs finally gave out and she collapsed to the ground, too drained to get back up. Curled there in the rain, she looked like a stray puppy the whole world had tossed aside.

"Beep—"

From somewhere ahead, a car horn cut through the storm.

The headlights flashed straight into Evangeline’s eyes, so bright they stung. But that black Maybach slowed and stopped right in front of her.

Then she saw him.

A man in a tailored suit stepped out of the car. He was tall and lean, with strikingly handsome features.

Holding an umbrella, he walked toward her through the rain, every move calm and elegant, rich-boy aura turned all the way up.

Evangeline recognized him at once.

Tristan Blackwood. The third master of the Blackwood family. One of the most untouchable men in the country—powerful, wealthy, ruthless. Before he was even thirty, he had already claimed the title of richest man alive. Everyone feared him. Everyone kept their distance.

Evangeline had once gone to Ducheng with her mother, and by pure chance, she had seen him there exactly one time.

A man like that suddenly showing up in front of her, holding an umbrella over her head and shielding her from the rain—Evangeline Ashford honestly felt like she was dreaming.

But then Tristan Blackwood took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. The warmth hit her out of nowhere, real and solid, wrapping around her chilled body bit by bit. Only then did Evangeline clearly feel his presence.

So this wasn’t a dream...

“It’s this late already. Why are you here all alone?” His voice was low and steady, not loud, but it somehow cut through the sound of the rain. “What happened?”

Evangeline’s eyes instantly turned red. So many words crowded in her throat, all tangled up, all aching to come out. But she was too drained, too numb, too broken to say much. In the end, all she managed was a voice so faint it was barely louder than a whisper.

“I... I don’t have a home anymore...”

Tristan Blackwood looked at her for a few seconds, his dark eyes calm and unreadable, as if weighing something carefully. Then his thin lips parted slightly.

“Do you want to come with me?” he said. “I’ll give you a home.”

Evangeline froze for a moment.

In those dull, lifeless eyes of hers, a tiny glimmer suddenly appeared, like shattered glass catching light for the first time in the dark.

“Okay...”