Chapter 78: The Cost of Their Mistake

Mindy’s eyes narrowed. How could she ever forget?

Fourteen Years Earlier

The school bell had just rung, its shrill tone echoing through the hallways.

The afternoon streets were crowded with students—backpacks slung over shoulders, laughter and chatter filling the air.

Missy happily skipped beside Mindy, her ponytail bouncing. "Sister! The bookstore is right there. I only need one book. It’ll take five minutes."

Mindy frowned, glancing at the darkening sky. "We should go home. We can ask Uncle Harris to buy it later."

Missy pouted, her eyes wide and pleading. "Please... It’s just across the street."

Mindy sighed. "...Fine. Five minutes."

Five minutes. That was all it was supposed to be.

Missy bought her book—a glossy magazine about fashion. Both girls started walking back, their footsteps light, their conversation easy.

Then four men stepped out of a narrow alley, blocking their path.

Their smiles made Mindy’s blood run cold.

One blocked the road, his arms crossed. Another slowly spun a knife between his fingers, the blade catching the light.

"Well..." His voice was oily, mocking. "What do we have here? Two pretty little girls."

Missy immediately grabbed Mindy’s arm, her grip tight. "Sister..."

Mindy instinctively stepped in front of her, her heart pounding. "We don’t want any trouble. Please move."

The men laughed, the sound ugly and cruel.

One reached toward her face, his fingers outstretched. "Come on... We’re just having fun."

Mindy slapped his hand away, her voice sharp. "Don’t touch me."

His smile vanished. "You little bitch."

The knife flashed.

Mindy dodged—too late.

The blade sliced across her left forearm, a line of fire. Pain shot through her arm. Blood immediately soaked her sleeve, warm and sticky.

Without thinking, she grabbed a rusted iron rod lying nearby, her fingers wrapping around the cold metal. "If you come closer, I’ll break your legs."

One fat man laughed, his belly shaking. "You?"

Mindy swung first. The rod slammed into his shoulder with a sickening thud. He screamed, stumbling backward.

The others became furious. "Grab her!"

They rushed forward, a blur of fists and knives.

Behind her, Missy screamed. "Sister! Don’t! Stop fighting! I already called Jagger! Just wait!"

Mindy didn’t understand. Wait? Wait while they surrounded them?

Another knife came. She blocked it, the impact jarring her bones. Pain exploded through her arm again. Still, she refused to step back. If she moved, Missy would be behind her.

Then a familiar voice echoed down the street. "MINDY!"

Jagger. He arrived with five bodyguards, their footsteps thundering.

The gang immediately scattered, disappearing into the alleys like rats.

Within seconds, everything became quiet.

Mindy let the iron rod fall, her hands trembling. She turned—and froze.

Missy was crying, her face streaked with tears. Blood dripped from her right arm.

Jagger had already wrapped his handkerchief around Missy’s wound, his expression frantic.

Mindy stared. "...How?"

She knew exactly where every knife had landed. Missy hadn’t been touched.

Then she remembered. Those strange words. "Sister... Don’t fight..." The moments when Missy had stood behind her. The brief second she couldn’t see her.

Understanding slowly crept into her mind. Missy had cut herself.

Jagger looked furious. "Mindy! What were you thinking?"

"I was protecting us."

"You were provoking them!"

Mindy looked at him in disbelief. "...What?"

"If you had just waited, they would’ve left."

"They had knives! They were trying to touch us! What was I supposed to do? Stand there?"

Jagger pointed toward Missy. "She called me. She told you to wait. You made everything worse."

Mindy felt her chest tighten. She looked at Missy. "You..."

Missy burst into tears, her voice breaking. "Sister... I begged you not to fight. You wouldn’t listen. I tried protecting you..." She lifted her bleeding arm. "Look... I got hurt too."

Mindy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "It was MY arm! The knife cut me! She’s lying!"

Jagger frowned. "Then why is she bleeding?"

"..."

Mindy had no answer. Because she had finally understood. The injury had been intentional.

That evening, Raymond heard Jagger’s version.

Emily comforted Missy while she cried. Raymond looked at Mindy with disappointment. "I expected better from you. You endangered your sister."

Mindy tried to explain. "No—"

"You’ve said enough."

The next morning, Raymond signed the transfer papers. "As punishment, five percent of your shares will be given to Missy."

Mindy stared at the documents through a blur of tears.

The shares did not matter as much as the reason behind them. She wasn’t crying because Raymond had taken five percent of her ownership and given it to Missy.

She was crying because he had never believed her.

Her fingers trembled as she looked up at him.

"Why?"

Raymond’s expression remained hard.

Mindy’s voice cracked.

"You didn’t even ask me what happened."

"What more is there to ask?" Raymond scowled. "Jagger heard everything over the phone. He heard Missy telling you not to fight, and he saw that she was injured. What else do you want me to believe?"

Mindy’s lips parted, but no words came out.

She had expected anger. She had expected punishment.

What she had not expected was for her father to dismiss the truth without even giving her the chance to speak.

Emily stood silently behind Raymond, watching the tears slide down Mindy’s cheeks. After a moment, she stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Raymond’s arm.

"Raymond, those are her shares," she said softly. "You shouldn’t do this to her. It will only make her resent us."

Raymond turned sharply toward her.

"No."

His gaze shifted back to Mindy.

"She needs to learn her lesson."

Mindy looked at him in disbelief.

"What lesson?"

"That your actions have consequences."

Her chest tightened.

"I was protecting Missy."

"You were reckless," Raymond replied coldly. "You endangered both of you, and now you’re trying to avoid responsibility."

"I’m not lying!"

Mindy’s voice broke as she wiped at her tears.

"She cut herself. I know she did. I know where every knife landed. She wasn’t hurt until after the men ran away."

Raymond’s expression did not soften.

"Enough."

That single word silenced her.

Mindy lowered her gaze to the documents again in front of her.

And it wasn’t her.

She had protected her sister.

Yet somehow, she had become the villain.

When dawn finally arrived, the world outside remained unchanged.

But something inside fourteen-year-old Mindy had quietly died.

It was the last fragile part of her that still believed her father would choose her if she told him the truth.

Back in the Present

Mindy smiled. It wasn’t warm. It wasn’t angry. It was frighteningly calm.

"You can keep those five percent. For now. I’ll take back everything... with interest."

At that moment, the office door opened again.

Raymond entered, his eyes moving between the two girls. "What’s going on?"

Immediately, Missy’s eyes reddened, tears welling up on command.

"Dad... I only came to collect my things... But Sister and Miss Hart started insulting me..."

Layla blinked. "...That’s impressive. The tears came out in two seconds."

Mindy almost laughed.

Raymond looked toward Mindy. "I told her not to report to the company."

Raymond frowned. "She still owns five percent. She has every right to come."

Mindy looked directly at him. "And whose five percent are those?"

Silence.

"You gave MY shares to your precious daughter... to make your second wife happy."

Raymond froze. The memory returned instantly. He had never given them back.

He opened his mouth. "Mindy..."

She interrupted him.

"I don’t trust her. I don’t trust Emily. I’m the Chief Designer. My designs are worth millions. What if she steals them too? Just like her mother stole my mother’s work?"

She paused, her voice hardening. "If you disagree, raise it at the next board meeting. Mr. Hawthorne."

Raymond sighed. "...I’m still your father."

Mindy’s expression remained unchanged. "You stopped being my father a long time ago. So no. I won’t stop calling you Mr. Hawthorne."

The words hit harder than any slap.

Layla stood. "Mr. Hawthorne. Please take your daughter. Her fake crying is ruining everyone’s mood."

Raymond looked at Mindy for a long time. He had entered hoping—just hoping—they could finally talk peacefully. Why did every conversation end in another wall between them?

Without another word, he turned around. Missy followed behind him.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Missy sniffled. "Dad... I..."

Raymond finally exploded. "SHUT UP!"

His voice echoed inside the elevator. Missy jumped, immediately stopping her tears.

But inside, hatred silently grew.

Breaking News

By evening, every television channel carried only one headline.

BREAKING NEWS: LUXT CORPORATION ACQUIRES MAJOR STAKE IN RONA DESIGN

Another headline appeared.

MYSTERIOUS FOUNDER OF LUXT FINALLY REVEALED: MINDY WILSON

Another.

LAYLA HART APPOINTED NEW CEO OF RONA DESIGN

Social media exploded. Fashion forums crashed. Investors rushed to buy LUXT shares.

Meanwhile, inside Hawthorne Corporation, Raymond returned looking ten years older.

The office door burst open. Drake walked in holding his tablet. "Dad. Is this true? Mindy is the founder of LUXT Corporation? And LUXT now controls Rona Design?"

Raymond slowly nodded. "She founded LUXT when she was eighteen."

Drake stood frozen. "...While she was living with Grandpa and Grandma?"

Raymond nodded again.

Silence filled the office.

Finally, Raymond spoke quietly. "...We shouldn’t have cut ties with her."

Drake lowered his head. "We didn’t have a choice. She threatened us with Missy’s photos."

Raymond closed his eyes. "...No. We had a choice." His voice became almost a whisper. "...We simply... didn’t choose her."

Neither of them spoke again.

Knight Corporation

On the top floor, Layton stood alone beside the enormous glass windows overlooking Greendale.

The television silently replayed the breaking news. MINDY WILSON — Founder of LUXT Corporation

He couldn’t believe it. He thought he knew her. Apparently, he had never known her at all.

But his thoughts weren’t on the company. They were on yesterday. The hatred in her eyes. The disgust when she slapped his hand away.

"Don’t touch me. It’s disgusting."

Every word replayed endlessly. His chest tightened.

What had he done to make her hate him so completely? He still couldn’t understand.

Then another image surfaced. Mindy standing beside Matthias. Smiling. Looking at him with warmth. Trust. Gentleness.

Those eyes once should have belonged to him. Now they belonged to someone else.

Layton slowly closed his eyes.

For the first time, he felt something slipping through his fingers—something he couldn’t fight, couldn’t buy, and couldn’t win back.

Mindy.

And he still had no idea why he had lost her.