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Chapter 1 - fate

Lost Echoes: A Past That Won't Stay Buried

Two years ago,, I let my anger get the best of me.

It started with an argument—,just another explosion between me and my personal assistant... She crossed a line., I don't even remember what she said now,, only how it made me feel—betrayed,, furious, I stormed out, snatching the keys to my Lamborghini,, and without thinking, I hit the gas and vanished into the night...

I didn't care where I was going...

The city lights turned into golden streaks as I sped through the empty roads...

The engine roared beneath me like the storm raging inside my chest. I wasn't trying to get anywhere—I was trying to run from everything., From my fury. From the pressure. From myself...

But fate had other plans...

A blinding flash—headlights screaming toward me.,

A truck...

I remember gripping the wheel,, slamming the brakes. But it was too late. The collision hit like a tidal wave. Metal twisted., Glass shattered,. Pain exploded through my body—and then.. darkness...

They said the truck driver never stopped...

Just disappeared. Left me there,, trapped in a mangled mess of blood and steel...

And then… he appeared..

Through the haze,, someone came running. A man. His silhouette was all I could make out in the pouring rain,, his movements desperate... He didn't hesitate—he punched through the windshield with his bare hands,, glass tearing into his skin. He reached in,, arms trembling, and pulled me into his chest...

"Stay with me… please,," he whispered, his voice shaking.

But I couldn't respond...

I slipped deeper into the darkness...

He carried me to the hospital,, paid my bills,, and vanished before anyone could ask his name...

Three days later,, I woke up...

My head felt heavy, my body weaker than I'd ever known. But the first thing I saw was my mother's tear-streaked face.

"We're so sorry, sweetheart,," she cried as she hugged me. "We fired that assistant... We should've done it sooner."

But I wasn't thinking about the fight anymore., Or even the pain.

My mind was haunted by that voice... That touch... That desperate whisper in the dark.

"Who saved me??" I asked, struggling to sit up.

My father looked grim. "We don't know... We're trying to find him."

But I already knew...

"I think… it was Kai,," I whispered.

The name hung in the air like smoke...

My mother froze. My father's eyes darkened... Kai—a name they hadn't heard in years... A name I hadn't said out loud in so long it almost didn't feel real.

"Please," I whispered... "If it was him… I need to see him."

But days turned to weeks,, and Kai never appeared...

The truck driver vanished too... No witnesses... No leads. It was as if the whole thing had been a nightmare I couldn't wake from...

But the pain was real...

I recovered, at least physically. I went back to my life. The life of a CEO,. The only heir to the Mirain Company. Cold,, polished,, untouchable...

But no amount of power could silence the ache inside me.

I still hadn't found Kai.

The truth is, I wasn't born into the Miller family. I was just a regular girl in Seoul,, growing up in a small apartment with my loving parents—and my best friend,, the boy I secretly called Kai... kai was his nickname...

I don't even remember his real name anymore...

To me, he was always Kai...

My safe place. My comfort,. The one who understood me when the world didn't...

I loved him...

I never told him...

I was afraid it would ruin everything...

Then... everything changed.

One night, my parents were killed in a hit-and-run. Just like that—gone...

And as if fate hadn't already taken enough from me,, Kai disappeared too. Moved away. No note. No goodbye...

Just… gone,.

I was sixteen. Alone... Broken.

Until Hiro Miller—my father's best friend—stepped in...

He and his wife Losi took me in, gave me their name, their home,, and all the love I'd lost. Losi became more than a stepmother. She was my anchor,, my light in the storm.

But even then,, I was haunted.

By two ghosts...

My parents...

And Kai...

I had nightmares for years—dreams where I saw him walking away from me,, dreams where I heard my mother's voice just before it faded into silence... I buried those memories. I built walls. I worked harder than anyone else,, rose faster than anyone expected...

And I succeeded...

But even now, as I sit behind the glass walls of my corner office,, even now, dressed in silk and surrounded by power—I feel hollow...

Because Hiro could give me everything...

Except the one thing I wanted most.

Kai...

Where was he??

Why did he leave??

Why did he never reach out??

And now… was he the one who pulled me from the wreckage??

I close my eyes and try to hear that voice again... The one that begged me to stay alive. The one that sounded like home...

Something tells me it really was him...

But I also know—if it was—he doesn't want to be found...

Still,, I can't stop looking.

Because deep down,, I know one thing:

The past I tried to bury is coming back...

And the truth about Kai Quill…

It's far more dangerous, than I ever imagined.

To be continued...

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