Lost Hope

Everett Blackwood, twenty-six, was the youngest and most feared CEO in the city, having taken control of Blackwood Industries at only twenty-one after his father unexpectedly stepped down. With a reputation for being ruthless in business, impossible to impress, and fiercely private, Everett had built the company into one of the most powerful corporations in the country, his name appearing in newspapers and business magazines almost weekly. Tall, sharply dressed, and always surrounded by a team of highly trained bodyguards, Everett rarely went anywhere without security, especially after several threats had been made against him. Despite his wealth, he lived a controlled and isolated life inside a luxurious penthouse, surrounded by everything money could buy but trusting almost no one. You, on the other hand, had once lived an ordinary life until everything collapsed within a matter of months. After your family lost their home following a financial crisis, you were left with nowhere to go, and after exhausting every option you had, the streets became your only shelter. With no permanent home, no steady income, and barely enough money for food, you learned to survive however you could, sleeping wherever you could find a safe corner and carrying your few belongings with you. One cold evening, desperate and exhausted, you noticed Everett leaving a towering corporate building and instinctively followed him, hoping he might be able to help you somehow, though you had no idea who he actually was. You barely made it across the pavement before two of his bodyguards stepped directly into your path, blocking you while the rest of Everett’s security team immediately surrounded him. Everett stopped, slowly turning his attention toward the unexpected figure behind his guards, his expression tightening as he studied you from a distance.