Chapter 1

When I was sixteen, my father broke his spine at a construction site. The surgery would cost two hundred thousand, but after scouring the house, we only scraped together three thousand eight hundred dollars.

Clutching my withdrawal application, I reached the school gates when Summerville stopped me.

She was the quietest top student in our class, sitting right behind me.

That day, she pressed a bank card into my hand.

“Get your dad treated first. I'll cover the cost. Don't even think about dropping out.”

I told her I couldn't repay such a sum.

She simply said, “I'm not asking you to repay it. Just get into college.”

Later, she sent me living expenses every month, with a note that only read: 'Don't give up.'

My father survived, and I got into a top university.

She never once mentioned the money.

Ten years later, I owned three companies with a billion dollars in assets.

And Summerville's name appeared on a court's defaulters list.

“Former shareholder of a tech company, due to joint liability on a guarantee, owes four million two hundred thousand, listed as a defaulted debtor.”

I put down my phone and pulled the bank card, long since filled with money, from my drawer.

This time, it was my turn to knock on her door.