The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 143

The shop renovations proceeded in perfect rhythm, and Annelise's life gradually settled into a quiet, structured routine.

She consciously kept a safe distance from her "past."

Like a patient recovering from massive surgery, she carefully protected her scarred, fragile skin.

She knew that wounds required time and peace; picking at the scabs would only reopen them.

Her contact with anyone back home was pitifully scarce.

Her new Norwegian SIM card held only a handful of contacts: Alyssa, Yves, her language teacher Marta, and her lawyer.

She maintained only two thin lifelines to the world she had left behind.

One was an unshakeable video call with Harriet every Saturday night at nine o'clock.

The other was the occasional status update from Zachary Coleman regarding her asset division back home.

This Saturday, when Harriet's face popped onto the phone screen, she looked a bit more haggard than the week prior.

The background of the video was no longer the spacious, gleaming kitchen of the Lehman Estate, but a cramped room tiled with old-fashioned ceramics.

"Harriet, did you move?" Annelise's sharp instincts picked up on the shift immediately.

Harriet offered a tight smile, the wrinkles around her eyes deepening.

"Yes, ma'am. I resigned from the Lehman household and moved back to my hometown in the countryside."

She paused, dropping her voice.

"The Lehman family... it's not the same family it used to be."

Annelise listened quietly, offering no interruptions.

Hesitating for a moment, Harriet ultimately spilled everything she knew.

The news felt like tiny stones cast from a distant world, sending faint ripples across the newly still surface of Annelise's heart.

"Something massive has gone wrong with the Lehman Group."

Harriet's tone carried the simple, working-class awe of watching a titan fall.

"Felix told me that ever since that scandal at the wedding, the company's stock has been in free fall. It's like watching a building collapse. A lot of the big investors working with the Lehmans have completely pulled out."

"Mr. Lehman... Barnum, that is... had to sell off several of his peripheral estates and land just to scrape together enough to plug the bleeding."

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