Harrison's entire world collapsed the moment the family board members finished reading the evidence against him. The heavy silence in the luxurious meeting room was thicker than smoke, and every pair of eyes in the space stared at him with a mixture of disgust, contempt, and disbelief. The audio recordings played clearly from the speakers: his voice, arrogant and reckless, plotting with the mysterious watcher to destroy Lucian, seize control of the Lucian Group, and even eliminate anyone who stood in his way. The financial documents were laid out on the long mahogany table, page after page of embezzlement, fake transactions, hidden offshore accounts, and bribes paid to corporate spies and underground criminals. The proof that he had colluded with dangerous external forces to sabotage company projects, leak confidential information, and arrange threats against Ella was undeniable. Every single one of his crimes, which he had believed were perfectly hidden, was exposed for the entire family to see.
The family members who had once nodded along with his lies, flattered by his promises of power and wealth, now turned away from him as if he were dirty. Those who had hesitated to take sides now hardened their expressions, fully convinced that Harrison was nothing more than a traitorous, greedy snake who would destroy his own blood for money. No one spoke up for him. No one defended him. No one even looked at him with sympathy. In that single moment, Harrison lost every last shred of respect, status, and influence he had spent years building.
He was immediately stripped of all his positions, titles, and shares in the company. His access to family resources was cut off completely. He was formally expelled from the Lucian family in complete and utter disgrace, with a formal announcement distributed to all business partners and social circles to ensure that no one in high society would ever accept him again.
But that was only the beginning of his punishment.
Lucian was not a man who showed mercy to those who threatened his family or tried to destroy everything he had built. He did not believe in half-punishments or second chances for the wicked. Harrison had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed: he had targeted Ella, the only person Lucian had ever truly loved and vowed to protect with his life. For that alone, Lucian would ensure that Harrison suffered consequences so severe that he would regret every breath he had ever taken.
All the evidence Ethan had carefully collected over months of secret investigation was handed directly to the highest legal authorities. The documents were so detailed, so well-organized, and so thoroughly verified that investigators needed almost no time to build an airtight case. Harrison was arrested at his luxury apartment within hours, taken away in handcuffs in front of his shocked neighbors and former friends. The charges against him were long and serious: large-scale fraud, conspiracy to commit economic sabotage, involvement in organized crime, bribery, intimidation, and attempted murder for his plots against Ella and several loyal company executives.
The trial was swift, public, and brutal. It dominated news headlines for weeks, with the media describing it as the most shocking family betrayal in the country's business history. Witnesses came forward from all sides to testify against him: former assistants who had been forced to help him hide illegal funds, business partners who had been threatened into cooperation, and even members of the criminal network he had worked with, who agreed to testify in exchange for reduced sentences. The evidence was so overwhelming that not even the most expensive, high-profile lawyers in the country could save him. Every objection was overruled. Every attempt to discredit the evidence failed. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning a guilty verdict on all counts.
The judge sentenced him to fifteen years in a maximum-security prison, the kind reserved for the most dangerous and hated criminals. It was not a comfortable white-collar detention center with private rooms, gyms, and luxurious facilities. It was a rough, violent, overcrowded prison located in a remote, desolate area, where the strong preyed on the weak and rules were often ignored by both inmates and guards. Wealthy, arrogant men like Harrison were especially targeted, seen as easy prey for resentment and violence.
On his first day inside, he was beaten brutally by a group of long-term inmates who resented privileged men who thought they could buy their way out of trouble. His expensive designer clothes were torn off his body and thrown in the trash. His expensive watch, necklace, and other accessories were stolen immediately. His pride was shattered completely, along with his dignity. He was given a rough, stained, ill-fitting uniform and a narrow, hard metal bed in a crowded cell with six other dangerous men. The cell smelled of sweat, dirt, and unwashed bodies, with no windows and barely enough space to walk.
He was forced to stand in long lines every morning for tasteless, nutrient-poor food that was barely edible. He was made to clean dirty bathrooms, scrub floors, and perform hard, exhausting manual labor in the prison yard for hours every day, under the burning sun or heavy rain. Guards shouted at him roughly, showing him none of the respect he had once been used to. Inmates mocked him, spat at him, and threatened him constantly. The once-arrogant, handsome heir to a business empire quickly became a gaunt, bruised, broken man. His face was covered in small scars from fights and attacks. His hands, once used to signing important documents and enjoying luxury, became rough and calloused from forced labor. His hair grew messy and unkempt. He no longer looked like a member of a powerful wealthy family. He looked like a defeated, miserable criminal, just another number in the system.
Worse than physical suffering was the absolute loneliness that ate away at his mind every day.
No one visited him.
The relatives who had once supported him abandoned him without a second thought, too afraid of being associated with a convicted criminal. His so-called friends and business partners vanished completely, deleting his contact information and refusing to answer his calls. No letters came. No care packages arrived. No phone calls were allowed. No one remembered he existed. The man who had craved power, attention, and admiration more than anything in the world was now completely, utterly alone, locked away from the world he had once believed he would rule.
He often lay on his narrow bed late at night, staring at the cold, gray ceiling, replaying his life choices in his head until his head hurt. He had been consumed by jealousy from a young age. Growing up in the shadow of Lucian, he had always felt overlooked, unappreciated, and inferior. He hated that Lucian was the legitimate, favored heir. He hated that Lucian was smarter, calmer, and more capable than he could ever be. He hated that even when Lucian was "blind" and weakened, hiding behind his disguise, he still commanded more respect and loyalty than Harrison ever could. He had spent years plotting, lying, and manipulating, believing that if he destroyed Lucian, he could take everything—the wealth, the power, the glory, the admiration of others, the entire Lucian empire. He had dreamed of standing on top of the business world, looking down at everyone, and proving that he was better than the brother he had resented so deeply.
Instead, he destroyed only himself.
He thought about Ella, the quiet, gentle girl he had openly mocked and humiliated without mercy. He had called her worthless, a nobody from a broken, failing family, unworthy of being part of the noble Lucian household. He had looked down on her for being soft, kind, and unassuming, believing that she was nothing more than a weak tool in their contract marriage. Now she was the beloved matriarch of the Lucian family, living a life of warmth, love, and happiness, surrounded by children, respect, and endless affection. She was protected, cherished, and valued beyond measure. He thought about Lucian, the blind man he had laughed at and underestimated, who was now the most powerful man in the country, feared by his enemies, respected by the world, and deeply loved by his family. The man he had tried to destroy was living the perfect life, while Harrison rotted in a cell.
And he thought about his own greed, his own arrogance, his own pure evil. He had chosen betrayal over family, power over morality, and cruelty over kindness. He had made his bed, and now he was forced to lie in it.
He had gotten exactly what he deserved.
Prison life wore him down year after year. The violence, the hunger, the fear, and the loneliness slowly broke his spirit. He became increasingly bitter, depressed, and emotionally numb. He lost all hope of ever being free or returning to his old life. He stopped trying to defend himself. He stopped dreaming of revenge. He stopped caring about anything at all. He simply existed, counting days in darkness, waiting for time to pass. His health deteriorated badly. He developed chronic pain, stomach problems, and mental health issues from the constant stress and poor living conditions. No one cared. No one helped. He was completely forgotten.
When his fifteen-year sentence finally ended, Harrison was a completely changed man—old before his time, physically weak, mentally broken, and completely alone. He had no money, no family, no connections, no home, and no dignity. The world he returned to wanted nothing to do with him. No one offered him a job. No one offered him shelter. No one spoke to him kindly. He was a ghost, a relic of a shameful past, unwanted by everyone.
He ended up living on the streets, begging for small change and leftover food from strangers, sleeping in cold alleyways during rain and freezing winter nights. He wore tattered, dirty clothes and walked with a limp from the injuries he had suffered in prison. The man who had once dreamed of ruling a billion-dollar empire, riding luxury cars, and living in a mansion died years later as a homeless beggar, alone, cold, hungry, and completely forgotten by everyone.
No one mourned his death. No one attended his funeral. No one even remembered his name.
Karma had come for him. And it had been ruthless.