The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 130

Hot on its heels were trending tags like: "Lehman heir sterilizes wife," "Cresthaven's top surgeon murders child," "Lehman Group child-killing for inheritance," and "Clarissa Sherwood ultimate homewrecker"...

Every single tag was bloody and filled with enough depravity to make any normal person's skin crawl.

At 9:30 AM, the stock market opened.

Amidst panic selling, the Lehman Group's stock plunged to the daily limit the moment the bell rang.

The wails of countless shareholders mixed with the financial media's emergency analysis reports.

"The Lehman Group is reportedly facing a severe financial crisis. Their massive investment project in South America has hit political roadblocks, nearly breaking their cash flow. The eruption of this family scandal is undoubtedly the final nail in the coffin."

"Breaking news: Two major banks that have long partnered with the Lehman Group emergency-frozen their credit lines this morning. Multiple other partners have issued public statements indicating they will 'closely monitor the situation and reserve the right to terminate contracts at any time.'"

At Cresthaven General Hospital, at the very end of the psych ward corridor.

Barnum Lehman sat completely alone on a cold plastic bench. The phone clutched in his hand burned like a hot iron.

He stared at the shocking red arrow on the screen representing the Lehman Group's stock price, which stood in stark contrast to his entirely bloodless face.

For the first time, he truly felt the powerlessness that came with aging.

The golden business empire he had built with his own two hands felt like it was crashing down right before his eyes.

Meanwhile, Clarissa Sherwood, the other center of this storm, was experiencing the most absolute social death of her life.

Her social media accounts had been completely overrun by furious netizens.

People dug up her old selfies where she looked gentle and peaceful, contrasting them with her terrified, twisted face from yesterday's wedding to create savage meme templates.

Her social media accounts were set to private.

Her phone was permanently turned off.

Countless reporters and influencers who wanted to interview her, pity her, or exploit her hit an absolute dead end.

No one knew that the woman who had turned all of Cresthaven upside down was currently thirty thousand feet in the air.

Her new phone was completely clean, with no unread messages.

Save for one final text Harriet had sent her right before takeoff.

"Ms. Sargent, have a safe trip. When the flowers bloom, remember to send me a photo."