Layla stared at the letter, her fingers beginning to tremble as the words refused to settle in her mind.
This was not what she had expected. Not at all.
Of all the things she had braced herself to hear, this was the one thing she wasn't prepared for.
She already knew her family had been struggling. Even though her salary at the castle was far higher than that of a teacher at the village square, it never seemed to be enough. Her father, in his constant pursuit of wealth, kept buying lands—over and over again.
And not just that.
The lands were always scams.
Either the seller wasn't the rightful owner, or the documents were forged. Every single time, they lost everything. And yet, somehow, he had done it again.
And now…
"Ruella is missing."
