Chapter 13 - The Price of ArroganceThe winter of 2026 arrived with bitter, biting winds across the industrial sector. At a desolate construction site on the outskirts of the city, a man wearing a torn safety vest bent under the crushing weight of heavy cement bags. His face was covered in dust, and the hands that once signed million-dollar contracts were now raw, bleeding, and calloused from manual labor.
It was Andrew.
Following his highly publicized bankruptcy, no legitimate corporation dared to hire him, fearing the wrath of the Escalante conglomerate. The only way he could survive and make payments on his astronomical debt was through brutal physical labor.
"Hey, Andrew! Move faster, the brick shipment just arrived!" the site foreman yelled brutally.
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Andrew bowed his head, quickening his pace. Right at that moment, a luxury limousine passed by the construction zone, slowed down by heavy traffic. Through the tinted window, which was rolled down halfway, Andrew caught a glimpse of Mariana. She was engaged in an intense strategic discussion with an international partner, radiant and completely free.
He stood frozen in the freezing cold, the cement bag on his shoulders weighing down upon him like a mountain. The distance between them was no longer just a pane of glass; it was the unbridgeable chasm between heaven and hell.
