Chapter 2: The Family That Wanted My Empire
The jungle does not care if you are rich.
It does not care if your name appears on buildings.
It does not care if thousands of employees wait for your decisions every morning.
The Amazon only asks one question.
Can you survive?
For most of my life, I had survived in different ways.
I survived being underestimated.
I survived walking into rooms where people expected a man to lead.
I survived watching competitors steal ideas I created and then pretend they invented them.
But I had never survived my own family.
The old trail was barely visible.
Roots covered parts of it. Plants swallowed the path. Every few steps, I had to stop and search for another faded red marker.
My ankle grew worse.
But stopping meant dying.
And I was not ready to disappear.
Not anymore.
After several hours, I reached a small clearing.
There was an abandoned wooden structure covered in moss.
A survey station.
Inside, I found a broken chair, old supplies, and something that nearly made me cry.
A water container.
I drank slowly.
Then I sat against the wall and allowed myself one minute to feel everything.
The anger.
The pain.
The humiliation.
I thought about Julian as a child.
The boy who used to hold my hand when he was afraid.
The teenager who cried when I missed his school play because of a business emergency.
The young man who once told me, “Mom, I’ll make you proud.””
When had that boy disappeared?
Or had I simply refused to see the man he became?
My phone was gone.
But my memory was not.
And my memory kept returning to the months before the trip.
Small things.
Strange things.
Richard asking questions about company ownership.
Julian suddenly interested in my personal documents.
Celeste asking about my health.
“Are you still seeing your doctor every month?”” she asked one morning.
I looked up from my coffee.
“Why?””
She smiled.
“No reason. I just worry about you.””
At the time, I thanked her.
Now, I wondered what answer she hoped I would give.
The sound of movement outside made me freeze.
I grabbed a broken piece of wood from the floor.
Someone was approaching.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
I prepared myself.
Then a familiar voice called out.
“Mrs. Thorne?””
I almost collapsed from relief.
“Mateus?””
Our guide stepped into the clearing, soaked from the rain, his eyes widening when he saw me.
“Oh my God.””
He rushed forward.
“I thought you were dead.””
I looked at him.
“I almost was.””
His face changed.
He understood.
“What happened?””
I swallowed.
“My son pushed me.””
Mateus stared.
Then he slowly shook his head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“Julian?””
I nodded.
“And Richard.””
The silence between us was heavier than the jungle around us.
Finally, Mateus whispered, “Your family told everyone you fell.””
My blood turned cold.
“Everyone?””
He looked away.
“They returned to the lodge two hours after you disappeared. Julian was crying. Richard was calling for help.””
Of course they were.
They had already started the performance.
“They told me you slipped while taking photographs near the railing,” Mateus continued.
I looked at him.
“Did they?””
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
“You saw something.””
Mateus looked uncomfortable.
“I saw Julian arguing with Richard before they left.””
“What were they saying?””
“I don’t know everything.””
“Tell me what you heard.””
He looked down.
Then quietly said, “Julian said, ‘After tonight, everything changes.’”
My stomach tightened.
The words felt like another fall.
“Everything?””
Mateus nodded.
“And your husband said something about the board meeting.””
The board.
Not grief.
Not rescue.
The board.
My company.
They were not only planning my death.
They were planning the moment after it.
“Take me back,” I said.
Mateus looked shocked.
“To the lodge?””
“Yes.””
“Mrs. Thorne, if they know you’re alive—”
“They will know eventually.””
I stood carefully.
“They need to believe I’m dead for as long as possible.””
Mateus stared at me.
“What are you going to do?””
I looked toward the jungle.
Toward the river.
May you like
Toward the place where my son had smiled while watching me fall.
“I’m going to find out how far they were willing to go.””
