In the hollow silence where the roses once reigned, Layla Hobert wanders as a ghost within her own mind. She is a fragment of a shattered mirror, her past a landscape of ash and mist. Years ago, a storm of iron and fire ignited by the hand of Charles Hoffman stole the breath from her father's lungs and the light from her mother's eyes. In the wreckage of that fatal hour, the very essence of her soul was severed; her memories were cast like withered leaves into the wind, leaving her a vessel of hollow porcelain. Now, guided by the cold hand of her uncle who remembers the blood she forgot, she enters the Hoffman sanctum as one who cannot break a trust. Her purpose is singular and sharp: to reap a vengeance long overdue upon Calvin Hoffman, and to ensure that the empire built on her father's grave- the Hoffman legacy. is erased from the earth. ________________________________________ Content Warning: This story is set in a historical period and contains depictions of racial prejudice, systemic oppression, and heavy patriarchal themes. These are depicted to reflect the harsh realities of the time and do not represent the author's personal views.