Against the Algorithm

Chapter 49: Unlocking What Was Ours

Summary: A single message shatters the quiet, and suddenly everything begins to shift—toward old truths, long-sealed legacies, and a mother's final safeguard. Surrounded by those who never let her walk alone, Yao steps into the future her mother designed for her with the quiet resolve of someone who finally understands what she was meant to inherit. Not just wealth. But trust. And belonging.

Chapter Forty-Nine

The rain poured steadily outside, blanketing the windows of Yao's apartment in soft sheets of gray. The world beyond was little more than blurred outlines and the soothing tap of droplets against glass. Da Bing and Xiao Cong were curled in their usual places—one draped like a shaggy cloud over the back of her couch, the other nestled in the warmth of a fleece blanket by her feet.

The base downstairs was filled with the low hum of laughter, soft conversation, and the occasional clash of controller buttons—someone was trying to convince Yue to lose gracefully, and failing. It was one of those rare, quiet afternoons where time felt suspended, and for once, Yao had allowed herself to rest, tea in hand, laptop open, papers left unattended beside her.

Then the email notification pinged.

She didn't look at it right away.

But after a moment, she set the mug down and clicked open the message.

Her eyes skimmed the subject line. Then the sender.

The Law Offices of Calloway, Reese & Lowe.

From the States.

The message was brief, clipped in tone, professionally written. A formal notification that her aunt, uncle, and cousin—those same three who had tried to control her life, manipulate her future, and profit off the ashes of her grief—had died tragically in a house fire. The cause, it said, was under investigation. The fire had been swift. No survivors.

Her hand moved absently to her chest, her fingers brushing over the medallion that never left her skin—the Lu family crest in white gold, circled with rubies, worn against her heart every day since he'd given it to her. She didn't remove it. Not for sleep. Not for work. Never.

And now, feeling the familiar weight of it resting over her sternum, grounding her, she understood exactly why it had been given. Not just as a symbol of belonging. But of protection. Because this? This was no accident. She wasn't foolish. She had felt the shift when it had started—weeks ago, the quiet between her and Cheng deepening with something unspoken. She'd caught the way Jinyang's voice dropped when she talked about justice, the way Sicheng's expression had shuttered when his mother's name came up.

And now?

Now the silence had an answer.

She didn't cry.

Didn't grieve.

There was no part of her that mourned people who had never loved her. She closed the email slowly and lowered the screen of her laptop, exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Then her fingers curled over the medallion once more, holding it with a quiet strength as she leaned back into the couch, Xiao Cong still nestled against her, Da Bing watching with his steady, knowing gaze.

She whispered softly, "So this is what you kept silent about, isn't it, Cheng-ge..."

No fear.

No doubt.

Just quiet understanding.

The rain hadn't stopped. It tapped steadily against the windows like a quiet rhythm that filled the silence of her apartment. The room was dim, the only light coming from the soft glow of her floor lamp and the muted flicker of her laptop screen, which now sat closed on the coffee table. Da Bing remained curled near the base of the couch, tail flicking slowly in time with the storm outside, and Xiao Cong was asleep in the corner, barely stirring.