Secrets to riches

Billboards flash and newspapers all over have the same topic. They’re here to talk about Juliet Wilhem and her rise to fame. In 5 years she had gone from an unheard-of woman to one of the richest people in the world. Now, on the anniversary of her success, she was preparing to sign a deal with an entrepreneur with an idea she insisted stay undisclosed. Curiosity was sparked in the minds and hearts, and news reporters swarmed around this remarkable lady as soon as she stepped out of her limo.

If only they knew about all the choices she had made, only to make her hate the person she had become. But changing from a poverty-stricken girl to a billionaire didn’t come without a price. So, she took a deep breath and allowed her stylists to finish pinning her long auburn hair into an elegant bun. She motioned for security to stay in the limo, then she set her face into a smile and stepped out of the car to face the media.

Juliet hated media, which was why she typically avoided attending pointless meetings, but she was intrigued by the entrepreneur and his strange email requesting her presence. She knew little about him, other than his name: Isaac Darnell. And of course, his ludicrous business idea, that he could bring people back from the dead. It was a big risk funding an unheard-of man and his idea, but she of all people knew what it was like to have big dreams and a town too small to hold them all. She wanted to give him a chance, and maybe, if it was true...She could bring him back.

As she walked past all the cameras and towards an office building. She couldn’t help but notice how close it was to the place she had tried so hard to forget.

After all, time can not heal all wounds.

**************************************

She finally arrived at the door of the office, after dodging a multitude of questions from the reporters. But she had been the one who insisted she and the rest of the investors meet the entrepreneur here, where he would be most comfortable.

She was momentarily distracted by the street sign, and her breath caught as she realized she was in the same neighborhood as the accident.

That was ages ago, anyone who remembers is probably dead by now

She took a deep breath, refusing to let the past haunt her. She carefully stepped into the building and hurried towards the front desk, keeping her head down.

“Hello ma’am how may I help you” A kind-looking woman in her early twenties asked.

Juliet got the impression that she was new to the job, considering how her bright red shirt and blue jeans stood out from the rest of the wooden chairs, white sofas, and neutral colours. Even Juliet herself was clad in all Black.

“Do you know where room 13 is uh, Imogen?” She asked, reading the upside-down name tag on Imogen’s chest.

“It’s on the fourth floor, to your right” Imogen’s eyes lifted in surprise as she heard her destination, but she motioned to the elevator.

Juliet thanked her, then hurried into the elevator and towards the office. She was already running late, but she was hoping that maybe everyone else would be tardy as well. She practically ran towards the open door of the office and hurried inside, out of breath.

The office was neat but very plain. The only furniture was a mahogany desk, and 4 chairs (3 in front of the desk and 1 behind). There wasn’t even a single photo of him with family, friends, or anyone. It made her wonder about his past. Or the lack of it.

 She settled into the empty chair between the 2 other investors, still panting slightly. “Juliet, late again!” the woman on my right exclaimed in agitation.

“People like you shouldn’t have that kind of power” the man muttered on my left. Same to you, back to you, and no returns

Juliet didn’t much like her companions, though she knew them quite well due to the many such meetings in which they were all present.

Sarah Lemon -investor on Juliet’s right- was, like her surname, a lemon. Her face was always scrunched up as if she had eaten something sour (like her personality), her hair was a shriveled-up blonde colour, and she insisted on wearing bright yellow jumpsuits with the same ugly green purse. She was clearly trying to be seen as a sour, sallow-faced citrus fruit. Unfortunately, Tom Dolus- an investor on Juliet’s left- was even worse. He seemed to think he was as spry and young as Tom Sawyer, but in reality, he looked like an idiot trying to look younger than he was. He wore black jeans, a leather jacket, and an obnoxious attitude. He kept running his hands through his hair because he’d gotten it slicked back and cut in a drop fade style. Juliet resisted the urge to punch him in his smirking face.

“Where is Isaac?” Juliet asked stiffly when she had gotten her breath back.

“Fetching the documents. He better hurry though” Sarah replied, checking her reflection in her pocket mirror.

Juliet rolled her eyes but looked up as she heard footsteps. As she finally locked eyes with the mysterious entrepreneur, she was stopped dead in her tracks.

There could be no mistaking, the piercing ocean blue eyes, messy caramel brown hair, and cheeky smile of this man. This was not Isaac. Juliet examined him closely, and he stared right back at her. She could have sworn she saw recognition flash in his eyes. Suddenly he doubled over and they all stood up abruptly. Juliet lingered back, still staring at him in shock.

“Who are you?” Issac asked, gawking at her.

“Harry I... how can...?”

“My name is Isaac.” He said firmly, but Juliet detected a note of hesitation.

Juliet couldn’t stop staring and speculating. She was completely lost in thought.

How can he be sitting there in front of me when...

Harry Mathius Riddle died 5 years ago. Juliet would know. She was the reason why.