The smell of burning wood and chemicals still haunted him.Even years later,the memory of that day cling to his thoughts like smoke in his lungs.


    *Flashback*


    Ot had been a regular workday at the factory or so it seemed.Machines hummed ,workers moved about and the air buzzed with the sound of productivity.Elias-Logan''s father had been on the factory floor,as he always was,overseeing every detail of his operation with precision and pride.


    Meanwhile in the shadows of the loading dock,the leader-then just the disgruntled younger brother-watched from a distance.


    The resentment had already been building for years.Elias always had the charm,the business acumen and the unwavering confidence that seemed to captive anyone around him.Their father had trusted him as the head family business, while he was left in the background, treated like a mere assistant.


    On that fateful day,it wasn''t just jealousy fueling his anger but betrayal.


    "That was my idea,"he muttered to himself,his eyes narrowing as he saw Elias demonstrate a new prototype to investors.A sleek,innovative machine designed for clean energy production.But the designs had been based on sketches he''d made years ago-,ideas he''d shared with Elias in good faith.


    Elias had taken those sketches,refined then and claimed them as his own.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He clenched his fists,his mind racing,"He''d alone everything from me.My work.My future.My identity."


    That evening,as the workers prepared to shut down for the day,the disgruntled brother made his move.He''d bribed one of the guards weeks earlier gaining access to restricted areas of the factory.His plan wasn''t fully formed-he only knew he wanted Elias to suffer.


    In the storage room,barrels of flammable chemicals were stecked high,carelessly labeled.The leader unscrewed a valve on one of the barrels,letting the liquid pool on the floor.Hiz hand shook,not  from fear,but from the adreline coursing through his veins.


    He lit a match.


    For a moment,nothing happened.Tbe tiny flame flickered In his hand ,casting a faint glow on his face.Then he dropped it into the pool.


    The fire spread faster than he anticipated,the flames licking up the walls and racing toward the machinery.Alarms blared and chaos erupted.Workers screamed,rushing for the exit as the fore consumed everything in its path.


    The leader slipped out through the back entrance, his heart pounding.He hadn''t meant for it to escalate this far but as he stood outside,watching the factory burn,he felt a twisted sense of satisfaction. The fire claimed more than just a factory-it took lives,dreames and trust .Elias survived but he lost everything he''d worked for ,especially one important person.


    In the days that followed, investigators determined the fire had been caused by negligence-a chemical spill bear an exposed wire.The leader had been careful to cover his tracks,ensuring no one would trace it back to him.


    But guilt was a relentless companion.He told himself it was worth it-that Elias deserved to suffer-but the memories of the fire refused to fade


    *End of flashback*


    Now,as he sat in the dimly lit warehouse with his co-conspirators,the leader replayed the events of that day in his mind.The Festival of Lights was just another opportunity to dismantle what little Elias is trying to rebuild through this Festival and maybe his son too.


    "This time,"he thought bitterly,"there won''t be anything left to salvage."