Chapter 3: Calling the Cops

The Blackwood estate.

When Julian and Wells got home, Vivienne had already prepared dinner and was waiting for them.

Seeing no sign of Sera, she asked what had happened, and Julian told her everything.

She sighed. "Julian, this is all my fault. She must resent me for what happened three years ago. That's why she won't come home. And with a prison record, where else can she go?"

"Let her be," Julian said, his tone cold.

But when he pictured Sera standing there, he couldn't help frowning.

She hadn't just lost weight. She seemed like a different person.

His brow tightened with unease.

Did she really suffer that much in there?

How could that be? Vivienne had told him the inmates at the women's facility were perfectly decent. And he had arranged for someone to look after her. She'd had food and clothes. It was only three years for a mistake she had made.

Vivienne looked worried. "But what if your grandfather asks why she didn't come back? He specifically asked you to pick her up, Julian."

Years ago, Sera had saved old Mr. Blackwood's life, and he had adored her ever since.

It was why Julian had been pushed into the marriage, and why her family had paid such a hefty price for it.

Even after Sera went to prison, the old man still recognized only her as his granddaughter-in-law.

Julian didn't take it seriously.

"Don't worry. She's penniless. What future does she have without the Blackwoods? She's angry at me, but would she hold a grudge against Wells? His graduation is in two days. She'll be there."

Wells had skipped three grades and, at just nine years old, was already graduating from elementary school.

Everyone knew how much Sera loved her son. There was no way she'd miss a moment like that.

Wells pouted and snuggled into Vivienne's arms. "But I want Aunt Vivi to come to my graduation."

Vivienne tapped his nose and smiled. "All right. If you can talk your mom into coming home, Aunt Vivi will go with you. Honestly, with her record, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to attend something like that."

Wells paused.

Talk her into it?

Does Aunt Vivi want me to lie to her?

A flicker of hesitation crossed his face, then vanished.

If his classmates found out his mother had been in prison, nobody would ever want to talk to him again.

And since his dad didn't object, Wells nodded obediently.

Vivienne smiled and looked over the table full of food. "Such a shame. All this was made especially for Sera, and it's going to go to waste."

But for two days straight, Julian didn't hear a word from Sera.

She seemed to have truly made up her mind about the divorce. She no longer wanted anything to do with the father and son.

Frowning, he finally dialed her number.

All he got was a recording: The number you have dialed is not in service.

He stood there stunned.

Then it hit him. After three years in prison, her old phone number was long gone. Even her social media accounts had been deactivated.

He couldn't reach her at all.

A strange mix of panic and irritation rose in him.

His face hardened. He gave his assistant a cold order. "Find out Sera's current address and phone number. Now that she's out, we can't let the Blackwood name be dragged through the mud."

In the two days since her release, Sera had done nothing but fix up Lakeview Tower.

Once the divorce was final, she would be entitled to half of the marital property.

But before that, she needed a way to support herself. So she decided to return to an old passion: gemstone sculpting.

For three years, the penthouse had sat neglected, buried in dust.

Sera cleaned every corner, only to discover that the stone eagles that once guarded the entryway were gone.

She called the building management to ask.

"Three years ago, Ms. Lockhart was injured by some obsessive fans who were harassing her. She liked the sculptures, so Mr. Blackwood and his son sent them over to her house. They said it was to protect her."

Sera wasn't surprised at all.

She had carved those eagles for Julian and Wells with her own hands, pouring months of effort into them.

They were meant to protect the two of them.

But Julian had called them tacky and sent them back.

And then he had turned around and given her work to Vivienne.

To trample her good intentions, then use them to win another woman's favor?

After hanging up, Sera dialed 911.

When the line connected, she said calmly, "I'd like to report a theft. Some of my belongings were taken from my home."

Then she hung up.

After the officers took her statement, Sera was drained.

Once they left, she realized she was burning with fever.

She dragged herself to the hospital for medicine.

But when the doctor saw her injuries, his expression turned grim. "You have a lot of old wounds that never healed properly. Besides bruising from punches and kicks, there are also... needle marks. Your whole body is severely weakened. I strongly advise you to be admitted and rest, or else..."

"No."

Sera answered without any expression, calmly declining.

She was trained in botanical medicine and knew her own body well.

The women in prison were cruel, and they had been careful to leave injuries where the guards wouldn't see them.

If it weren't for her medical skill, she probably wouldn't have survived.

She hadn't died in there. So how could she die now that she was free?

Still, the thought that these wounds were the doing of her husband and the child she had carried for ten months made her feel bitterly ironic.

While the doctor was changing her dressing, Wells spotted her from across the hall.

He tugged on Julian's sleeve and pursed his lips. "Dad, why is she at the hospital? Is she sick?"

Julian's gaze followed his son's.

His brows drew together, and disgust flashed in his eyes.

Three years later, and she was still playing hard to get.

Sick? Please.

She's just putting on an act for me.