Se connecterSeraphinaMy phone rings while I’m staring at the ceiling, bored out of my mind. Dominic left for work hours ago to check on his investment, and the house feels too big and too empty.Unknown number.“Hello?”“Seraphina? This is Kael. Kael Morrison, from Lincoln High.”I sit up, surprised. “Kael? Wow, it’s been years.”“I know, right? I’m back in town for a while and thought I’d reach out to some old friends. Would you want to grab coffee? Catch up?”I hesitate. Should I? I’m with Dominic now. But it’s just an old friend. Nothing wrong with coffee. And I’m going insane alone in this house with nothing but grief and worry for company.“Sure, that sounds nice.”He sends me the location of a restaurant downtown. Something casual but nice. I get dressed in jeans and a sweater, nothing special, and drive there feeling lighter than I have in weeks.Kael is already at a table when I arrive. He stands when he sees me, and I barely recognize him. He’s taller than I remember, filled out, with a
DominicThe house is dark when I pull into the driveway. Not completely dark, though. There’s a soft glow coming from the windows. Candlelight maybe. I kill the engine and sit for a moment, trying to process what I’m seeing.Did Seraphina forget to turn on the lights? Is something wrong?I grab my briefcase and head inside, and the moment I open the door, I freeze.A romantic setup. Flower petals, Candles everywhere. On the mantle, the coffee table, the entry table. Dozens of them cast warm light throughout the room. Music is playing softly from somewhere. Something instrumental I don’t recognize. And the smell of cooking. Something rich and savory that makes my stomach remind me I haven’t eaten since breakfast.“Seraphina?”She appears in the doorway to the dining room wearing a champagne silk robe that catches the candlelight. Her hair is down in soft waves. Her makeup is subtle but makes her eyes look impossibly large. And she’s smiling with a nervousness that makes her look younge
The TrapDominicThe restaurant is the kind of place where business deals worth millions happen over expensive steaks and older scotch. Private dining room. Soundproof walls. The illusion of legitimacy wrapped in white tablecloths and crystal.Jennifer sits beside me, her laptop open, projections displayed with the confidence of someone who believes in what she’s selling. Across from us are the men who will either save me or destroy me.Roman Volkov introduces himself first. Late forties, tailored suit, Harvard ring on his finger. He looks like every other wealthy investor I’ve met. Polished. Professional. Completely trustworthy.“Mr. Ashcroft, thank you for meeting with us.” His handshake is firm. “Jennifer has told us about your situation. We think we can help.”The man beside him is younger. Elijah Crane. Early thirties, tech money probably, with the casual arrogance of someone who’s never known failure.“The opportunity we’re presenting is time sensitive,” Crane says, pulli
Seraphina“Hold on.” It’s the only warning he gives before he starts fucking me in earnest.Deep, punishing thrusts, hard, furious, unrelenting… each one slamming so deep it knocks the breath from my lungs and makes the desk shudder violently beneath us. The wet slap of skin on skin fills the room, louder than my broken cries.I’m sobbing now, not from pain but from how devastatingly good it feels, how he’s splitting me open and filling every empty, aching place inside me. Tears stream hot down my cheeks, trailing into my hairline, matting the strands against my temples as my head tips back helplessly.“Touch yourself.” His voice is gravelly, breathless, almost savage. “Make yourself come while I fuck you apart.”My trembling fingers find my clit, already swollen, oversensitive, and I rub frantically, matching the brutal rhythm he’s setting. Every brutal plunge forces a fresh gush from me. I’m squirting with almost every thrust now, slick heat soaking his thighs, dripping down his bal
DominicThe numbers blur together on the screen. Two in the morning and I’m still in my study, staring at investment projections that promise returns too good to be true. Because they probably are too good to be true. But tomorrow I’m meeting with Jennifer’s contacts anyway. Tomorrow I’m borrowing millions from people who don’t accept bankruptcy as an excuse for non-payment.Tomorrow I’m gambling everything on one desperate chance.I lean back in my chair and close my eyes. One week ago I was watching our baby’s heartbeat on an ultrasound screen. Planning a future. Believing in something.Now the baby is gone. The money is gone. The company is slipping away. And I’m sitting in my study at two in the morning trying to figure out how everything fell apart so completely.The sound of bare feet on hardwood makes me open my eyes.Seraphina stands in the doorway wearing one of my dress shirts, the white one she’s claimed as hers. It hits her mid-thigh, the sleeves rolled up, and her h
Elena“I want an offer on the lake house by end of week.” I adjust the phone against my ear, settling deeper into the lounger. The Swiss sun is warm on my skin, and I’m in no hurry. “Sell it quietly. No public listing. The money goes directly into the offshore account.”My real estate agent hesitates. “Mrs. Ashcroft, are you certain? That property has significant sentimental value, and in the current market—”“I’m certain. Handle it.” I end the call before she can protest further.Sentimental value. How quaint. That house represents everything Dominic and I were supposed to build together. Our future. Our dreams. All those promises made before I discovered him fucking my sister in our kitchen.I take a sip of wine, expensive and cold, and stare at the mountains rising in the distance. Beautiful. Indifferent. Perfect.The lake house will sell for over a million. Added to everything else I’m systematically stripping from him, it’s just another piece of the empire I’m building on h







