The Birthmark

For the first time, Vessara hesitated.

Because years ago—

After the Laurent family discovered she wasn’t their biological daughter, they treated her worse than a servant.

Her adoptive older brother had even attempted to assault her more than once.

And in her desperation, she had fled to the Valdis estate.

Chairman Valdis had been the only person who ever gave her warmth.

The only person who treated her like family.

And Razen Valdis—

He had been the one who personally took her away from the Laurent family.

A flicker of emotion passed through Vessara’s eyes.

Without another word, she tore a piece of paper from nearby, scribbled down a number, and tossed it toward him before leaving.

...

Inside the hospital room—

Razen stood beside the bed, staring at the sleeping old man quietly.

Then he let out a slow breath.

“Old man,” he muttered, “if you don’t wake up soon…”

A dangerous look flickered through his eyes.

“I’m going to start cleaning out the Valdis family myself.”

Nearby, Nathan finished checking Razen’s wrist, but his expression still looked unsettled.

“Razen… that woman’s not normal.”

His tone turned serious.

“The surgery was perfect. I reviewed part of the footage.” Nathan frowned slightly. “That kind of precision doesn’t come from an ordinary surgeon.”

If anything—

it looked like the work of someone with decades of experience.

Razen lowered his gaze slightly.

“Find out who she is.”

A faint emotion flickered through his eyes.

“I think she’s someone I used to know.”

...

Outside the hospital—

Vessara met Roy beside the car.

“Boss, are we heading out now?”

Once inside, Vessara removed the fox mask, revealing her cold, delicate features again.

“We still need one more thing.”

Her eyes darkened slightly.

“During the surgery, I noticed Chairman Valdis’s condition progressing faster than expected.”

Roy immediately pulled out his phone and searched through several files.

A few seconds later, his expression shifted.

“Boss…”

He looked up carefully.

"There's only one harvestable Blood Orchid left in the country." A pause. “It’s in the Barclay family’s possession.”

“Then we’ll pay them a visit.” Vessara leaned back against the leather seat and closed her eyes for a moment.

The city lights flickered past outside the rain-streaked window.

After a brief silence, she spoke.

"I'll handle this alone."

Her voice was calm, leaving no room for argument.

"You head back to the base and take care of everything else."

Roy immediately straightened in his seat.

"Understood, Boss."

...

The Barclay family.

One of the four old legacy families still active within high society.

Fortunately, unlike the others, the Barclays still maintained public connections.

After sending a formal request ahead of time, Vessara headed straight for the estate.

Since this was an official visit, she naturally couldn’t wear the fox mask.

Luckily, the Laurent family had never been important enough to interact with the Barclays before.

No one there would recognize her.

Even after years of decline, the Barclay estate still carried an overwhelming sense of prestige.

As she walked through the grounds, Vessara quietly took in the scenery around her.

At first, she’d been mildly surprised.

Then gradually indifferent.

By the time she entered the main living room, her expression was completely calm again.

From the information she’d gathered, the head of the Barclay family was considered reasonable enough.

The difficult one—

was his wife.

A woman known throughout high society for her ruthless personality.

“Please have a seat, Miss Laurent,” a servant said politely while placing tea on the table. “Mr. Barclay will be back shortly. Madam Barclay will be downstairs soon.”

After the servant left, Vessara let out a quiet breath.

Of course.

The first person she had to deal with was the difficult wife.

Just as she reached for the teacup—

CRASH!

Something shattered nearby.

Then a trembling female voice echoed through the room.

“…Seraphine?”

The voice cracked slightly.

“Is that really you?”

Vessara turned toward the voice.

A beautiful woman dressed in an elegant lavender gown stood frozen halfway down the staircase, her face filled with shock.

At her feet lay the shattered remains of a porcelain teacup.

Even from a glance, Vessara could tell it was an antique worth a fortune.

But the woman didn’t spare the broken pieces a single look. Her trembling gaze remained fixed on Vessara.

More specifically—

On the crimson birthmark beneath her eye.

Vessara’s heart skipped violently.

Slowly, she stood up.

“Mrs. Barclay,” she said carefully, “what did you just say?”

The woman’s eyes instantly reddened.

“You’re my daughter.”

Her voice shook as she repeated the words.

She hurried downstairs almost desperately.

“That beauty mark…” she whispered. “I remember it.”

Her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

“You had it the night you were born.”

“I only got to hold you once before they took you away.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“And when they brought the baby back… the mark was gone.”

“Everyone said I was confused because of the avalanche. They claimed I gave birth too early and imagined things because my mind was unstable.”

Her voice cracked.

“But I knew I wasn’t wrong.”

She grabbed Vessara’s stiff hand tightly.

“You look exactly like I did when I was younger.”

Her breathing became uneven.

“You have to be my daughter.”

Then, as if afraid Vessara would disappear at any second, the woman hurriedly pulled out her phone and dialed someone.

“Come home immediately!” she cried the moment the call connected. “I found our daughter!”

Only then did Vessara truly study the woman in front of her.

And once she looked carefully—

She noticed the resemblance immediately.

The eyes.

The face shape.

Even the expression when emotional.

Still…

Wasn’t this conclusion far too reckless?

“Mrs. Barclay,” Vessara began gently, “a lot of people have beauty marks like this. I really think—”

“Right. DNA testing.”

The woman nodded rapidly into the phone.

“We’ll do it immediately.”

It was as though she feared Vessara wouldn’t believe her otherwise.

Left with no choice, Vessara quietly stood there while the woman finished her call.

Even after hanging up, Mrs. Barclay continued clutching the phone tightly, refusing to let go.