LOGINMireille clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked, her face turning pale and strained. She stayed silent for a long moment.
At that moment, Fenris Carrington arrived, and even before he reached them, he was already yelling.
“Raina! You unfilial daughter! You come back and cause trouble everywhere, bringing shame on us! Aren’t you going to…”
Originally scolding Raina, Fenris froze when he saw her, his voice cutting off abruptly.
Had Raina’s appearance… recovered?
“Fenris, Raina’s been out too long, that’s why she’s so wild. Don’t bother arguing with her, don’t get angry... Remember, we have serious matters today. Besides, so many guests are watching.”
Odette, the third wife who’d risen in status, lowered her voice at the end.
Fenris snorted coldly, scowling, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and come with me! Such an embarrassment!”
Raina lowered her gaze, her face returning to its usual indifferent expression.
This was her father — his heart was always biased.
But it didn’t matter anymore. She hadn’t come back to reunite, but to find her lost baby and reclaim what was hers.
Amidst the murmurs, Raina followed Fenris and Odette out.
Mireille snapped out of her daze and followed as well.
...
Hotel lounge.
With a sharp “slam,” Fenris threw a contract in front of Raina.
“Sign this contract. From now on, the Carrington family has nothing to do with you!”
On the front page of the contract was clearly written — Company Share Transfer Agreement.
Fenris was demanding Raina transfer her mother’s company to Mireille — for free!
Raina lounged casually on the sofa, but an invisible pressure radiated from her, even making Fenris furrow his brow and fix his gaze on her.
After all these years, something about Raina seemed different.
The girl raised her hand, picked up the agreement, and curled a cold, sarcastic smile at the corner of her lips.
“Company transfer agreement?”
Fenris felt no problem demanding Raina sign it. Ever since Lauren passed away, he’d taken for granted that everything belonged to him.
But before she died, Lauren left a will, leaving all her inheritance to that useless bastard, Raina.
Besides, the company was now managed by a professional manager, and without this transfer agreement, the other side wouldn’t acknowledge Fenris’s claims.
That’s why he saw this as the perfect opportunity. Raina was always timid — with him asking personally, there was no way she wouldn’t sign.
A flash of triumph crossed Fenris’s eyes before he impatiently said, “It’s just a failing company anyway. Think of it as your sister’s wedding gift. You wouldn’t be that petty to begrudge her that, would you?”
Odette quickly chimed in with a sweet smile, “Exactly, Raina, you don’t know how badly business has been these past years. The company’s always losing money. Even if you got it, you wouldn’t be able to run it. Better to give it to Mireille as her dowry — that’s what an older sister should do.”
Mireille sat nearby, her arrogant pride slowly returning.
With Fenris and Odette backing her, she didn’t even have to lift a finger to crush Raina.
“What right do you have?” Raina slammed the agreement down heavily on the table.
Fenris’s expression hardened, a bad feeling creeping up inside him. “What do you mean?”
The atmosphere instantly thickened.
Raina tapped twice on the contract, a mocking smile playing at her eyes and brows.
“The company is mine. Why should my own property be given away for free? I won’t sign this.”
“Whether you sign it or not isn’t up to you! You’ll sign it today—willing or not! Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re some untouchable high-society lady. With or without your consent, Jasper and Mireille’s engagement is already set in stone!”
“It’s just giving her a bankrupt company and you can’t even agree to that?”Odette seized the chance to fan the flames. “Fenris, I’m telling you, your daughter is… tsk, tsk, selfish to the extreme.”
Raina rubbed her forehead, knowing there was no point in staying. She stood and left the lounge.
“Raina! Stop right there! You unfilial daughter! Once you step out that door, don’t ever think of coming back to the Carrington family!”
The Carrington family?
Aside from the name, she no longer had any ties to them.
Beep—
As soon as she stepped out, her phone rang. Raina glanced at the caller ID, then answered, holding the phone to her ear.
“Raina, you really have some serious charm. Wherever you go, that Mr. Vexley follows. His people are at the scene too. Be careful not to reveal your whereabouts.”
Leif was here for the Hale family engagement banquet?
Rumor had it this Mr. Vexley was low-profile, never attending public events. If not to personally clear up the media rumors about the second young master of the Vexley family’s leg injury, he wouldn’t have appeared publicly.
Yet he even came to some insignificant noble family’s engagement banquet — low-profile, huh?
Raina lowered her gaze lazily and replied, “Got it.”
She hung up and tapped a few times on her phone screen. A complex web of lines and dots appeared, with over a dozen red dots blinking.
For such a large event, the other side could insert their people quietly without alerting the hosts — interesting.
“Raina! Stop right there!”
A sharp, venomous voice sounded from behind.
No need to turn around — it was Mireille.
Raina put away her phone and turned to look at Mireille, raising an eyebrow.
“Second Miss Carrington still have something to say?”
Second Miss Carrington — those words were like a fine needle piercing through Mireille’s skin. The pain was subtle but impossible to ignore.
Mireille stood frozen for a moment, then suddenly raised her head, her tone and expression turning cold and cruel as she sneered, “Why aren’t you dead yet? You should have died five years ago... Raina, seriously, just die already, won’t you?”
“Answer me! Say something, Raina! Answer me—”
Her voice grew sharper and full of malice, making it clear this curse wasn’t just empty words. She really wanted Raina dead.
But Raina laughed, covering her face with one hand as the laughter slipped through her fingers.
“You’re still alive, so why should I die? Mireille, everything you stole from me, I’ll make you spit it out one by one.”
“Never!”
Mireille’s eyes widened, a flicker of fear and panic flashing in her pupils. She clenched her fists tightly, as if holding onto something, and yelled fiercely at Raina:
“What I’ve got, is mine! Raina, you’ll never take it from me again... never!”
***
One Month Later — Estravia, Wexford Lane Grand Hall.The sun cast golden rays across the hills, the wind carrying soft petals through the courtyard like confetti made by nature itself. The garden was in full bloom—white roses, pale lavender, soft pink peonies—all chosen by Raina herself.She stood beneath an arched trellis of wisteria and jasmine, her ivory dress flowing around her like mist. No glitter. No train. Just grace.And across from her, in a perfectly tailored suit with not a single crease out of place, stood Leif Vexley.His expression wasn’t cold, for once. It wasn’t guarded.It was everything soft and open he had saved just for her.In front of a small gathering of the people who mattered, they made their vows.Mark D’Souza watched from the front row, his eyes glistening again—but this time with joy. Gale sat on his lap, dressed in a miniature tuxedo, proudly tossing flower
Mark nodded slowly. “Yes. After I gave him something.”He reached into his coat and pulled out a small, crystal vial—empty now, but its faint lavender residue clung to the glass.“A trauma suppressant,” he said softly. “A kind of antidote. One of the last ones your mother made.”Raina’s eyes widened. “My mother…?”Mark looked at her, his gaze steady.“She kept a collection of rare formulas—most of them hidden even from the medical association. She developed them for children. For survivors. For people like Gale.”He held up the vial again, then tucked it gently back into his coat.“I kept some of her work—the things she left behind. Quietly. Carefully. I never imagined I’d use it on your son.”Raina was speechless. Her throat tightened as her gaze dropped to Gale, now curled quietly in her arms—warm, calm, safe.
Estravia’s Airport, Capital of ElarisRaina and Leif had just landed.The moment they stepped out of the airport, Raina froze in her tracks.Leif, noticing her sudden stillness, turned to follow her gaze.There—just beyond the security perimeter—stood a tall man in a tailored black coat. Silver streaked through his temples, but his sharp gaze held a familiar kindness.Mark D’Souza.Her mother’s old friend.The man who had pulled her out of ruin five years ago and sent her abroad under a new identity.But what truly made Raina’s heart seize wasn’t him.It was the child nestled quietly in his arm.Gale.Obedient. Calm. Head resting against Mark’s chest.Her feet moved before her mind could catch up.She barely made it a few steps when a soft voice rang out—“Mom!”
On the plane.Raina and Leif sat together, just the two of them. Rael and Leo were seated far away, not daring to come over and disturb them.They were silent for a while before Raina finally spoke up. “So, back then… the person at the hotel—that was you?”She really had no memory of that night. The pregnancy came out of nowhere. If she hadn’t spent years quietly investigating afterward, she still wouldn’t have known how she ended up pregnant in the first place.But all the hotel surveillance footage had been destroyed, and she hadn’t been able to find any other clues.Thinking back now, it was clear that Mireille wasn’t capable of covering things up so cleanly. So, the person who wiped the surveillance—had to be Leif.Leif said, “Yes. I’m the one who deleted the footage. But that night—I wasn’t acting on my own will. I was set up. I’ve been
He finished speaking and forcefully yanked out the short blade, then turned it around and thrust it toward his own chest.However, the blade never reached his heart—Bastian snatched it away in an instant. Blood gushed from his chest, but he didn’t even glance at the wound. His bloodshot eyes remained locked on Jared.After a long moment, he flung the blade aside, gasping for breath, his voice hoarse as he said, “After all these years… you still can’t forgive me… Do you really want me dead that badly?”Jared couldn’t bear to look at him. “Yes. You slaughtered my whole family. You… you killed my brother right in front of me… cough cough… Shouldn’t I take revenge? Shouldn’t I kill you?”Bastian’s face turned pale. It was as if he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. After a long while, his strength faltered. He forced down a
Bastian could tolerate anyone hurling insults at him—anyone, that is, except someone speaking ill of Jared.A flash of ferocity crossed his face, but he still wore a smile. “I’ve been too lenient with you, haven’t I? That’s why you think you can stand there and pass judgment on me. Let me make one thing very clear: I won’t allow anyone to say a single bad word about Jared. He’s perfect. Everything is my fault. But that’s just the kind of person I am. Even if I do all the evil in the world, I still believe—I’ve done nothing wrong.”He said it with such conviction that it left others at a loss for how to respond.All things considered, it was almost as if he had a reason for everything he did. Hated since childhood, fighting stray dogs and beggars for food—he never knew what decency, integrity, or shame were. All he knew was that if he wanted to survive, he h







