Chapter 2

My spirit followed Lucien back to the familiar estate.

That house had once been my home with Lucien. Every plant, every piece of furniture, every decoration had been chosen by me with care.

Now, Kate lived there.

The moment he pushed the door open, Kate rushed to meet him, her face filled with anxious hope.

"Lucien? Well? Did you find Serafine?"

Lucien shook his head, looking dazed.

"No… and they told me… they told me Serafine is dead."

"Dead?!"

Kate's eyes widened. She stumbled back a step, her hand instinctively gripping Lucien's arm.

"No way… That can't be right. Is she… is she just hiding from us? Making up lies to fool you?"

Lucien frowned, not answering right away.

Seeing this, Kate quickly forced a bitter smile.

"Serafine was our Madre! She had her own crew and access to family funds. How could she just die like that, for no reason?"

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, clutching his sleeve.

"Lucien, maybe… maybe we should just let it go? Don't pressure her anymore. I'll… I'll turn myself in to the Commission…"

Lucien was silent for a moment before finally nodding, as if he'd convinced himself.

"You're right. She must be hiding."

"I'll turn this city upside down if I have to. I will find her, and she will take the fall for you, Kate."

Tears welled in Kate's eyes, her voice choked. "Lucien, you're too good to me…"

"But…"

Lucien stared at Kate with a solemn look, his tone heavy. "But this is the last time. Once you’re out of danger, I’ll send you away." He paused, a flicker of regret crossing his face. "Before you showed up, Serafine and I never had these kinds of problems. She must be really disappointed in me now."

I floated nearby, stunned into silence. I was already dead, but I couldn't believe my ears.

Lucien was actually suggesting he end things with Kate?

What a joke. I could still remember when we'd been married less than a year, his "sister"—not by blood—had started insinuating herself into every crack of our lives.

It was Lucien himself who brought her into the family's inner circle, calling it "needing someone we can trust," which conveniently gave her free rein to be near him whenever she pleased.

How could I forget our first wedding anniversary? I had planned it for weeks—candles, a perfect dinner, just the two of us. But of course, that night, Kate had a "sudden emergency."

A phone call pulled Lucien away from my table. When he got there, he found she'd just had a bit of a headache from drinking too much.

I waited in the empty restaurant until the small hours of the morning. All I got from him was a text: "Kate needs me. You understand, she's family." When I later expressed my hurt, he frowned and called me "cold-hearted," asking if I was "really going to be jealous of a sick person."

And then there was the night before the crucial negotiation for the West Side territory. Kate "let it slip" to Lucien that I was "rather displeased" with the proposed outcome and had even "privately complained that he was making reckless decisions."

It was a complete lie. But Lucien believed it. We had a massive fight in the study. He accused me of questioning his authority, of being unworthy to stand by his side as the family's Madre.

The next day at the negotiation table, the icy atmosphere between us was so obvious our adversaries noticed it, ultimately causing a loss for the family. And Kate, of course, was there to provide "comfort" and "unconditional support."

It was always like this. Over and over.

In front of Lucien, she was always fragile, reasonable, and completely devoted to him.

In front of me, the provocative tone in her words and the smugness in her eyes were for me alone.

She successfully made Lucien believe I was petty and constantly targeting his "poor little sister." Any defense I tried made me seem even more "jealous" and "small-minded."

And now, he was saying he wanted to end this twisted relationship?

Lucien didn't notice the mask slipping from Kate's face. He turned away, his voice lower.

"I have to make things right with my family. I gave her protection back then, but these past few years… I've neglected my duties to her."

"If I'm honest… I feel guilty about it."

Kate stared at him in disbelief, her voice trembling.

"Lucien… are you throwing me away?"

"I don't know." Lucien's gaze shifted, brow furrowed. "But ever since that mess with the container in the Rust District?five years ago, I've had this bad feeling in my gut. Like something is deeply, fundamentally wrong."

He paused, then his voice turned hard again.

"But I will help you with this. I won't let you face the Commission alone. I'm going to find her now. You wait here."

With that, he turned and walked away, his back rigid with a stubborn determination.

Kate stood frozen in place.

When she looked up again, gazing in the direction Lucien had gone, the pitiful, helpless expression on her face vanished without a trace.

I saw it clearly: her eyes were like poisoned daggers, venomous and hateful.

And from between her teeth came my name, a venomous hiss.

“Serafine… Lucien's love and the position of Madre - all of these are mine? You will never be able to take it away.”

Desperate to find me, the first place Lucien thought of was one of the family's safe houses—a place used to hide the relatives of important members.

It was where they had once placed my grandmother.