Chapter 3

I booked my flight back to family headquarters and returned to the estate that evening.

Lena grabbed my hand the second she saw me in the foyer.

“ Seraphina, I didn’t make Dante say he didn’t know you. I didn’t mean to take your spot as guest of honor. ”

“ I just didn’t want the ceremony to fall apart. It’s bad for Luca… ”

I coldly pulled my hand away and ignored her.

I walked straight to the study.

Lena followed right after me, her heels clicking fast on the marble.

She saw me sorting through property transfer documents on the desk and panicked.

“ Seraphina, what are you doing? ”

“ Are you still mad at me? ”

I stood up and looked at her, my face blank.

“ Isn’t it obvious? I’m divorcing Dante. I’m sorting out all the Voss family assets to make room for you three. ”

Lena’s face went white.

“ Seraphina. We’ve been through hell and back together for ten years. That’s what you think of me? ”

I didn’t waste words on her. I turned back to sorting the papers.

Lena panicked.

She stepped forward and slammed her hand down on the stack of papers.

“ Seraphina, you are not touching these until you explain yourself. ”

She yanked the papers hard.

They scattered across the floor.

Her arm caught the silver candlestick on the edge of the desk.

It toppled over. The flame caught the edge of the top paper and spread fast.

All my life’s work, everything I’d built to take back control of the Charlton Family, burned to ash in an instant.

A high-pitched ring filled my ears.

All the anger I’d held in for days exploded.

Lena stumbled back two steps, flustered and wide-eyed.

“ I didn’t mean to. I… ”

I laughed at her fake innocent act.

“ Didn’t mean to? You turned Luca against his own mother. You got Danteto cut me out of all our operations. You snuck around with him in the dock cold storage. None of that was on purpose? ”

I stepped forward and ripped open her V-neck collar.

Fresh hickeys covered her skin, dark and bruise-like.

“ See? Am I wrong? You already slept with him. Stop acting like you’re innocent. ”

Lena never expected me to tear her mask off so completely.

Her face went white then green.

Tears finally fell.

“ When you took that bullet and lay bleeding in the street, I ran through the shootout to get a surgeon. I sat with you for seven days and seven nights and pulled you back from the dead! ”

“ All these years you focused on Luca and walked away from all the business and parties. Who do you think stood in for you with Dante? Who covered for you when rivals came after us? I gave everything to hold this family together. And you think this low of me? ”

When she saw only disgust in my eyes, she wiped her tears hard.

“ Fine. If you can’t stand me, I’ll leave right now. ”

“ Seraphina Shen, you go your way. I’ll go mine. We’re even. ”

She turned and slammed the door behind her.

When Dante came home with Luca from the stables an hour later, all he found was a mess of burned paper and broken glass.

And two messages from Lena, cutting him off and blocking him.

【Dante, don’t contact me again.】

【Tell Luca I’m gone. He can take care of himself.】

When he read those two lines, the white roses he’d bought to apologize slipped from his hand.

“ What did you do to Lena? Why is all her stuff gone?! ”

He grabbed my arm and yanked me forward so hard I stumbled.

“ Tell me. Where did you send her off to? ”

I fell to the floor.

But I didn’t care about the bruise blooming on my knee.

I got up and slapped him across the face.

“ What? You’re upset I drove your little mistress away? ”

Five bright red finger marks bloomed on Dante’s cheek.

He didn’t even seem to feel it.

All he felt was panic at losing Lena.

In that second, I laughed out loud.

“ Dante, you’ll never find her. ”

“ After I called her a whore and a thief and tore her little act to shreds, she ran and didn’t look back. ”

“ You two deserve each other. I hope you love each other forever and never get to be together. ”