Chapter 2: Five Years Later

The conference room fell silent the moment she walked in.

Seraphina Vale did not rush. She never rushed anymore.

Her heels moved steadily across the polished floor, her posture straight, her expression calm and unreadable. Five years ago, she had been nervous walking into rooms like this worried about making mistakes, about being judged, about whether she belonged.

Now, she knew something the old Seraphina hadn’t.

Power wasn’t given.

It was taken.

“Good morning,” she said, placing her tablet on the table.

Across from her sat six senior executives from Arden Logistics, a mid-sized company currently drowning in financial losses. They had hired her three weeks ago as an external consultant. Most of them hadn’t expected much.

That changed after her first report.

“Let’s begin,” she said.

The screen behind her lit up with charts, projections, and restructuring plans.

“Your operating losses are not the real problem,” she continued calmly. “Your real problem is internal leakage inefficient vendor contracts, duplicated procurement, and three departments performing the same functions under different names.”

One of the executives frowned. “We’ve been operating this way for years.”

“And you’ve been losing money for two of them,” Seraphina replied without hesitation.

Silence.

She tapped the screen.

“I’ve identified twelve contracts that can be renegotiated immediately. If executed within thirty days, your projected recovery timeline drops from eighteen months to six.”

Another executive leaned forward. “And if we don’t?”

Seraphina met his eyes.

“Then you’ll be looking for a buyer before the year ends.”

No emotion. No hesitation.

Just the truth.

The room stayed quiet for a long moment.

Then the CEO slowly nodded.

“Proceed with your plan, Ms. Vale.”

Five years ago, hearing that kind of approval would have made her heart race.

Now, she simply closed her tablet.

“Thank you.”

The moment the meeting ended, her phone buzzed.

Seraphina stepped into the hallway before answering.

“Mommy, are you coming now?” a small voice asked.

Her expression softened instantly.

“Yes, Lucien. I’m on my way.”

“Miss Hana said today is family day,” he added quietly.

“I know,” she said gently. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

There was a small pause.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll wait for you.”

The call ended.

For a moment, Seraphina leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

Lucien.

Her reason for everything.

Her strength.

Her future.

Five years ago, she had left the city with nothing but a suitcase and a secret.

Now, she had built a life.

Not a glamorous one.

Not an easy one.

But a stable one.

A safe one.

And most importantly

A life where her son would never feel unwanted.

The kindergarten courtyard was full of laughter and noise.

Children ran across the grass while parents gathered nearby, chatting and taking pictures.

Lucien stood near the edge of the playground, exactly where she knew he would be.

He wasn’t shy.

He was observant.

Quiet.

Careful.

Just like her.

Or maybe…

Just like his father.

Seraphina pushed the thought away as she approached him.

Lucien noticed her immediately.

His serious expression brightened.

“You’re here,” he said.

She knelt and opened her arms.

He walked into them without hesitation.

“I told you I would be,” she whispered, kissing his hair.

Up close, the resemblance was impossible to ignore.

Dark eyes.

Sharp features.

Calm, steady gaze.

The same presence that had once made people fall silent when Cassian Thorne entered a room.

Her chest tightened.

“Did you have fun today?” she asked.

Lucien nodded.

“I drew our house,” he said. “And you.”

He handed her a paper.

It showed a small apartment. A woman holding a child’s hand. And above them, written in careful letters:

Mom and me.

Seraphina swallowed the sudden emotion rising in her throat.

“It’s perfect,” she said softly.

Lucien studied her face for a moment.

Then he asked the question he asked every few months.

“Mommy… do I have a dad?”

The world seemed to pause.

Seraphina forced herself to stay calm.

“You do,” she said gently.

“Where is he?”

She hesitated.

“Far away.”

Lucien thought about that.

“Does he know me?”

Her hand tightened around the paper.

“No,” she said quietly.

Lucien nodded once, accepting the answer without complaint.

But his next words made her heart ache.

“Maybe he’s busy.”

Seraphina pulled him into another hug.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Maybe he is.”

That evening, after putting Lucien to bed, Seraphina sat at the small dining table with her laptop open.

A new email had arrived.

Subject: Executive Consulting Opportunity – Thorne Consortium

Her breath stopped.

For a long moment, she couldn’t move.

She hadn’t seen that name in five years.

Hadn’t allowed herself to even think it.

Thorne Consortium.

Cassian’s company.

Her hands hovered over the keyboard.

The message was brief.

They were restructuring a major division.

They needed an external consultant.

Her name had been recommended.

The project would last three months.

The compensation was… significant.

Enough to secure Lucien’s future for years.

Enough to finally stop worrying about school fees, rent increases, medical costs.

Enough to change everything.

Her heart pounded.

No.

She couldn’t go back.

She couldn’t risk him seeing her.

Seeing Lucien.

Knowing the truth.

Her phone buzzed.

It was her bank notification.

The school tuition payment had been processed.

Her remaining balance appeared below it.

Much lower than she expected.

Seraphina stared at the screen.

Then she looked toward Lucien’s room.

Toward the small nightlight glowing under the door.

She closed her eyes.

“I’m not going back for him,” she whispered.

“I’m going back for my son.”

Two days later, Seraphina walked into the Thorne Consortium headquarters.

Nothing had changed.

The marble floors.

The towering glass walls.

The quiet, controlled atmosphere of power.

But she had changed.

The receptionist looked up.

“Name?”

“Seraphina Vale,” she said calmly.

The woman froze.

Just for a second.

Then she quickly masked her reaction.

“Please proceed to the executive floor.”

So they remembered.

Of course they did.

Scandals didn’t disappear.

They just waited.

The elevator doors opened.

The executive floor was quiet.

Too quiet.

She stepped out.

And stopped.

At the far end of the hallway, a man stood near the window.

Tall.

Still.

Perfectly composed.

Cassian Thorne.

He turned slowly.

Their eyes met.

Five years disappeared in a single second.

Shock flashed across his face.

Then disbelief.

Then something darker.

Seraphina felt her pulse thunder in her ears.

But she didn’t look away.

Didn’t lower her gaze.

Didn’t break.

Because she wasn’t the woman he had destroyed anymore.

“Ms. Vale,” he said finally, his voice low.

Not warm.

Not welcoming.

Just controlled.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Seraphina stepped forward.

“I’m here for the consulting project,” she said calmly.

A long silence followed.

Cassian studied her like she was a stranger.

Or a ghost.

“HR wasn’t informed,” he said.

“They approved my contract yesterday,” she replied.

His jaw tightened.

For a moment, it looked like he might refuse.

Like he might order her to leave.

But then

“Fine,” he said coldly.

“You’ll report directly to me.”

Their eyes locked again.

And this time, the tension between them was undeniable.

Five years of anger.

Five years of silence.

Five years of unanswered questions.

Neither of them knew it yet.

But their reunion had already set something much bigger in motion.

Because across the city, in a small kindergarten classroom, Lucien Vale sat quietly at his desk.

And when the teacher called for parents’ names, he wrote his carefully.

Lucien Vale.

Underneath it, after a moment of hesitation, he added another name.

The one he had overheard once.

The one his mother never said.

Lucien Thorne.

And very soon…

Someone important was going to notice.