CHAPTER 5

Serafina Moncrieff POV

The heavy wrought-iron gates of the Kensington Estate glided open silently, swallowing the black town car into a world of secluded opulence. Towering oak trees lined the winding driveway, leading up to a massive Gothic-style stone mansion that looked less like a home and more like a fortress meant to keep the world out.

The driver opened my door, offering a polite bow. "Welcome to Kensington Manor, Miss Moncrieff. Mr. Kensington requested that you settle into the east wing before dinner."

I stepped out onto the cobblestone path, clutching my single leather overnight bag—the sum total of everything I owned now. From an Upper East Side penthouse to a golden cage in Greenwich.

An older woman in a crisp uniform greeted me at the mahogany doors. "Good evening, Miss Moncrieff. I am Mrs. Gable, the head housekeeper. Please, follow me."

We moved through grand hallways paved with white marble and lined with priceless Renaissance art. Everything about this house screamed old, untouchable money. Yet, despite the luxury, a heavy, suffocating silence hung in the air. It felt like walking through a museum after hours.

Mrs. Gable led me up a grand double staircase and down a long, dimly lit corridor on the third floor. She stopped outside a set of double oak doors and pushed them open.

"These are your private quarters," she said warmly. "They connect directly to Mr. Kensington’s master suite through the adjoining study, should you require anything during the night."

"Thank you, Mrs. Gable," I said quietly, stepping inside.

The room was stunning—floored with dark polished hardwood, furnished with a velvet canopy bed, and framed by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the misty gardens below. But as soon as the door clicked shut behind the housekeeper, the reality of my situation crushed down on me again.

I dropped my bag onto the lounge chair and walked over to the fireplace, rubbing my arms to ward off the sudden chill in my veins.

I was officially living with Lucian Kensington. The man who had stripped me of my past, killed my financial ghost, and claimed me as his property in front of the entire country.

I paced around the room, needing something—anything—to distract myself from the silence. My steps dragged me toward a heavy set of dark walnut doors near the corner of the bedroom. The adjoining study Mrs. Gable had mentioned.

I turned the brass knob. It gave way easily, slipping open into a massive, shadowy room lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A grand fireplace crackled quietly in the corner, casting long, amber shadows across the dark rug.

Lucian wasn't there, but the room reeked of him—dark tobacco, cedarwood, and cold coffee.

I stepped inside, my heels sinking softly into the thick Persian rug. On top of his obsidian desk lay piles of financial reports, legal briefs, and confidential files marked with corporate seals.

I shouldn't have been poking around. If Lucian catches me in here, he'll think I'm spying. But as I turned to head back to my room, a strange metallic glint near the far wall caught my eye.

Hidden behind a floor-length velvet curtain was a reinforced steel door built directly into the stone wall. It had no keyhole, no handle—just an advanced biometric scanner glowing with a dim red pulse in the dark.

I stepped closer, drawn by an instinct I couldn't quite explain.

The scanner was sleek, state-of-the-art tech. Beneath the glass pad, a small digital display read: SECURITY CLEARANCE LEVEL 0 — MONCRIEFF ENCRYPTED ARCHIVE.

I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Moncrieff?

Why would a private safe inside Lucian Kensington's personal manor bear my family's name?

My pulse raced violently against my ribs. Was this where he kept the physical evidence of my fraud? Or was there something else—something deeper—that connected Lucian to my family long before I forged that ten-million-dollar loan?

I reached out a trembling hand, my fingers hovering an inch above the glowing glass pad.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you, Serafina."

Lucian’s deep, velvety voice cut through the dark silence like a blade.

I gasped, spinning around instantly. Lucian was leaning against the doorframe of the study, his jacket off, the top two buttons of his white dress shirt undone, revealing the sharp line of his collarbone. He held a glass of dark scotch in his hand, his dark eyes tracking my every move with dangerous intensity.

"Lucian," I breathed, my back pressing against the cold steel door. "I... I was just looking for the library. I didn't mean to pry."

Lucian slowly pushed off the doorframe, taking a slow, deliberate sip of his drink as he walked toward me. The ambient light of the fire glinted off his dark eyes, making him look like a predator closing in on its prey.

"Lying comes so naturally to you, doesn't it?" he murmured, stopping right in front of me. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating from his chest. "You were curious. You saw your name."

"Why is my family's name on a secure vault in your house?" I demanded, trying to keep the quiver out of my voice. "What is in there, Lucian?"

Lucian set his crystal glass down on a side table without taking his eyes off me. He reached out, his long fingers lightly brushing against my wrist, sending a sharp jolt of electricity straight up my arm. He guided my hand toward the glowing scanner.

"Find out for yourself," he whispered, his breath fanning across my ear. "Put your hand on the glass."

My heart slammed against my chest. "What?"

"That vault doesn't open with a key or a password," Lucian said, his voice dropping into a low, hypnotic tone. "It requires a specific DNA sequence matched to the original Moncrieff lineage. My biometric profile can't bypass it. Neither can my security team's."

He leaned down, his dark gaze locking onto mine, heavy with a secret that threatened to pull me under completely.

"I didn't just save you from prison because I needed a fake fiancée for my board, Serafina," Lucian revealed softly, his thumb tracing the fast pulse in my wrist. "I saved you because you are the only person on this planet who holds the key to what's inside that room."

I stared at him, completely paralyzed, as his hand pressed mine down onto the glowing glass pad. The scanner flashed from red to brilliant green, and a heavy, mechanical hum echoed deep within the walls.