Chapter 6

Seraphina’s POV

The cold hit me the moment the guards dragged me outside.

My thin hospital gown offered almost no protection against the freezing wind as snow continued falling from the dark sky.

Within seconds, icy flakes settled into my hair and on my shoulders while the frozen ground bit painfully into my knees.

I was still weak from nearly drowning. My body had barely recovered from the abortion and I had only regained consciousness a few hours ago after spending two days unconscious. Yet none of that seemed to matter.

“Chairman Wolfe, this is dangerous!”

The doctor rushed outside after us, his face filled with panic as he watched the guards force me onto my knees.

“Her body temperature is already unstable. If this continues, she could go into shock.”

Chairman Wolfe struck his cane heavily against the ground.

“Then perhaps she should have thought about that before trying to harm Evelyn.”

The doctor looked horrified. “But she just woke up. She needs treatment.”

“I don’t care.” The old man’s voice was cold and merciless, “She will remain here until she apologizes.”

Snow continued falling around us while the doctor turned desperately toward Silas.

“Mr. Wolfe, please say something.”

For one brief second, hope stirred inside my chest.

Then Silas spoke. “She’s not going to die. As long as she apologizes, this ends.”

A bitter smile almost escaped my lips. Even now, after everything that had happened, he still believed Evelyn without question.

Or maybe the truth was even worse. Maybe he simply didn’t care enough to hear my side.

Beside him, Evelyn bit her lip and tugged gently on his sleeve.

“Silas…” she said softly. “Maybe we should just forget it. I don’t want Seraphina suffering because of me.”

The performance was flawless. Her eyes were red. Her voice trembled. Every expression was carefully measured.

The perfect victim. The perfect innocent woman.

Chairman Wolfe’s expression softened immediately.

“Look at her.” He pointed proudly toward Evelyn, “Even after nearly losing her child, she’s still worried about the person who hurt her.”

Then his gaze shifted toward me and all the warmth vanished from his face.

“And yet you still refuse to apologize.”

A weak laugh escaped my lips. The sound surprised everyone, including me.

Chairman Wolfe’s expression darkened instantly. “What are you laughing at?”

I slowly lifted my head and met his gaze.

“I’m laughing because nobody bothered asking what actually happened.”

For the first time, I noticed Evelyn’s fingers tighten around Silas’s arm.

She was afraid of the truth. But it didn’t matter because nobody standing here cared about the truth.

They had already decided I was guilty.

Chairman Wolfe snorted coldly. “Count.”

One of the guards immediately stepped forward.

“One.”

The freezing wind sliced through my body.

“Two.”

My hands began trembling uncontrollably.

“Three.”

My vision blurred for a second.

The doctor looked increasingly uneasy. “Chairman Wolfe, please…”

Nobody listened.

The counting continued.

“Ten.”

“Eleven.”

“Twelve.”

Time passed slowly. Every breath burned inside my lungs while every gust of wind felt like a knife cutting through my skin.

At some point, I stopped listening to the numbers altogether. The guard’s voice continued somewhere in the distance.

“Thirty-eight.”

“Thirty-nine.”

“Forty.”

My body shook violently.

The doctor stepped forward again. “This has gone far enough. She needs treatment.”

Chairman Wolfe didn’t even spare him a glance. “Continue.”

The counting resumed.

I closed my eyes.

“Sixty.”

“Sixty-one.”

“Sixty-two.”

The cold was becoming unbearable. I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore. Or my feet, or even my face. Everything hurts.

Yet strangely enough, my heart didn’t. Because it had already died the moment Silas chose Evelyn. The moment he watched me drown.

The moment he looked me in the eyes and said Evelyn was pregnant as though that alone justified abandoning me.

“Seventy-eight.”

“Seventy-nine.”

“Eighty.”

The doctor swore under his breath. “She’s collapsing.”

Nobody moved, not even Silas.

I slowly lifted my head and looked toward him through my blurred vision. He was still standing beside Evelyn.

A wave of exhaustion suddenly crashed over me.

The world tilted then my body gave out completely. I collapsed forward into the snow.

The doctor immediately rushed toward me.

“Help her!” His voice echoed through the night.

A familiar pair of expensive shoes stopped directly in front of me.

It was Silas.

“Get up, Seraphina,” he said coldly, “Stop pretending. Enough already. Let’s go home.”

Home? The word almost made me laugh.

What home? The mansion where I wasn’t wanted? The marriage that never existed? The husband who abandoned me?

I stared at him quietly before lowering my gaze again.

For the first time in ten years, I had absolutely nothing left to say to Silas Wolfe.

His patience finally snapped.

“Fine.” He turned away, “Stay there if you want.”

Then he left with Evelyn and Chairman Wolfe followed with his guards.

Soon I was alone. Snow continued falling around me while my body slowly grew numb.

My vision darkened and my eyelids became heavier with every passing second.

With trembling fingers, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

The screen was so blurry that it took three attempts before I finally managed to dial the number.

The call connected immediately.

“Princess?” The familiar voice nearly broke me.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak, then tears finally slipped down my cheeks.

“Dad…” My voice shook violently, “I’m cold.”

The call ended. I didn’t know how much time passed afterward.

Then suddenly bright headlights cut through the snow-covered darkness.

One car stopped as a long convoy of luxury vehicles pulled up outside the hospital.

Doors flew open instantly and dozens of bodyguards rushed out.

Then a middle-aged man stepped out of the first car. The moment he saw me lying in the snow, all the color drained from his face.

“Dad…” I whispered weakly.

The man ran toward me.

Snow covered his expensive suit and his polished shoes sank into the ice, but he didn’t slow down even once.

He dropped to his knees beside me and pulled me into his arms with trembling hands.

“Princess.” His voice broke.

Tears filled his eyes as he held me tightly against his chest.

“Dad is here.”