Chapter 2 - SHADOWS OF THE PAST
The grand ballroom emptied within thirty minutes.
The high-society guests left in a state of absolute frenzy.
Rumors were already spreading across social media like wildfire.
Inside the private study of the Vance estate, the air was thick with tension.
Victoria sat behind the mahogany desk, her hands clasped tightly.
Isabella was pacing back and forth, clutching an ice pack to her pale face.
Julian stood near the window, staring out into the dark gardens.
Seraphina sat calmly on the leather sofa.
She had not taken off her stained waitress uniform.
The blood on her cheek had dried into a dark line.
"How much do you want?" Victoria demanded, cutting through the heavy silence.
"Name a price and leave the country tonight."
Seraphina looked around the luxurious room.
She noticed the expensive oil paintings and the gold-leaf trimmings.
"You really think money fixes everything, don't you?" Seraphina asked softly.
"It fixed your existence twenty-five years ago," Victoria sneered.
"You were weak! You were born with a heart defect!"
"The Vance family could not afford a sickly heir to damage our public standing!"
"So you tossed me into an underground orphanage?" Seraphina's voice finally shook with deep anger.
Isabella stopped pacing.
"A heart defect?" Isabella repeated.
"Mother, you gave her away because she was sick?"
"Silence, Isabella!" Victoria snapped.
"I did what was necessary to preserve the prestige of this family!"
"Your father was dying, the company was being evaluated for the merger, and we couldn't have scandal!"
Julian turned around from the window.
"So you forged official records, Mother."
"That is a massive federal crime."
Victoria glared at her son.
"I did it for you! I did it for this entire family!"
Seraphina stood up slowly from the sofa.
She reached into her apron once again.
She pulled out a small black USB drive and placed it gently on the desk.
"What is that?" Victoria asked, her eyes narrowing.
"That contains every financial transfer made from the Vance Foundation to the orphanage manager over the past two decades," Seraphina said.
"It proves you didn't just give me away."
"It proves you paid them to keep me hidden, sick, and uneducated."
Victoria's breath caught in her throat.
"Where did you get this?"
"Father gave it to me," Seraphina replied calmly.
Isabella gasped.
"Father? Father died five years ago!"
"He died believing I was dead, until he found out the truth right before his accident," Seraphina whispered.
"He found me."
"He left me his personal journal and the access codes to his private accounts."
Victoria stood up so fast her heavy chair fell backward.
"You... you have Richard's private files?"
Seraphina took a step toward the door.
"I have everything, Victoria."
"I have the power to destroy the Vance empire overnight."
"Then why haven't you gone to the police?" Julian asked, eyeing her carefully.
Seraphina paused near the doorway.
She looked over her shoulder, her gaze locking onto Isabella.
"Because destruction is too quick."
"I want you all to watch your world break piece by piece."
"And Isabella..."
Isabella flinched as her name was spoken.
"Happy Birthday."
Seraphina walked out of the room, leaving behind an icy silence.
Victoria slammed her fist onto the desk.
May you like
"Julian! Call the head of security immediately!"
"She cannot leave this house alive!"
