"When you told me over the phone that 'looking at your face makes mother nauseous,' did you know that the daughter your mother abandoned was beaten by her stepfather for eleven brutal years?"

My voice wasn't loud, but the surrounding area fell into a dead silence.

"Seraphina, you are not a victim."

"You are a co-conspirator."

"You gleefully enjoyed every single luxury your mother’s schemes provided, playing the innocent victim while reaping the rewards."

"And now that the prize has been stripped away, you run here to weep?"

I crouched down, forcing her to look me dead in the eye.

"You asked how he is any different from your biological father."

"Let me tell you how exactly you are no different from your mother."

"Your mother abandoned me because she only loves herself."

"And you arrived to steal my husband because you only love yourself."

"Like mother, like daughter—your complete selfishness is truly a perfect genetic match."

Seraphina’s tears spilled over yet again.

But this time, it wasn't a hysterical wail.

It was entirely silent.

She knew that every single word I uttered was an absolute fact.

I stood up.

I turned my eyes to Ethan.

"This is the absolute last time."

"Effective today, you will handle her arrangement. If she is going to have the child, unearth a place for her to give birth."

"But she and Madeline are permanently barred from entering my life again."

"Do that, and our corporate partnership continues."

"Fail to do that, and you will learn that flipping the table wasn't a hollow threat."

Ethan stared at me.

Hundreds of eyes watched his next move.

He finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Harvey."

"I'm here."

"Secure a residential estate over in Nashville. Send her there to await the delivery. I will cover all expenses."

"But effective today, neither she nor her mother is permitted to step foot inside this city again."

The coat Ethan had draped over Seraphina’s shoulders slipped from her frame, pooling onto the pavement.

She raised her eyes to stare at him.

"Ethan... are you truly casting me aside permanently?"

He didn't look at her.

He kept his eyes fixed entirely on me.

"Let’s go home, Lana."

He walked over to my side.

In front of every single onlooker.

He placed himself squarely on my side of the line.

Seraphina collapsed against the edge of the flowerbed.

A faint, muffled sob drifted from her, rapidly scattered and lost to the wind.

I didn't cast a final look back over my shoulder.

I stepped into the car.

Inside the vehicle, Ethan sat right beside me.

A heavy silence stretched between us for a long time.

As we neared the villa, he finally spoke.

"Lana."

"Yeah."

"I’m sorry."

I offered no response.

Outside the window, the streetlights flickered to life one by one.

"It’s alright if you never find it in your heart to forgive me."

"But I kept my word."

"What exactly did you keep?"

"Every single thing you demanded, I granted."

I turned my head to look at him.

"You granted it far too late."

He fell into a complete silence.

Chapter 26

Seraphina was sent away to Nashville.

Harvey personally escorted her, arranging a lovely estate equipped with a courtyard, private nurses, and a personal physician.

The expenses were entirely covered by Ethan.

Prior to her departure, Seraphina sent me one final message.

Alaina, you’ve won. But your victory isn't over me. Your victory belongs entirely to that heart of yours, which is colder and harder than anyone else's.

I don't harbor hatred toward you. But I will never find it in me to forgive you, either.

Our accounts will be settled down the road.

I offered no reply.

Madeline would not be handled quite so easily.

She was ten times more ruthless and deeply entrenched than Seraphina.

Three days after Seraphina’s relocation to Nashville, Madeline appeared right inside the main lobby of Ethan’s corporate headquarters.

She hadn't come to find Ethan.

She came specifically to target those five key shareholders.

The two individuals who had previously yielded to her schemes—though they had publicly distanced themselves at the summit—had not entirely severed their private communications with her.

Madeline had scheduled a meeting with them at a café neighboring the corporate building.

Mrs. Higgins' people had been monitoring her closely, delivering the intelligence to me immediately.

"Alaina, Madeline has met with those two individuals."

"What did she say?"

"She claimed she possesses alternative leverage. Not the matter regarding the two million dollars, but something dating back much further."

"Much further?"

"She claimed she possesses concrete evidence proving that the very first pot of gold Ethan secured after his release from prison wasn't built through legitimate enterprise, but was carved out through violence and strong-arming territory."

"Back when he worked at the construction sites, he engaged in a brutal altercation with several local thugs. Multiple individuals were hospitalized because of it."

"The matter was suppressed back then, but she claimed she holds testimonies from the original witnesses and actual video footage of the incident."

I fell into a brief silence upon hearing this.

"Is there any truth to this matter?"

"Felix is already auditing the history."

That evening, Felix delivered the results of his audit.

"Alaina, the incident did indeed occur."

"Back when Ethan was at the construction sites, in order to secure a minor subcontractor position, he engaged in a massive brawl with the opposing faction."

"Two individuals from the opposing side were hospitalized."

"However, the matter was settled privately between both parties back then. The opposing side accepted a settlement sum, signed an official liability release agreement, and never filed a police report."

"Is that release agreement still intact?"

"It is. Ethan holds a certified copy, and the opposing faction holds the original."

"What about the materials in Madeline’s hands?"

"What Madeline possesses is actual footage recorded by an onlooker at the scene. It’s a fragmented clip, but it clearly captures the violent altercation."

"If this footage were to be leaked to the public..."

"It wouldn't lead to incarceration. But it would fundamentally destroy Ethan's commercial reputation."

Combined with the previous two million dollar capital issue, and layered on top of Seraphina’s public scandal—if Madeline were to package and unleash all of this to the media, Ethan's public image would be utterly ruined.

I set my phone down.

Madeline was still thrashing.

She was acting exactly like a rat backed into a corner, but even a cornered rat possesses the capacity to inflict a vicious bite.

I could not allow her to keep biting.

The following day, I scheduled a meeting with Madeline.

At a quiet, highly secure private club.

Just the two of us.

When she arrived, she wore a dark, heavy overcoat, her makeup far more sparse than before.

Faint, hollow shadows lined the skin beneath her eyes.

She had clearly lived through an agonizing stretch over these past few days as well.

"What exactly did you invite me here to discuss?"

She seated herself, her tone rigid and cold.

"To settle this for the very last time."

"What could we possibly have left to discuss? Haven't you already secured your total victory?"

"I’ve won half the round."

"The other half rests entirely in your hands."

She glared at me.

"The materials you hold regarding Ethan—whether it’s the two million dollar capital transfer or the construction site brawl—if you leak them, his commercial reputation will indeed be compromised."

"But your own household will not escape unscathed."

"The origin of that two million dollar transfer directly involves the past criminal fraud case of your current husband. Exposing the construction site brawl merely proves that you have been meticulously compiling blackmail material against your own son-in-law, revealing a malicious motive that will ensure the authorities audit your own house thoroughly."

"Furthermore, your reputation within high society circles is already utterly ruined."

"The truth exposed at the summit, the audio leaks circulating within the elite socialite groups, and Seraphina’s compromised phone logs—everyone knows exactly what you’ve engineered."

"If you insist on continuing this escalation, you won't just be making things difficult for me; you will be thoroughly destroying the remainder of your own life."

Madeline remained entirely silent.

"I am granting you a single choice."

"Surrender every single document, file, and recording regarding Ethan in your possession."

"In exchange, I will decline to pursue any legal liability for your past actions."

"Return to Nashville and live out your days with your daughter. Ethan will provide a monthly stipend to support Seraphina, and once the child is born, formal child support will be provided."

"Your three percent stake will be fully repurchased at fair market value, down to the last dollar."

"This is the single best resolution you can possibly hope to secure."

She stared at me for an incredibly long moment.

"Alaina, do you truly believe you possess the authority to dictate terms to me?"

"I do."

"Based on what?"

"Based on the fact that I am your biological daughter."

Her eyes visibly flickered.