"Silas is my husband. What right do you have to order me to let him go?"

Lydia’s cold gaze swept over Seraphina, her eyes filled with contempt.

"You are already divorced; he is free now."

After speaking, Lydia didn't hesitate for a second, her finger hooking around the trigger.

"This is the last time I’m warning you: let him go."

Chapter 25

Seraphina looked at the cold gun, her hand slowly loosening its grip.

The moment Silas gained his freedom, he immediately walked quickly toward Lydia.

After confirming that Silas was unharmed, Lydia gripped his hand tightly.

"Let's go. I’ll take you away."

Silas nodded, letting Lydia lead him away by the hand.

Seraphina stood where she was, her eyes fixed deathly on their tightly clasped hands.

"Silas, I absolutely will not allow you to love another woman."

Afterward, Seraphina walked into Silas’s room and took all of his identification documents.

After Silas left, Lydia dropped him off at a hotel.

"I have people protecting you, so don't worry."

No sooner had Lydia left than another knock sounded at Silas's door.

Seraphina’s voice came from outside.

"Silas, since you have decided to let go, I won't force you anymore. I just want to return your mother’s sarira relic to you, and from here on out, we shall walk separate paths."

Hearing Seraphina’s voice, Silas recalled the image of his mother’s death and reached for the doorknob.

The moment the door cracked open, a sharp pain suddenly struck the back of Silas’s hand, and he plunged into darkness.

When he opened his eyes again, Silas was in a familiar environment.

Seraphina sat quietly by the bed, looking at him with longing.

Silas looked at Seraphina vigilantly and scrambled to sit up in bed.

"Seraphina, what are you trying to do?"

Only then did Silas notice Seraphina was holding a framed memorial photo of a child.

"I just want the three of us to be reunited as a family."

Seraphina reached out to grasp Silas’s hand, but Silas shrank back, looking at her with total disgust.

"Seraphina, do you even know what you’re doing right now? You’re committing a crime, do you realize that?"

Seraphina didn't care in the slightest, gripping Silas’s hand firmly.

"I’ve brought back my husband, the father of my child—what crime have I committed? My biggest mistake was letting you leave me back then."

"Don't worry, Silas, I have already taken care of everyone who hurt you; from now on, no one will ever be able to hurt you again."

Silas threw off Seraphina’s hand, looking at her with utter repulsion.

"Seraphina, you were the one who hurt me the deepest, yet here you are playing the part of the devoted lover?"

"Seraphina, you are the most hypocritical person of all."

Seraphina paused for a moment, then suddenly pulled Silas into her arms.

"That’s not true. It was all that bastard Caspian who deceived me, leading me to make one wrong decision after another. Silas, won't you give me one more chance?"

Silas struggled with all his might.

"Seraphina, stop the act! Don't you feel disgusted with yourself? Do you dare say you didn't suspect anything from start to finish? Did you feel even a shred of sadness when the child died?"

"Seraphina, the person you love most is only yourself; you are a complete fraud."

As he spoke, Seraphina’s phone suddenly rang, making the air in the room feel even more eerie.

It was a call from her assistant.

"CEO, the mastermind behind the two kidnapping cases has been caught. According to his confession, the kidnapping of the young master was all instigated by Caspian."

Seraphina gripped her phone tightly, her inner rage on the verge of erupting.

"Where is Caspian?"

The assistant then continued.

"Caspian has escaped."

Just as the assistant finished speaking, the room door was kicked open with a massive thud.

Caspian stood in the doorway, one eye missing, his face twisted in a hideous expression, staring viciously at the two people in the room.

"Finally, I’ve waited for you both."

Chapter 26

Seraphina looked at Caspian with a vicious gaze.

"How dare you show your face? Was it you who colluded with the kidnappers to abduct my daughter and my mother-in-law?"

Caspian shrugged nonchalantly.

"That’s right, it was me! Only when she died could Silas truly lose hope in you and leave."

Seraphina’s expression darkened instantly, and she tried to rush forward. Caspian, seeing Seraphina’s murderous look, showed no fear whatsoever; instead, he strode inside, holding a lighter in his hand.

Only then did Silas notice that the doorway had been drenched in gasoline at some point without anyone realizing it.

"Seraphina, you ruined me. Do you think I’m just going to let it go like that?"

"I said I would never let you off."

As the words fell, Caspian threw the lighter in his hand into the gasoline at the entrance without hesitation.

Instantly, flames soared into the sky. Seraphina immediately pulled Silas behind her.

"Silas, don't worry. This time, I will definitely protect you well."

Silas turned his head to look at the large glass window. This was the second floor, and directly below was a garden; leaping from here might still offer a slim chance of survival.

Thinking of this, Silas immediately picked up a vase from the table and smashed it fiercely against the glass window.

The glass shattered, creating an opening. Just as Silas was about to rush over, Caspian immediately charged over, knife in hand.

"None of you are getting away today."

Seraphina stepped forward to block Silas's path.

The sharp blade plunged directly into Seraphina’s abdomen. Fresh red blood dripped down continuously from her waist, yet Seraphina merely turned to look at Silas, forcing a smile for him with great difficulty.

"Silas, don't be afraid. I said I would protect you."

As the words fell, Caspian violently pulled the knife out and then stabbed it in again with force.

"Since you like protecting him so much, go down to the underworld and protect him there!"

Silas watched Seraphina collapse straight down beneath him. His heart felt a sudden, sharp sting. He glanced at the garden outside the window, then back at Seraphina lying in a pool of blood, hesitating for a long time before jumping.

Seeing Silas had climbed onto the windowsill, Caspian lunged forward with the knife. In the next second, Seraphina rolled over and hugged Caspian’s legs tightly, dragging him down with all her might.

"Silas, run! Don't worry about me."

Silas took one last look at Seraphina before turning and jumping down without hesitation.

The moment he landed, a massive explosion erupted from the house behind him. Silas stood frozen, then scrambled up and limped away.

No sooner had he reached the entrance than countless police cars arrived. Before the vehicles had even stopped, Lydia rushed out and caught Silas.

Silas’s voice was too raspy to utter a single word. He reached out a trembling hand to point at the Sterling residence, which was engulfed in towering flames, and tears finally fell slowly from the corners of his eyes.

Seraphina was dead—dead in that inferno alongside Caspian.

Silas’s mother, having narrowly survived her own emergency treatment, suffered a heart attack upon hearing the news of her daughter's death, was rushed back to the operating room, and never emerged again.

The Sterling family, once infinitely glorious, was wiped out overnight, and the Sterling Group filed for bankruptcy.

On the day Seraphina was buried, Silas went too.

He looked at that weathered face on the headstone, filled with complex emotions.

Silas placed the sunflower he was holding slowly onto the ground, his gaze locked onto the eyes on the tombstone.

"Seraphina, I hope that in the next life, we never meet again."

Leaving the cemetery, Silas saw Lydia leaning against the car from afar. Under the warm yellow sunlight illuminating her, she smiled and waved to him.

The void in Silas’s heart seemed to be filled by something at that very moment. Silas walked over, and Lydia opened the car door for him naturally.

"Let’s go, let's go home!"

The words "go home" were like a beam of light, shining bit by bit into Silas’s once-closed heart.

Lydia closed the car door, took one last look in the direction of the cemetery, and her expression turned resolute.

Seraphina, I am not you; once I have grasped onto something, I will never let go again!

Lydia still remembered the first time she saw Silas.

She had been kidnapped by enemies and was strapped with bombs.

When everyone else was helpless, it was Silas who stood forward.

Silas had appeared before her like a deity, gripping her hand firmly to tell her:

"Don't be afraid, I will definitely save you."

In that moment, she knew that no one else could ever live in her heart again.

Lydia withdrew her gaze and looked at the man sitting in the car, a smile spreading on her lips.

Fortunately, heaven had not been unkind to her; the person she thought of and missed was now right by her side.

Silas sat in the car, watching the bright sunshine outside the window, clutching the sarira relic tightly in his hand.

Mom, all those who hurt you and Sophie have paid the price they deserve!

From now on, I will live well, and I will begin a new life!

Then Silas turned his head to meet Lydia’s burning gaze and suddenly smiled.

Mom, I will also fall in love with someone new!

[The End]