Lying in wait is for one purpose alone: to deliver the most fatal blow to the enemy at the most opportune moment.
After three days holed up in the small guest room, Seraphina knew she could wait no longer. She had to reveal herself, to get back on the chessboard. If she remained "missing" any longer, Liliana's status as her "guardian" might be formally recognized by the family's board of directors before she even had a chance to make her move.
She chose her moment: Monday evening.
At this time, her father, the renowned business tycoon General Carter, would usually be handling business in his study. And Richard and Liliana, that disgusting pair, would surely be there with him under the guise of "visiting" and "discussing matters," playing their roles as the filial son and virtuous daughter.
Seraphina changed into the simplest white dress she could find in the guest room wardrobe. She didn't bother with her hair or makeup, deliberately making herself appear haggard, pale, and possessed of a neurotic fragility. Barefoot, she walked silently out of the west wing, down the long corridor, until she stood before the heavy, familiar oak door of the study.
From within, she could hear her father's voice—sonorous and powerful, but currently laced with irritation and rage.
"...An utter disgrace! It's preposterous! With the engagement ceremony right around the corner, she just vanishes without a word! She's dragged the Carter family name through the mud!"
"Uncle, please don't be angry," came Richard's hypocritical, placating voice. "Seraphina is just going through a difficult time. She'll probably be back soon. The most urgent thing now is to stabilize the company's stock price. We can't let this affect the future collaboration between our families."
"That's right, Father," Liliana's voice was so soft it sounded as if it might break. "Sister is just being a little willful. Please don't let it affect your health. Brother Richard and I have been worried sick. We've sent everyone we can to look for her."
Listening to their exchange, a glacial smile touched Seraphina's lips.
She raised her hand. She didn't knock. Instead, she pushed the heavy door open, forcefully.
Creeeak—
The sound was jarring, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the room. All three of them froze, their gazes locking onto her.
The expressions on their faces were a magnificent, varied spectacle.
Her father, General Carter, looked up, his anger melting into utter shock. He shot up from his chair, pointing a trembling finger at her.
Richard and Liliana, on the other hand, had a flicker of undisguised panic and horror flash across their faces, as if they had just seen a ghost in broad daylight. The innocent mask Liliana wore, for the first time, began to crack.
But they were, after all, born performers.
"Seraphina!" Richard was the first to react. He rushed forward, his face instantly morphing into a mask of ecstatic relief and deep concern. "Oh my god, you're finally back! Do you have any idea how worried we've been? Where have you been these past few days?"
"Sister!" Liliana threw herself forward as well, her eyes instantly welling with tears. She grabbed Seraphina's hand, her voice choked with sobs. "Sister, you scared me to death! I thought... I thought something terrible had happened to you!"
Her hand on Seraphina's skin was as cold as a stone.
Seraphina watched them quietly, watching this disgusting pair perform their play of deep affection right in front of her. She didn't pull away, nor did she respond. She simply stared at them with a vacant, unnerving gaze that seemed to see right through them.
That look sent an inexplicable chill down Richard and Liliana's spines.
"You... You have the audacity to come back?!" General Carter's roar finally shattered the strange silence. His face was flushed with rage. He snatched a folder from his desk and hurled it to the floor. "Look at the state of you! Disheveled, silent! Where is your respect for the dignity of the Carter family?!"
Seraphina slowly dragged her gaze away from the wretched couple and fixed it on her furious father.
She knew him well. This man, a titan of the business world, cared for one thing above all else: the family's honor and reputation. The well-being and feelings of his daughter were, and always had been, secondary.
Good. That made things easier.
It meant she could proceed without reservation.
"I'm tired," she finally said, her voice hoarse and hollow, like a wisp of smoke without weight. "I want to rest."
"Rest?" General Carter laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "You commit an act that brings shame upon this entire family, and now you want to simply brush it aside and rest? Seraphina, I order you to explain yourself, right now! Where in the hell have you been?"
Seraphina's gaze flickered to Richard and Liliana, who were watching her with feigned concern. She knew their hearts must be pounding in their chests, terrified she would speak the truth.
But she wouldn't.
She would let them dangle on the precipice of their fear, only to let them fall back into a false sense of security.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said, turning her head to avoid her father's gaze, adopting the perfect posture of a rebellious, uncommunicative daughter.
"You!" The General's blood pressure spiked. "You wretched girl! Is your goal to send me to an early grave?!"
"Uncle, please, calm down," Richard interjected smoothly. "Seraphina just got back, she's probably not stable. Let's not push her. Let her rest. We can talk about this tomorrow."
"Yes, Father," Liliana added softly. She poured the General a glass of water, then turned to Seraphina with a look of gentle admonishment. "Oh, sister, you should apologize to Father. Look how upset he is. Even if you feel wronged, you can't just hurt the people who care about you most."
Her words were a masterpiece of manipulation.
Before her father, she appeared dutiful. To Seraphina, she had just pinned the labels of "willful" and "cruel."
Finally, Seraphina reacted. She turned her head and looked at Liliana's tear-streaked, pitiful face. And she smiled.
It was a faint, fleeting smile, but it held a strange, unsettling coldness.
"Is that so?" she said slowly, her voice soft but carrying clearly to every corner of the room. "It must have been so difficult for you while I was away, little sister. Managing everything for the family, all on your own. You must be exhausted."
The color drained from Liliana's face for a split second.
The words sounded like gratitude, but coming from Seraphina's lips at this moment, they dripped with a thick, unmistakable sarcasm. It was as if... Seraphina knew something.
But she quickly recovered, forcing an even more aggrieved smile. "Sister, what are you saying? It's my duty to help you and Father."
"Oh, is it?" Seraphina replied noncommittally. She ignored Liliana and looked back at her father, her tone flat and challenging. "I have nothing to explain. If you think I've disgraced the Carter family, then you can just pretend you don't have a daughter."
That was the final spark. It ignited the General's towering rage.
"Fine! Fine! Fine!" he roared, laughing in fury. He pointed a shaking finger toward the staircase. "Get to your room! And from this day forward, you are not to step one foot outside it without my permission! All of your duties at the company are suspended! All of your credit cards and bank accounts are frozen! We'll see just how stubborn you can be then, you ungrateful child!"
His words were music to Seraphina's ears.
House arrest? It was exactly what she wanted. She needed time. She needed an undisturbed environment to plan her next move, to let her body heal... and to nurture the small life growing inside her.
But on her face, she had to project defiance and anger.
She gave her father one last, cold look, her gaze sweeping over her two enemies, who were barely concealing their glee. Then, without another word, she turned and, still barefoot, walked up the grand, sweeping staircase, one step at a time.
Her retreating back looked lonely, resolute, and tragically beautiful.
To Richard and Liliana, this was the beginning of Seraphina's complete downfall. Despised by her own father, stripped of all her power, she was now nothing more than a canary locked in a cage, no longer a threat to them in any way.
They exchanged a triumphant glance, their hearts swelling with victory.
But they didn't see it.
The moment she turned the corner of the landing, disappearing from their sight, the look of defiant tragedy vanished from Seraphina's face. In its place was a cold, sharp, calculating smile, filled with absolute control.
She returned to her own bedroom, a luxurious suite that had once been her princess's castle.
She closed the door, shutting out the world of hypocrisy and ugliness.
She surveyed the familiar room. It had been her sanctuary, the starting point of all her beautiful dreams.
Now, it would be her command center. The launching point for her war.
A prisoner?
No.
The huntress had just entered the hunting grounds she had so carefully prepared for herself.
Seraphina walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the estate's nightscape as she gently placed a hand on her abdomen.
Did you see that, my baby? she thought.
Step one is complete.