Chapter 22: A Name in the Dark

Seraphina had always believed that silence was a weapon.

In the right hands, it could be more lethal than a blade, more damning than a lie.

And tonight, Adrian wielded it with unnerving precision.

He had been avoiding her.

She had seen him in the halls, in the candlelit corridors of Valemont Manor, always just beyond her reach. And yet, the weight of his gaze followed her like a specter, a shadow lingering where it did not belong.

But Seraphina was no stranger to secrets. And she had come here to uncover one of her own.

Her father had fallen from grace overnight, his name smeared, his fortune lost. It had been too clean, too precise—like a blade slicing through an enemy's throat. Someone had orchestrated his downfall. And Seraphina was determined to find out who.

She had not expected her search to lead her here. To this house. To this marriage. To him.

And yet, as she stood outside the manor's vast library, listening to the quiet sound of a glass setting down, she knew—Adrian Valemont was just as entangled in this web as she was.

She stepped inside.

He stood at the tall windows, half-illuminated by the moonlight, a drink in hand. He did not turn as she entered, but she knew he had heard her.

"You should be asleep," he murmured.

"So should you."

A ghost of a smirk. "We both know sleep does not come easily in this house."

"Especially not for those with something to hide."

That wiped the smirk off his face.

Seraphina moved closer, folding her arms. "You've been avoiding me."

"And yet, here you are."

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

A beat of silence. Then—"No. I expected you to."

Her pulse quickened. "Then tell me why."

Adrian took a slow sip of his drink before speaking. "Because some truths cannot be undone, Seraphina. Some questions should never be answered."

"But this one must."

She stepped even closer. "You and I are not so different, Adrian. You want justice for your mother. I want the truth about my father."

That made him still.

Seraphina's voice lowered. "Your mother was murdered. My father was ruined. And somehow, Duke Laurent is connected to both. That is not a coincidence."

Adrian's grip on his glass tightened. "You assume too much."

"Do I?" She lifted her chin. "Or are you afraid that I see too clearly?"

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then, in a voice so quiet it almost did not reach her—

"Laurent."

The name sent a chill through her.

Duke Laurent. The man who had taunted Adrian at the ball. The man who had whispered cruel accusations that had sent him into a barely contained rage.

"You're certain?" she asked.

Adrian's jaw clenched. "I am many things, Seraphina, but I am not a fool."

Her breath hitched.

If Laurent had murdered Evelyne and played a role in her father's downfall, then this was no longer just a personal tragedy for Adrian.

It was part of something much larger.

Something calculated.

"Then we are chasing the same enemy," she said, her voice like steel.

Adrian turned to her fully now, his expression unreadable. "Are we?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "And whether you like it or not, we will find the truth together."

A long silence stretched between them. Then, softly—

"Not tonight."

And with that, Adrian Valemont left her standing in the dark.

But Seraphina did not retreat.

She had a name now.

Laurent.

And she had no intention of leaving this secret buried.

Not when the truth—her truth—was this close to being unraveled.