Chapter 43: The Ties That Bind

Seraphina stood frozen long after Genevieve had left, the weight of her friend's words pressing down on her chest. I can't stand by and watch you get hurt. Was that truly Genevieve's reason for coming? Or was she yet another pawn in this treacherous game—one that Laurent had played masterfully?

The fire crackled in the hearth, but it did little to warm her. Adrian's absence was still heavy in the air, his words from earlier clashing with the doubts Genevieve had planted.

With a sharp inhale, she turned to the window, her hands gripping the edge of the cold stone sill. Beyond the glass, the night stretched endlessly, the moon casting silver threads over the Valemont estate.

She needed answers.

And there was only one person who could give them to her.

——

Adrian stood alone in his study, a glass of whiskey untouched in his hand. He should have known Genevieve would appear sooner or later. That woman had never known when to stop meddling.

Laurent's hand was all over this.

Adrian's jaw clenched as he turned toward the flickering candlelight. Genevieve's loyalty had always been unpredictable, shifting like the tide. But this time, she had gone too far.

A knock at the door.

He didn't need to ask who it was.

"Come in," he said, voice cold.

Seraphina stepped inside, her presence filling the dimly lit space like a storm about to break. The door shut softly behind her, but her eyes were anything but calm.

"We need to talk," she said.

Adrian exhaled slowly, setting his glass down. "I assume this has something to do with Genevieve."

Seraphina's lips pressed into a thin line. "She came to me tonight. Told me things that…" She shook her head. "Things I can't ignore."

Adrian leaned against his desk, arms crossing over his chest. "And you believed her."

"I don't know what to believe," she admitted. "But I do know that Laurent has been speaking to her, and if that's the case, then he's still watching us. And that means whatever game you and he are playing, I'm the one caught in the middle."

His expression darkened. "This is not a game, Seraphina."

She took a step forward. "Then tell me the truth. About Laurent. About why he's so obsessed with you. With us."

Adrian remained silent.

Seraphina swallowed, then whispered, "Is it about my father?"

Something flickered across his face. Just for a second. But she saw it.

Seraphina's breath hitched. "It is, isn't it?"

Adrian's fingers curled against the desk. He had spent years preparing for the moment she would demand answers. Yet, looking at her now, with fire in her eyes and betrayal woven between her words, he realized—he had never been prepared for this.

A long pause. Then, his voice, low and measured.

"There are things about your father that you do not know, Seraphina."

She lifted her chin. "Then tell me."

Adrian looked at her for a long moment before turning away, his gaze lost in the dancing shadows on the wall.

"I was not the one who betrayed your father." His voice was quiet, but the weight of his words settled heavily in the room. "Laurent was."

Seraphina's breath stilled.

A slow, awful understanding crept in.

Genevieve had come to her claiming to protect her. But if Adrian was telling the truth, then Genevieve had unknowingly aligned herself with the very man responsible for her father's downfall.

And worst of all?

Laurent was still pulling the strings.

The betrayal cut deeper than Seraphina had expected.

Adrian turned back to her, his gaze steady. "Do you still think I am the enemy, Seraphina?"

She didn't know anymore.

But what she did know—what she had always known—was that she was no man's fool.

And it was time to start playing the game her way.