Her eyes filled with tears as she tilted her face up, trying to show that familiar, pitiful expression she always used, hoping to evoke a shred of past affection.

But she had vastly underestimated Xavier’s coldness.

Xavier stood up and never looked at her again, leaving the bodyguards to drag the struggling, wailing Sienna away until her figure completely vanished.

He had completely cleared himself of the old case, with the chain of evidence pointing directly at Arthur.

Margaret tried desperately to pull strings outside, but Xavier was willing to suffer losses himself just to crush the Vance family into dust.

The teetering family could not survive the storm.

On the day of the bankruptcy liquidation, Margaret handed a divorce agreement to Arthur in prison, then took whatever wealth remained and fled far away with the son.

The once-illustrious Vance family collapsed in an instant.

Xavier arranged for Sienna to be "married off" to several elderly businessmen as a successor wife; each marriage was as short as a play, and each "husband" was violent in temperament.

As long as she had a breath left in her, his revenge would not stop.

A subordinate sent him the latest video.

In the footage, Sienna was so thin she was unrecognizable, her hair matted to her cheeks, her eyes hollow.

When she noticed the camera, she somehow found the strength to lunge forward—

"Help me... please, help me..."

Her voice was hoarse and incoherent.

She was then roughly dragged away and pinned to the ground.

Xavier flipped the phone face-down on the desk and rubbed his aching brow.

Lately, while dealing with the aftermath, he had been sending people to gather news from South Haven.

Fortunately... so far, the Thorne family had not announced any wedding news for their second son.

Did this mean she wasn't married yet?

Did he... still have a chance?

Xavier suddenly looked up and gave a low command to the secretary standing nearby:

"Book a ticket to South Haven."

"Now."

He was going to go there himself—

To win back his Sera.

Chapter 17

Seraphina settled into the Thorne household.

After finalizing the partnership details with Winifred, she officially joined the core R&D team for the Thorne family’s AI project.

To her surprise, the main person in charge of the project was William.

Seeing her surprise, William explained with a smile:

"I’ve never had much interest in business anyway; the lab is my comfort zone."

He reached out a hand toward her, his eyes reflecting a gentle light:

"I look forward to working with you."

Seraphina took his hand, her eyes curving slightly. "The pleasure is mine."

With the addition of her chip patent, the project that had once stalled finally saw a breakthrough.

To push for an early launch, Seraphina and William practically lived in the laboratory.

Spending days and nights together, Seraphina gradually saw more sides of William.

He was gentle on the surface, but he had a very strong sense of boundaries in his bones.

The promise he once made—"You will always be my first priority"—was never empty words.

Faced with the advances of others, he refused gently but firmly; when encountering voices that doubted her, he would quietly shield her behind him.

He was the polar opposite of Xavier.

He knew how to respect; even if a misunderstanding arose, he would communicate honestly at the first opportunity.

He said, "If I’ve made you unhappy, then it must be because I did something wrong."

"Tell me, and I will change."

Being with William made Seraphina feel a long-lost sense of ease.

She no longer had to wear a hard shell, nor did she have to pretend to be strong.

She could be vulnerable, and someone would be there to steadily catch all her anxieties.

"The test results are out, and there are basically no major issues."

William handed the report to her, his voice carrying a hint of lightness:

"After the final test tomorrow, we can discuss the launch details with my sister."

They had been preparing for this project for a long time. Once the AI was perfected, it could be brought to the market immediately.

Her tensed nerves finally relaxed slightly, and Seraphina couldn't help but beam:

"That’s wonderful... I’m truly looking forward to it."

This was the fruit of her own patent, and the first milestone she had built with her own hands after leaving North Shore.

Looking at the light sparkling in her eyes, William couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke the top of her head.

"We can finally go home early to rest today, instead of sleeping in the lab."

The soft, warm sensation under his palm made his heart soften as well.

This sudden intimacy startled Seraphina for a moment.

Since they met, they had never shared such a close gesture.

The strange thing was, she didn't find it repulsive.

The tips of her ears quietly turned red, and her heart skipped a few beats. She hurriedly took half a step back, lowering her head to head out:

"I... I’ll head back first. I’ll be back tomorrow morning for the final test!"

"Sera."

William’s voice came from behind her, gentle yet clear.

She paused.

He looked at her back as she stood there and said slowly, "May I call you 'Sera'?"

"Always saying 'Ms. Vance' feels... a bit distant."

Seraphina’s hand tightened slightly on her bag strap.

She took a deep breath, turned around, and met his gaze:

"You may."

She paused, the corners of her mouth lifting gently:

"Then I’ll be like your sister and call you 'Liam'."

"Good."

William walked up to her, glanced behind her, and said naturally:

"Then... shall we go home together?"

"It’s late; it isn't safe for you to walk alone."

He took her hand and joked half-earnestly:

"If anything happened to you, my sister would definitely kill me."

Because of that sentence, the subtle awkwardness from a moment ago vanished instantly.

Seraphina tightened her grip on his hand and smiled brightly:

"Alright."

"Let's go home together."

Chapter 18

The final test for the Artificial Intelligence was a success.

As a core member of the research and development team, Seraphina attended the decision-making meeting before the project launch.

Winifred had shown her sharp business acumen over the years, running the family business with great success and establishing absolute authority.

Seeing her this way for the first time, Seraphina couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

After the meeting ended, she walked up to Winifred and praised her sincerely: "Senior, you are truly amazing."

Winifred shook her head with a smile: "Sera, you are the key. Without your patent, I don't know how long this project would have remained stagnant."

She paused, her tone earnest: "Thank you for being willing to cooperate with our family."

The tips of Seraphina’s ears grew warm: "It would have been hard to refuse the terms you offered."

The two women shared a smile.

The press conference was set for the weekend.

As the core of the team, Seraphina needed to go on stage to give the presentation.

Since the turmoil three years ago, she had not appeared in public for a long time.

Thinking about facing the cameras and the crowd, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

Liam sat in his wheelchair and gently took her hand.

"Sera, believe in yourself. No one knows this project better than you do."

His voice was steady and reassuring.

Seraphina took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage under Liam's calm gaze.

The moment the spotlight fell, she instinctively recoiled slightly.

But in the next moment, she saw Winifred’s encouraging look on the stage and heard Liam’s low and clear "Don't be afraid" from below.

Her back quietly straightened.

She walked to the center of the stage and raised the microphone to her lips:

"This is the latest release from our company..."

"Bang—!"

The doors to the hall were suddenly thrust open.

A figure burst in against the light, and the eyes of the entire room focused instantly.

"Sera!"

The familiar voice pierced through the air. Seraphina froze, looking toward the door in disbelief.

As the light and shadow dissipated, Xavier’s deep and anxious face was revealed.

Her knuckles turned white from gripping the microphone, which trembled slightly in her palm.

After a long silence, she heard her own tense voice broadcast throughout the hall via the speakers:

"What are you doing here?"

Winifred quickly stepped forward and whispered, "Are you okay?"

Seraphina nodded stiffly, then shook her head.

"Sera!" Xavier strode to the front of the stage, looking up at her with a light in his eyes that bordered on obsession. "Come back with me."

"I identified the wrong person... the one I've always loved is you!"

Cold sweat drenched her palms.

Seraphina felt it was utterly absurd, as if a clumsy play had suddenly intruded upon reality.

Suddenly, a warm hand grasped her cold fingers.

Liam had made his way onto the stage at some point, his wheelchair coming to a stop quietly by her side.