Once they finished tidying up, Julian asked,

"Are you hungry?"

Hearing this, Seraphina did feel quite hungry, so she nodded.

A Western restaurant.

Seraphina sat in her chair, looking around anxiously.

The place was packed almost entirely with couples enjoying candlelit dinners. Although their table held only food and cutlery without the romantic ambiance surrounding them, the couple's combo meal still made her feel rather uncomfortable.

But seeing Julian eating quite unconcernedly, she felt she was perhaps being a bit too fastidious.

Seeing Seraphina finally pick up her knife and fork to slowly eat her steak, Julian's heart, which had been suspended in his throat, finally settled down.

He smiled. "Does it taste good?"

Seraphina's eyes lit up the moment she took a bite of the steak. She nodded; this restaurant seemed to be newly opened, and the flavor was truly excellent.

Outside the restaurant, a white Audi came to a halt.

Janice stepped out from the driver's seat. She turned back to look at Ethan as he got out of the car. "Ethan, a new restaurant just opened here. I heard the food is pretty good."

Ethan glanced at the restaurant's facade, still wearing that same freezing expression.

Without waiting for Janice, he strode straight inside.

Janice ground her teeth inwardly, constantly telling herself to endure. Before he handed the share transfer documents over to her, she could only cater to Ethan's whims.

The moment they walked through the door, a waiter stepped forward to greet them.

Ethan scanned the room. Almost every table was adorned with a rose, and some had even lit candles.

His brows furrowed, and he instantly lost his appetite. The only reason he had come out at all was because Janice claimed she had something regarding the Vance family to tell him; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to see her at all.

Janice caught up, looking at a booth by the window. "Let's sit over there."

Ethan lifted his eyes. The booths were surrounded almost entirely by candlelit dinners, except for the one right next to it, which seemed to lack those eyesores of candles.

Even so, he took a few steps and sat down casually. "This is fine."

Chapter 20

The smile on Janice's face froze, and she could only brace herself and sit across from him.

The waiter stood to the side waiting for them to order, acting as if he didn't notice anything.

Janice casually ordered a few dishes and asked Ethan as well, but she was met with nothing but cold indifference.

Once the waiter left, Ethan finally fixed his gaze upon Janice. "Speak."

He sounded as if he had packed all of his negative emotions into that single word; it felt as though if Janice spoke any irrelevant nonsense, he would crush her to death.

Janice's hand trembled, and she quickly smiled. "Isn't it better to eat while we talk?"

Ethan's eyes narrowed, his gaze shifting into something akin to a red-hot iron comb, ready to strip away her skin and flesh layer by layer.

He wanted to see what tricks she was trying to play.

Before long, the dishes were served. However, Ethan didn't take a single bite, leaning back against his seat and staring blankly at Janice.

Janice cut a piece of foie gras, ate it, and then said, "Ethan, do you know who Julian Vance is?"

Hearing this, Ethan's brows furrowed.

She was clearly asking something she already knew the answer to; Julian was his so-called brother.

"He isn't your biological brother," Janice lowered her voice.

Ethan let out a cold snort, his gaze sharp as a knife. "And?"

Janice stiffened, seeing from his expression that he seemed to have known all along.

"Aren't you worried at all?" She knit her brows, wearing an anxious expression as if she deeply cared about family matters.

"Worried about what?" Ethan gradually lost his patience, his tone dripping with irritation.

Janice put down her knife and fork, dropping her voice even lower. "Don't forget, when Old Mr. Vance's will was read, there was still one clause the lawyer didn't reveal."

Ethan's expression darkened. Of course he remembered, but Mr. Harrison had stated that the patriarch instructed that a certain prerequisite had to be met before the final clause could be announced. And no one knew what that prerequisite was except Mr. Harrison.

Mr. Harrison was an unyielding man of principle; no matter how much money he was offered, he wouldn't speak a word.

But nearly half a year had passed since then, and Ethan hadn't taken it to heart, assuming it was merely some matter regarding property or shares.

"If the final clause states that half of Vance Enterprises goes to Julian, would you accept that?" Janice was intentionally driving a wedge between Ethan and Julian.

Yet, Ethan let out a mocking sneer and countered, "Do you think you know Grandfather well?" Janice froze.

"Aside from those few shares he gave to Seraphina, he would never allow even a single fraction of Vance Enterprises to fall into the hands of someone who isn't a Vance."

At the mention of Seraphina's name, a sharp pang of pain shot through Ethan's heart, as if tearing open a wound that hadn't yet healed.

His face turned slightly grim, and he stood up to head toward the restroom.

Janice stared at the empty chair before her with eyes full of hatred, wishing she could take a knife and fork and drive it straight into Ethan's heart.

Seraphina had been dead for so long, yet he still clutched the share transfer documents and refused to give them to her. What on earth did he mean by this?

Inside the restroom, Ethan braced both hands against the sink, leaning forward slightly as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Unknowingly, his gaze had softened, and the corners of his eyes had turned inexplicably red—it seemed everything began from the moment Seraphina was mentioned...

Outside, Seraphina set down her knife and fork, looked at the time, and lifted her head. She wrote on the paper beside her: I'm going to the restroom.

Julian nodded. "Go ahead."

Seraphina stood up and walked toward the restrooms.

The doors to the men's and women's restrooms faced each other. Seraphina glanced at the signs embedded in the marble wall before stepping inside.

Ethan straightened his posture and tilted his head back to take a deep breath, slightly easing the dull ache in his chest before drawing a cigarette.

He lit it and took a drag, a cloud of white smoke swirling in front of the mirror.

With his eyes half-open, he stared at his slightly illusory reflection, letting out a sudden, self-deprecating smile.

He looked rather wretched right now.

Chapter 21: Hallucination

Ethan exhaled another puff of smoke. The sound of running water from the sink behind him stopped after three or four seconds, followed closely by a set of light, soft footsteps.

He lifted his head, and through the half-dissipated smoke, his pupils contracted sharply.

That fleeting glimpse of a face in the mirror felt like a fiery hand gripping his heart.

Seraphina?!

Ethan spun around, but the space before him was entirely empty. The faucet a few meters away was still dripping water, proving someone had used it just tens of seconds prior.

Was he hallucinating? Or was it just someone who closely resembled Seraphina?

Ethan tightly pressed his lips together, tossed his cigarette aside, and strode out swiftly.

Having already settled the bill, Julian stood by the side exit holding Seraphina's bag, waiting for her. Seeing her walk out, he called out, "Seraphina, over here."

This voice caused Janice, who was currently venting her frustration on a piece of foie gras with her knife and fork, to freeze.

She turned her head to look, catching sight of only a man and a woman walking out through the side exit. The patterns on the glass window perfectly obscured their faces.

Janice stared blankly. It must be a coincidence of names, she thought, or maybe it just sounded similar.

Suddenly, Ethan strode out. He scanned every single table, noting that only the booth by the window was left with empty plates.

"Sir, may I—"

"Where are the people from that table?" Ethan's face was completely dark, his icy glare causing the inquiring waiter to feel a sudden wave of fear.

The waiter glanced in the direction Ethan was staring. "They... they left."

Janice stood up and walked over.

"Ethan, what's wrong?"

Ethan bit his teeth, his face as dark as the night sky outside.

Without a single word, he strode out with long steps, having absolutely no intention of finishing dinner with Janice.

Not far outside the restaurant was a plaza. People were bustling on the wide pedestrian walkway, yet that person who looked like Seraphina was nowhere to be seen.

Ethan stared at the festive, red-decorated street, suddenly feeling an inescapable sense of helplessness crushing down on him.

He braced himself against a streetlight, panting heavily as his tightly furrowed brows knit into a knot.