"The Dilemma of a Bomb Disposal Specialist" Chapter 7
"CEO, did you marry Silas to cover up the fact that you fell in love with your own brother? Did you deliberately use Silas as a shield, which is why you didn't even blink when your daughter died?"
Facing the sharp questions one after another, Seraphina clenched her hands tightly, her eyes filled with anger.
"Get out of here, all of you."
As she spoke, her assistant pushed through the crowd and walked over quickly.
"CEO, it’s bad! Your mother heard about what happened at the memorial service, collapsed from anger, and has already been sent to the emergency room."
A flicker of panic flashed in Seraphina’s eyes, and just as she was about to rush out, her assistant shouted again.
"The company’s stock has plummeted due to the scandal involving you and Young Master Caspian. Several banks have announced a withdrawal of capital, and the company’s capital chain has broken."
Seraphina’s footsteps paused as she looked up at the gray sky, feeling an unprecedented sense of despair washing over her.
Chapter 14
Country M.
Just as Silas’s plane landed, his phone rang.
It was a call from a friend back home.
"Silas, have you seen the news? Seraphina’s father’s memorial service has become the laughingstock of all Sterling City. Those scandals surrounding Seraphina are enough to ruin her reputation forever."
Hearing Seraphina’s name, Silas’s hand gripping the phone tightened slightly.
"Her affairs have nothing to do with me anymore."
After hanging up, Silas couldn't resist clicking on the news.
As soon as he opened it, he saw that Seraphina’s name dominated the top ten trending searches.
#SeraphinaPedophilia#
#SeraphinaFallsForSterlingFosterSon#
#SeraphinaKillsHerOwnDaughter#
The comment section was already in an uproar.
"Falling in love with her own brother—how is this any different from being a pervert? It's so disgusting."
"To abandon her own biological daughter for a foster son—as an outsider, just seeing what that child looked like after the explosion brought tears to my eyes, yet Seraphina didn't even blink. She’s truly cold-blooded."
"She didn't love Silas but married him to use as a shield. She’s trash. And after everything went wrong, she dragged Silas out to be the scapegoat and even caused his mother’s death. If I were Silas, I would never let her rest until one of us is dead."
Silas watched the screen full of abuse directed at Seraphina, turned off his phone without a ripple of emotion, and then looked toward Lydia, who was leaning against the car, asking softly.
"Did you do this?"
Lydia didn't deny it, shrugging her shoulders.
"I promised you I would make them pay the price they deserve."
After speaking, Lydia opened the car door.
"Seraphina must already suspect Caspian. The full truth will soon be brought to light for all to see."
Silas got into the car, his gaze fixed on the brilliant sunshine outside the window.
"I am waiting for that day to come."
ADVERTISEMENT
...
The Sterling Estate.
With a loud "crash," Seraphina slammed her glass against the television. The screen shattered instantly, and glass scattered all over the floor.
"Why can't you find a single person? What am I paying you all for?"
The assistant stood to the side, trembling, head bowed low.
"We have searched the entirety of Sterling City and even checked the airports, but we haven't found any information about Mr. Silas."
Seraphina kicked the coffee table fiercely.
"A bunch of useless trash."
Suddenly, the assistant’s phone rang. The moment he answered, his face changed drastically, and he looked at Seraphina in a panic.
"CEO, it’s bad! Mr. Silas has sold all 50% of the company’s shares under his name, causing the group’s stock to plummet. All the shareholders are on their way to your home right now, demanding an explanation."
Seraphina stood frozen, all the strength in her body seeming to have been drained away.
"This is impossible. How could Silas sell all the shares?"
Seraphina opened her phone in desperation and dialed Silas’s number again, but all she heard on the other end was the same mechanical female voice.
Seraphina gripped her phone powerlessly, the light in her eyes dimming little by little.
"How could he sell the shares?"
With that, Seraphina walked out quickly.
"Silas, I will definitely find you."
As she reached the door, a delivery courier suddenly appeared.
"Hello, are you Ms. Seraphina? I have a delivery for you. Could you please sign for it personally?"
Chapter 15
Seraphina stared at the document in the courier's hand, stunned; she didn't remember having any deliveries.
Seraphina took the package and tossed it to her assistant.
"It’s probably just some partnership letter from a company. Throw it away!"
After speaking, she walked quickly toward the company.
Just as she arrived, the head of security walked over.
"CEO, that man you caught earlier keeps shouting that he wants to see Young Master Caspian. How should we handle it?"
Seraphina recalled what the man had said earlier, her expression growing somber.
"Bring him here. I still have some things that haven't been cleared up."
Soon, the man was brought in. As soon as he saw Seraphina, he started clamoring to see Caspian.
"You can't keep me locked up! It was Caspian himself who told us to kidnap him—what right do you have to arrest us?"
Seraphina looked at the man in front of her with a dark expression and kicked him hard in the face.
"What do you mean by that?"
An image of Silas’s cold and desperate gaze when he was thrown into the ancestral hall flashed through Seraphina’s mind, and her heart felt as if it were being pressed by a massive boulder, making it hard to breathe.
Blood trickled from the corner of the man’s mouth as he looked at Seraphina in fear.
"Caspian gave us 200,000 to pretend to kidnap him to teach him a lesson. We never even touched him; the wounds on his body were all inflicted by himself."
ADVERTISEMENT
Seraphina’s gaze darkened instantly, her hands clenched tightly together.
"So this was all a setup Caspian created to frame Silas?"
Just as the words fell, a call came through from the organizers of the charity gala.
"CEO, thank you very much for the sarira relic you donated to our gala. However, due to the unique craftsmanship of the relic, to avoid any unnecessary trouble, we need you to provide the source of the relic’s production."
Seraphina was visibly stunned, her grip on the phone tightening slightly.
"What relic?"
"Wasn't the relic you auctioned off that night donated by you? At the time, Mr. Caspian said himself that it was donated by you?"
The image of Silas abandoning his dignity to kneel at her feet that night was still vivid in her mind, like a blade plunged into her heart, causing her unbearable pain. She looked at her assistant with bloodshot eyes.
"Go check immediately—how did Caspian get the relic he donated to the charity gala?"
Seraphina clutched her heart tightly, a massive sense of dread engulfing her.
Just after her assistant left, the company shareholders arrived one after another.
"Seraphina, you sold off the company’s shares privately—did something happen to the company?"
"Seraphina, once the shares are sold, you are no longer the largest shareholder. What qualifications do you have to remain as President? Resign immediately!"
"Seraphina, I heard you divorced Silas? Did you give those 50% of the shares to Silas?"
Hearing the word "divorced," Seraphina felt a roar in her ears, and everything around her vanished into silence.
Seraphina grabbed the man by his collar, looking at him with a fierce gaze.
"What divorce?"
The man looked at Seraphina with a hint of cowardice as he met her terrifying gaze.
"I ran into a lawyer from the law firm on the way here. He said it himself and mentioned that the divorce case was handled by their firm."
Seraphina paused for a moment, then released the man and rushed out regardless of anything else.
"This must be fake. How could Silas divorce me? How could he bear to divorce me?"
Seraphina muttered to herself, as if this was the only way to make herself feel better.
When she arrived at the law firm, just as she was about to push the door open, Lawyer Li opened it and walked out. He looked surprised to see Seraphina.
"CEO, why are you here? You should have received the divorce certificate I mailed you by now!"
Chapter 16
Seraphina gripped the lawyer’s collar tightly.
"What divorce certificate? Silas and I have never divorced, so where did this certificate come from?"
The lawyer was startled by Seraphina and stammered, "You signed it yourself back then in the hospital room! Don't you remember?"
Seraphina froze, as if she had been struck in the head by an iron bar, hearing nothing but a continuous, deafening roar.
The memory of Silas holding the document for her to sign was still vivid; he had told her it was compensation for him.
It turned out the compensation he wanted was to leave her!
ADVERTISEMENT
You May Also Like
-
CompletedChapter 11
The Dance He Almost Took Away
Clare Bennett agreed to teach a seventy-nine-year-old man one dance before Saturday. She didn't agree to keep his lessons secret from the son who came through the studio door demanding to take him home. Henry Caldwell has spent three years avoiding the music he once shared with his late wife. Now he wants to ask an old friend to dance, but he needs to get across the room first. His son Ethan, a guarded development company CEO, sees every missed call as a possible emergency. Clare sees a man who still has the right to decide how to spend his own evenings. As Ethan watches his father begin to laugh again, he and Clare find themselves drawn together. Then Clare learns that Ethan's company has proposed using the very ballroom where she teaches, just as she is trying to turn a temporary class into a lasting career. When Ethan tries to solve the problem without telling her everything, Clare must decide what she's willing to fight for—and whether she can trust him to stand beside her while she does it. A warm contemporary romance about grief, independence, and the courage to take the next step.Dark Secrets11.7k words5 4 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Girl They Taught to Be Unwanted
"Nobody picks the difficult ones," nine-year-old Maisie Reed whispers to her worn-out stuffed rabbit. Grant Whitaker hears her at a family center, then sees the name on her bracelet. Maisie's late mother was his sister. For six years, Grant never knew he had a niece. The records say he was contacted and refused to take her in. Grant knows he never signed that refusal. His search brings him back to the sister whose letters he returned unopened, a little girl who has learned to offer pancakes and good behavior in exchange for a home, and a former guardian determined to define Maisie as too difficult to keep. Each disputed record raises a harder question: who benefited from making Maisie believe her family did not want her? Grant can challenge the paperwork. Earning Maisie's trust will take something else: showing up when she is angry, frightened, or inconvenient, and telling her the truth about the years he lost.Human Nature|Dark Secrets11.6k words5 3 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Man Who Kept Losing on Thursdays
Mara Bennett has spent years keeping her grandfather's Philadelphia bookstore alive. On Thursday nights, she gives the neighborhood one more reason to come inside: chess. Then a stranger in a dark coat sits down across from her, and she beats him in front of everyone. The stranger is Luca Moretti, a powerful man with a reputation for getting his way. He returns the following Thursday for a rematch. And the next. Mara enjoys making him work for every move, but Luca came to the store for a reason he hasn't told her: a missing employee was seen there before disappearing with a trail of suspicious company records. When a stranger starts watching the bookstore and an old chess manual goes missing, Mara must decide what Luca knows, what he's hiding, and whether to let him help. Luca is used to protecting people by taking control. Mara has fought too hard for her store and her independence to become another piece on anyone's board. Their Thursday games draw them closer. The truth behind Luca's first visit could end them before either is ready to walk away.Mafia|Dark Secrets12.1k words5 12 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Mafia Boss Thought His Curvy Maid Needed Riding Lessons
Mara Bennett used to repair motorcycles with her father. Now she works at the estate of Nico Moretti, a Chicago mafia boss whose black motorcycle reminds her of everything she lost. When Nico catches her secretly sitting on it, he offers to teach her to ride. Mara lets him believe she needs lessons. It is easier than explaining why someone who once knew engines by sound has not ridden in four years. Their rides bring them closer, but Mara hears something wrong with Nico’s bike before he leaves for a meeting. Her warning exposes a deliberate alteration—and puts her in the path of someone close enough to Nico to know his every move. Mara can help uncover the threat. She also has a choice to make about the life she left behind. Falling for Nico may be dangerous, but losing herself again would cost her even more.Mafia|Dark Secrets11.9k words5 9 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Baby He Called a Lie
Mara Bennett brought Adrian Vale an ultrasound photograph and asked him to believe her. Certain he could never father a child, he tore it in half and called her a liar. Three months later, a specialist finds a problem with the diagnosis Adrian trusted for fourteen years. He comes back ready to apologize. Mara has spent those months preparing to raise their baby without him, and she has no intention of letting his money make decisions for her. Then someone photographs them outside her hospital. A stranger follows Mara home, her prenatal clinic receives a suspicious call, and an old medical record shows signs of having been changed. As Adrian's powerful family closes ranks, Mara gathers her own evidence and sets the terms of every conversation. She must discover who is watching her—and decide whether the man who failed her once can earn any place in their child's future.Dark Secrets|Second Chance11.2k words5 9 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Woman Who Sat in Sofia’s Place
On her first day at Grayhaven Correctional Facility, Elena Moretti sits on the one bench everyone has warned her to avoid. Vera Sokolov, the woman who rules Block C, takes Elena’s lunch in front of a guard. Elena asks for it back. Before long, her bunk is changed, her food goes missing, and an officer begins watching her every move. Elena has a reason to stay. Her sister Sofia died at Grayhaven after writing letters about women who were threatened, deprived of food, and too frightened to complain. One of those letters never left the prison. Elena means to find out who stopped it—and what happened to Sofia after she refused to be silent. With help from Mina, who knew her sister, and Tess, who is still paying the price of Vera’s rules, Elena follows the trail through stolen meals, missing records, and a night when the laundry corridor went dark. But each woman who speaks could become Vera’s next target. To expose the truth, Elena must give them a choice Sofia never had time to secure.Human Nature11.7k words5 2 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Woman They Poured Milk On
Elena Brooks has been in prison for less than three hours when Mara Quinn pours a carton of milk over her head in front of the entire dining hall. Everyone expects the quiet woman in glasses to disappear into the crowd. Instead, Elena names two companies Mara has every reason to fear. Before her arrest, Elena built financial structures for wealthy clients and ignored where the money came from. Now she is cooperating with investigators, trying to account for the damage she helped hide. Mara's reaction gives her a lead, but it also alerts someone outside the prison that Elena may know too much. A stolen notebook, a list sewn into a prison uniform, and a warehouse that was supposed to have closed years ago pull Elena toward a secret involving women on both sides of the bars. To expose it, she must decide how much of her own past she is willing to put on the record—and whether she can protect the people who risk speaking to her.Human Nature11.8k words5 2 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Wife Who Watched Me Drown
Elias Ward built his fortune from a failing marina. Now his wife wants to inherit it. When Elias discovers a sale agreement bearing a signature he never gave, the trail leads to Selene and her former business adviser, Adrian Vale. Then Selene arranges an anniversary trip aboard their yacht—and Elias finds an anchor ordered for the voyage. He warns the authorities and puts a rescue plan in place. Still, nothing prepares him for the moment Selene looks him in the eye and tells Adrian to do it. The anchor drops. Elias goes over the rail. And when a hand rises from the water beside the yacht, Selene learns that surviving the ocean may be the least of her husband’s plans.Human Nature11.5k words5 2 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Roommate Behind the Handle
He thought he was dating a stranger online. Then his roommate's phone lit up outside the bathroom door—and Ethan saw the name that changed everything. Lucas is Northstar. The boy who calls Ethan “sweetheart” through headphones is the same cold, beautiful roommate who barely speaks to him in daylight. Lucas does not know Ethan has figured it out. But after a stolen wallet appears beneath Lucas's bed, their secret connection may not survive long enough for either of them to tell the truth.Dark Secrets|Possessive Love14.2k words5 2