Free Web NovelChapter 106: Seraphina
An investment?" Lyvana asked. "We aren’t currently looking for new partners."
"Every company is looking for the right partner," the woman countered. She tapped her red fingernails against the table. "I have followed your work for a while, Lyvana. I know you have a lot of talent."
Lyvana offered a polite, professional smile. She knew her company was growing fast, but she was careful about who she let in.
"Thank you for the compliment. I will discuss your interest with the board and get back to you."
The woman tilted her head, her expression unreadable. "Of course. Take your time. But remember, Lyvana, talent like yours deserves to be seen by the whole world, not just kept safe in one man’s shadow."
She stood up, smoothing her white suit. "I’ll leave my card. I think you’ll find my offer very hard to refuse."
As the woman walked out, Lyvana looked down at the small, elegant card on the table. There was no company logo, just a name: Seraphina.
When Julian called that afternoon, she asked if he knew Seraphina.
Julian was quiet.
"What did she want?" he asked.
"She came to the office," Lyvana said, looking at the white card. "She said she wanted to invest in Aurora. She mentioned she knew you."
The silence on the other end of the line stretched out. Lyvana could almost hear Julian’s breathing change. When he finally spoke, his voice was low.
"I know the name," Julian said. "But Liv, stay away from her. Don’t take her calls, and don’t look at whatever proposal she sends you. Don’t let her into Aurora next time."
Lyvana frowned, her heart beginning to race. "Julian? Who is she?"
"Someone I knew a long time ago. I will be in town tonight. I will see you when you arrive at the Royale."
As soon as he Julian hang up, he gripped his phone inside the car and dialed a number, tension racing through him. After only two rings, a voice came through.
"Hello, who is this?"
"It’s Julian Blackwood."
A brief silence followed before he replied in a more respectful tone.
"Hello, Mr. Blackwood. How can I help you?"
"Are you in town?"
"Yes sir."
"Come to Loulou Restaurant. I assume you know where it is?"
"Yes, I know it."
Then he cut the line immediately.
Outside Aurora, Seraphina sat in her car observing the company entrance. She didn’t want to hurt Lyvana physically yet. She wanted to take away her success and make her feel like she failed. She wanted Lyvana to think that even Julian’s protection couldn’t save her business.
Suddenly her phone rang. She didn’t even look at the caller ID.
"Talk to me."
"It is done," a female voice said. "The accelerant is placed in the basement storage near the textile rolls. The timers are set for midnight."
"Good. Make sure there are no mistakes. I want the fire to start in the sewing room. I want her to watch every sketch and every piece of silk turn to ash."
"And the staff?" the voice asked.
"The building should be empty by then," Seraphina replied, though she didn’t seem to care either way. "I don’t want a murder investigation. I want a bankruptcy. I want Lyvana Montclair to have nothing left but Julian’s charity. Let’s see how much she loves her ’hero’ when she’s a beggar in his palace."
She hung up and looked at the Aurora building one last time. It was a beautiful structure, full of dreams and hard work. But by tomorrow morning, it would be a black, smoking skeleton.
"Burn it all," she whispered to the wind as she drove away.
She had other business to attend to.
She pulled her white Porsche into the valet circle of The Grand Majestic, a hotel that rivaled Julian’s properties in sheer opulence.
She didn’t wait for the valet to speak; she simply tossed him the keys and walked inside, her heels clicking sharply on the marble floor.
She bypassed the front desk entirely. She didn’t need to check in. She took the private gold elevator to the executive floor and walked down the quiet, carpeted hallway.
When she reached the heavy mahogany door of the corner suite, she didn’t knock. She pulled a gold-plated key card from her pocket, swiped it, and pushed the door open.
Then she tossed her gloves onto the table and walked toward the centre of the room.
"I think you are starting the party without me, Stephan," she said smoothly. frёeωebɳovel.com
Stephan was one of her lovers and confidant. He had a girl lying down with her legs spread wide open as one man had his face between them. Whilst he was sitting enjoying the view with a glass of wine.
Seraphina didn’t look shocked; she simply walked to the armchair by the window and crossed her legs. She picked up the drink on the table and took a slow sip, watching the scene with a bored, clinical interest.
Just then, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and gave a bright smile.
"I knew you would call," she said, leaning back.
"What are you doing?" Julian’s voice was cold.
"You bitch," he continued, his tone dropping. "Stay away from Lyvana."
She laughed. "Or what? You want to start a Mafia war over her?"
"I don’t like to repeat myself," Julian snapped.
"What happened to you, Julian? I’ve never seen you so worked up over a woman. Let alone a low-class girl like that. She’s nothing."
"You are right, she’s nothing to you. But to me, she’s the person who decides whether your family’s company survives the week."
Seraphina’s smile faltered. She gripped her phone tighter. "You don’t threaten me. You wouldn’t start a war just to protect a girl who doesn’t even belong in our world."
"You seem so sure I wouldn’t start a war," Julian said. "Keep her name out of your mouth, or I’ll make sure the only thing ’low-class’ here is you and your pathetic family."
The line went dead.
"He has changed," Stephan said, crossing his arms. "I’m beginning to think he loves that girl."
Seraphina frowned and threw her phone onto the desk. "Julian is incapable of love. Look what he did to Catalina."
"Your best friend is an idiot," Stephan muttered.
"Ex-best friend," she snapped. "We became enemies the moment she married my Julian. Fuck her. She got what she deserved."
