Chapter 1
"If you're leaving, then get out already. Who are you sulking for?" Haven Green jabbed her finger toward Seraphine Wipere, her voice dripping with venom. "And don't forget how much the Wipere family has spent on you all these years. We're being generous not demanding you pay us back. Yet you still had the nerve to seduce Xiomara's fiancé? You ungrateful little leech!"
Downstairs, the banquet hall hummed with laughter and clinking glasses. Upstairs, Haven's fury echoed off the walls.
Seraphine said nothing. She kept packing her belongings into her suitcase, her movements calm and deliberate.
"Enough!" Ryder Wipere's voice cut through the tension, his expression complicated. "What happened earlier was a misunderstanding. Seraphine isn't that kind of person."
After twenty years of raising her, he knew her character well enough.
Ryder pulled out a bank card and held it out to Seraphine. "If you're determined to leave, I won't stop you. There's a hundred thousand dollars on this card. I heard your parents' household is struggling—three older brothers who can't even afford to get married. Take it. Use it for emergencies."
Seraphine stared at the card. She didn't reach for it.
The only reason she'd tolerated the Wipere family's treatment—and continued secretly funneling financial support to the Wipere Group—was because of the last shred of affection she felt for Ryder.
That was gone now.
As for them "raising" her?
Seraphine let out a quiet, bitter laugh. If it weren't for her covert support all these years, the Wipere family would've been bankrupt long ago. They wouldn't have been able to support themselves, let alone her.
"Thank you, Mr. Wipere. I don't need it."
With those words, she severed the last thread tying her to the Wipere family.
The whole situation was cliché, really. A classic switched-at-birth drama. Xiomara, the real Wipere daughter, had shown up at their door. Everyone should have simply returned to their rightful places. But Ryder had refused to let Seraphine go, insisting she stay. That decision had gnawed at Xiomara, fueling her resentment. She'd spent months scheming, slandering, and tormenting Seraphine at every turn.
"Seraphine, I understand this is hard for you," Xiomara said softly, her tone dripping with false sympathy. "Losing this comfortable life, having to move to some backwater slum—it must hurt. Your biological parents are dirt poor, barely scraping by in a crime-ridden neighborhood. Money makes things easier, doesn't it? You should take it."
She paused, her voice taking on a mournful edge. "Oh, and I heard your father is disabled, and your mother is a gambling addict."
Xiomara sighed dramatically. "Honestly, if you just apologized—got on your knees and begged Mom and Dad for forgiveness—you wouldn't have to leave..."
"She has to leave!" Haven snapped, cutting Xiomara off. "Switched at birth? Please. I think her deadbeat parents did it on purpose. She's rotten to the core. The Wipere family doesn't keep trash like that. Are you done packing? Hurry up and get out!"
Seraphine said a quiet goodbye to Ryder, snapped her suitcase shut, and walked out without looking back.
She deliberately took a route that avoided the banquet hall.
"Seraphine!" Xiomara's voice rang out behind her. She hurried over, a sweet smile plastered on her face. "Today is my engagement party with Gavin. I know there was that ugly scandal earlier about you trying to seduce him, but I still want you to share a toast with us."
Her eyes glinted with provocation. When Seraphine didn't respond, Xiomara's expression shifted to one of wounded innocence. "Or are you jealous? Do you hate Gavin for leaving you and falling in love with me instead? Is that why you can't bring yourself to wish us well?"
"Xiomara." Seraphine's cool voice stopped her. A faint smile curled at the corner of her lips as she leaned in close. "Do you really think if I wanted to seduce Gavin, you'd even stand a chance? You're bragging about picking up my trash. How pathetic."
The Wipere and Percy families were bottom-tier among the elite, clinging to an arranged marriage to boost their standing.
Gavin Percy had pursued Seraphine relentlessly for two years. She'd seen through him immediately—he was no good—and refused every advance.
That rejection had humiliated him.
Then, six months ago, Xiomara appeared. The moment it was confirmed she was the real Wipere heiress, Gavin claimed he'd fallen for her at first sight. He insisted his pursuit of Seraphine had been no choice, even going so far as to spread rumors that Seraphine had been the one obsessively chasing him.
Today's engagement party stunt—publicly accusing Seraphine of trying to seduce him—was just another move in their game. They wanted to destroy her reputation and get her kicked out of the family.
Seraphine had known their plan all along. She'd known Xiomara set her up. But she didn't care. She was done with this cold, loveless family anyway.
"You—!" Xiomara's face flushed red with rage. In her eyes, Seraphine was nothing but a thief who'd stolen twenty years of her life. An unforgivable criminal. How dare she act so smug?
Her anger boiled over. Just as she was about to lose control, she spotted Haven walking toward them.
Xiomara seized Seraphine's hand. She let out a sharp scream and threw herself down the stairs.
"Xiomara!" Haven rushed over, immediately checking her daughter for injuries. Then she whirled on Seraphine, her voice a venomous shriek. "You vicious little monster! How dare you hurt my daughter?! Someone call the police! Now!"
Ryder hurried over at the commotion. "What happened?"
Tears welled in Xiomara's eyes. "Don't call the police, Mom, Dad. Seraphine didn't push me. It was my own fault... My hand..."
"Your hand? What's wrong with your hand? Get a doctor! Now!" Haven's voice cracked with panic. She glared at Seraphine with pure hatred. "My daughter is a medical genius. She's going to be a surgeon. If her hand is injured, Seraphine, I will destroy you."
"It wasn't Seraphine..." Xiomara shook her head, her voice breaking. "Mom, Dad... you've given me so much love. I'm so grateful. It really wasn't her..."
Her pitiful, self-sacrificing act only convinced everyone further that Seraphine was the culprit.
"The real Wipere daughter is in a class of her own. Breeding shows, doesn't it? Not like that fake."
"What do you expect from some country bumpkin? You think she'd know how to be decent?"
"Decent? She's probably been doing rotten things her whole life. Karma will catch up with her soon enough."
Amid the chorus of praise, Xiomara lifted her head, her expression serene and gracious. "Seraphine, Mom and Dad are just worried about me. Don't take today's events to heart. Your family is almost here. You should go."
The guests understood. Seraphine was no longer part of the Wipere family.
The disdain in their eyes deepened.
Seraphine stood a short distance away, a faint smile playing on her lips as she watched the scene unfold.
Did Xiomara forget? Did the Wipere family forget?
This house had security cameras.
Emotions really did make people blind.
Without a word, Seraphine hacked into the Wipere Villa's surveillance system. Pulling up the footage from moments ago was child's play.
She stood like a queen surveying her kingdom, her finger lazily tapping the screen of her phone.
"Xiomara," she drawled, "are you sure I pushed you?"
Xiomara's eyes reddened. "No... I won't hold it against you..."
How noble.
Seraphine laughed softly. "What a shame. I do hold it against you. I care very much, actually."
Xiomara froze. A terrible sense of dread washed over her.
Then, with a single tap of Seraphine's finger, the audio from moments ago filled the banquet hall. Xiomara's taunting words rang out, crystal clear. The footage played on the hall's massive screen—frame by frame, in high definition, showing Xiomara grabbing Seraphine's hand and throwing herself down the stairs.
High definition. Perfect sound quality.
Undeniable.
The guests froze. Even Haven and Ryder stared at the screen in shock.
Then, slowly, they turned to look at Xiomara.