Chapter 165

Chapter 165

Octavius's POV

"Don't be so hasty, Mr. Capulet. Ms. Powell will be here shortly."

Orion wore a polite smile as he stood and walked over to pour me tea. I ignored his fake courtesy and quietly observed my surroundings.

This was clearly a break room attached to a warehouse. Seraphine must be locked in the abandoned warehouse next door.

They'd only agreed to let me come alone. They undoubtedly had more bodyguards stationed around than I could imagine, guarding Seraphine.

What I hadn't expected was that Quinlan would actually go after Seraphine, too.

She was involved in this.

Orion pushed the tea toward me. "No need to be so tense, let's sit down and talk. That's better than anything. I won't hurt Seraphine. My goal is money, not a fight to the death with Mr. Capulet."

Just as he finished speaking, the door to the break room opened.

Quinlan walked in. The moment she saw me, guilt flickered in her eyes. "Octavius, why did you suddenly want to see me?"

I stared at her coldly. "I've told you countless times—no matter what you do, don't cross my bottom line. Seraphine is my bottom line. Don't you know that?"

"It's not that I don't know!" Quinlan suddenly grew agitated, tears welling in her eyes. "I just don't want to see you waste any more time on Seraphine! So what if you tried to reconcile with her? She didn't forgive you. She didn't take your bank card. That proves she doesn't love you at all!"

"And you personally sent Heath to prison! She'll never be with you now. What's the point of obsessing over her?"

"If I don't obsess over her, should I obsess over you instead?" I shot back. "Do you even deserve that?"

Quinlan's face went pale. My words seemed to hit her hard. She stared at me, eyes wide in shock. "How can you say something so heartless to me? Octavius, I've been helping you all this time..."

"Don't make it sound so noble." I cut her off, withdrawing my gaze in disgust. "You're not genuinely helping me. You just want me for yourself. That's why you've been pushing me to go after Seraphine and the Whitaker Group."

"Even if that's true, even if I have some selfish motives, haven't I still followed you and helped you?" Quinlan smiled bitterly and walked up to me. "But you just can't see me. You've never liked me. Since I can't have the one I love, you shouldn't get to have Seraphine either!"

"I want you to know what it feels like to love someone and not have them! Seraphine's locked in the warehouse next door right now. With just one word from me, the bodyguards will break her arms and legs and carve up her face!"

I clenched my fists, forcing down my worry for Seraphine. "You can try."

"Don't threaten me. If you want her to leave here safely, give Orion the money. Otherwise, she'll never leave safely." Quinlan sat down, crossing her arms smugly.

This woman had completely lost her mind. She claimed that as long as I gave Orion the money, she'd let Seraphine go.

But deep down, she didn't mean it. I had to buy time.

With that in mind, I looked at Orion. "You have zero credibility."

"What do you mean?" Orion smiled. "What don't you believe? That Seraphine's here?"

I looked at Quinlan.

"I don't believe she can resist hurting Seraphine. She's jealous of her. Her hatred for Seraphine outweighs everything else. Maybe Seraphine's already been hurt in that warehouse. Or maybe she's already disfigured her. I need to see Seraphine myself and confirm with my own eyes that she's safe."

"No!" Quinlan immediately objected, nervously glancing at Orion. "Who knows if he's planning something to rescue Seraphine? I'm not letting Octavius see her."

"I came alone. Even if I see Seraphine with my own eyes, how could I take her away?" I looked at Orion. "Mr. Whitaker is a smart man. You know my concerns are valid. I need to see Seraphine right now. Otherwise, I won't give you the money. It's your call."

"Don't take him there. Just make him hand over the money. Seraphine's in our hands anyway!" Quinlan shook her head at Orion, her expression serious.

Orion frowned, looking at Quinlan suspiciously. "Quinlan, did you do something to Seraphine without my permission?"

Quinlan froze, then immediately denied it. "I didn't! I'm just afraid that if they meet, something we can't predict will happen. How can you suspect me?"

She looked guilty and nervous. The more she acted this way, the more I suspected she'd done something to Seraphine.

I didn't want to waste any more time. I stood immediately. "I need to see Seraphine right now. If I can't see her, you won't get a single cent from me today."

"No!" Quinlan tried to say more, but Orion cut her off immediately. "All right, Mr. Capulet, don't be upset. I'll take you to see Seraphine right now. I've already instructed the bodyguards not to hurt her. This way, please."

He stood up immediately, gesturing for me to follow him to the warehouse.

Watching Quinlan's uneasy expression made me even more certain she'd already hurt Seraphine. I immediately followed Orion to the warehouse.

Before Orion could even push the door open, I heard Seraphine's struggling voice from inside.

"What are you doing? Let go of me! Let go!"

I immediately shoved Orion aside and slammed the door open.

Inside the warehouse, two bodyguards were shirtless, trying to force themselves on Seraphine.

Seraphine's clothes had already been half torn off, exposing her shoulder.

In that instant, I felt the urge to kill. I rushed in and kicked both bodyguards to the ground.

"Octavius!" Seraphine's expression relaxed, tears streamed down her face. She was trembling with fear. "You're finally here. They tried to..."

"I know." I cut her off, heartbroken. I couldn't bear to hear her continue. "I'm here now. No one can hurt you."

I pulled Seraphine into my arms and turned around. "This is what you meant by 'nothing happened to Seraphine'?"

Orion looked shocked too. He turned and snapped at Quinlan. "What are you doing, Quinlan? Have you lost your mind?"

Quinlan's expression turned extremely ugly.But it only lasted a moment. "So what? Seraphine should've died anyway! If she'd been ruined, you two could never be together!"

"You're insane!" Orion was furious. He immediately stepped forward to explain. "I'm sorry, Mr. Capulet. I had no idea this would happen. This was all Quinlan's idea. It has nothing to do with me. Please don't be angry! Just give me the money, and you can take Seraphine immediately. I absolutely won't stop you!"

I stared at him coldly. "If I'd arrived any later, Seraphine would've been hurt already. How do I know you mean what you're saying?"

Right now, I wanted to kill these two, but I had to stay calm. I needed to get Seraphine out of here first and make sure she was safe.

"Of course I mean it!" Orion looked at me earnestly. "I have no grudge against Seraphine. Give me the money now, and I won't hurt her. Mr. Capulet, trust me this once."

Watching Orion's desperate expression, I said coldly, "The money's at the Whitaker family villa right now. While you couldn't find me, I went to give Seraphine the money."

"What?" Orion froze.

"I didn't find her, I left the bank card in her room and left. If you want it, go get it yourself. I'm taking her with me now."

As I spoke, I helped Seraphine to her feet.