Chapter 40
Mrs. Lin was fussing over a tiny tear in one of the table linens, tutting under her breath. “We’ll need to replace these before the next charity brunch. I thought perhaps we could host something next month for the orphanage fund. When things… calm down.”
Serena wrapped her hands around her teacup, drawing comfort from its warmth. “That sounds wonderful, Mama.”
Her mother brightened, her cheeks pinkening slightly. “I’ll have Mrs. Zhao’s decorator send over new arrangements for the hall. It’s been ages since we had the orchestra here.”
Serena nodded along, but inside, something icy twisted. When things calm down. The words felt like a fragile promise neither of them truly believed.
She turned her gaze out to the gardens. Sunlight danced across the fountain at the far end, the marble cherubs sparkling with droplets. She’d played there for hours as a girl, weaving daisy chains, hiding behind the boxwoods, certain this estate would always be her haven.
Maybe, she thought desperately, maybe all of this can still be salvaged. Lucien is systematically destroying Ethan. Once Ethan is broken, the rest of us will be safe by extension.
It was the story she told herself whenever fear threatened to drown her. That Lucien, cold, calculating, dangerously brilliant Lucien, was untangling the snares Ethan had wrapped around her family. That every Zhao asset Lucien crushed would somehow free the Lin fortune too.
But deep down, dread coiled tighter. Because she also knew Ethan. Knew the way his mind worked, the sharp edge of his cruelty when cornered. He might have been careless, greedy, too arrogant to plan for every contingency. But he wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t simply sit by while Lucien carved up his empire. He’d strike back wherever it hurt most.
And who was more vulnerable than the Lin family? Who had more to lose?
Her father had once tied their companies and properties so closely with the Zhaos through joint ventures and layered trust agreements. At the time, it had seemed a brilliant alliance, two powerful families cementing their future together. Her engagement to Ethan was supposed to be the crowning jewel of that strategy.
Now, all Serena could think was how intricately their fates were still entwined. Her father had trusted Ethan’s, and by extension, Lila’s family with everything. And look where that had left them. Their fortune was a house of cards balanced on secrets she barely understood, ready to collapse at the slightest tremor.
Serena squeezed her mother’s hand across the table, trying to ground herself in the moment. The garden, the tea, the soft laughter. She tried to believe that these fragile mornings could last forever.
But unease still tangled in her chest like briars.
Serena lingered on the patio long after her mother had gone inside to freshen up, determined to soak in every last golden second of calm. The scent of the roses was heady, the breeze just cool enough to flirt with the edges of her silk robe.
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her skin. Maybe if she just breathed long enough, deeply enough, she could chase the sick twist of fear from her stomach.
But then, a shadow fell across her. Blocking the light.
Her eyes snapped open.
Two unfamiliar men stood just beyond the garden hedge, dark suits almost blending into the neatly trimmed greenery. One held a clipboard, the other had something that looked suspiciously like a camera with a telephoto lens slung over his shoulder.
Their heads turned abruptly when she looked up, exchanging a quick glance. Then, almost too casually, they turned on their heels and walked briskly down the gravel path toward the main gates.
Serena’s mouth went dry.
Bank auditors? Investigators? Or reporters hoping to catch her family in a scandal while the Zhaos crumbled?
She rose from her chair, steps slow but her heart racing. By the time she reached the end of the patio, the men were already through the gates, disappearing down the drive without a backward glance.
She told herself she was being paranoid. That they might have been from the landscaping service, though why anyone would need a camera for topiaries was beyond her.
Still, she couldn’t shake the icy dread slithering down her spine.
When she returned inside, trying to calm her breath, the butler intercepted her in the marble foyer.
“Miss Serena,” he said, brow furrowed, holding out a thick cream envelope. “A courier just delivered this. It was marked urgent.”
Her stomach pitched.
She took the envelope, frowning at the unfamiliar return address. The wax seal was smudged, like someone had tried to press it in haste.
Carefully, she broke it open, and a cascade of neatly folded documents fell into her hands.
At the top was a stark letterhead from an international financial institution she didn’t recognize. Her eyes skimmed over the first lines and the words blurred.
Notice of Default and Reassignment of Collateralized Holdings.
Pending Asset Seizure.
Her breath caught painfully in her throat.
She turned the pages with trembling fingers, line after line detailing trusts, subsidiaries, offshore shell companies her father once used to shield assets. All being liquidated or frozen.
A sticky nausea climbed up her throat.
“Miss Lin?” The butler’s voice sounded miles away. “Is everything alright?”
Serena swallowed hard. “Please… bring this to my mother. Tell her I’ll be right behind you.”
He nodded, concern flashing in his eyes. As he disappeared down the hall, Serena pressed the papers to her chest, trying to slow the panicked drum of her heart.
No. Not now. Please, not this house. Not Mama.
Through the front windows, she caught another glimpse, a dark sedan idling just beyond the iron gates. Watching. Waiting.
She had no illusions anymore. Ethan wasn’t going to let them slip away unscathed.
He’d built this cage around her long before she even realized she was trapped. Now, the walls were finally closing in.
Serena drew a deep, shaky breath, steeled herself, and walked toward her mother’s study, clutching the papers like a lifeline, though she knew it was nothing more than the knife twisting deeper.