Seraphina’s POV
I carefully set Elena down on her feet, and she imdiately bolted toward her mother’s waiting arms.
Roxanne didn’t spare her daughter so much as a glance. Her entire focus remained fixed on with an intensity that made my skin crawl. Those eyes held nothing but contempt, dark and razor-sharp, as if she were studying sothing vile that had crawled out from under a rock.
Her expression twisted into sothing between a sneer and a glare that made every nerve in my body scream to run.
"What exactly were you doing with my daughter?" The words dripped from her lips like poison, each syllable carefully crafted to intimidate.
I instinctively stepped backward. "Nothing inappropriate. She ca to . She said she woke up and couldn’t find you anywhere." The truth felt fragile in the face of her hostility.
Roxanne’s arms tightened around Elena like a vise. "I will not stand by and watch you attempt to steal my daughter from , Seraphina."
My jaw practically hit the ground. "Steal her? What possible reason would I have to steal your daughter? I’m not trying to take anything from anyone, Roxanne."
Her laugh was bitter and sharp. "You’ve already stolen Julian. Now you’re setting your sights on the only person I have left in this world."
The audacity of it all made roll my eyes so dramatically that Roxanne’s expression darkened further.
"Enough with the theatrics, Roxanne," I snapped, exhaustion weighing heavily in my voice. "The irony of you playing victim is rich. You were handed everything on a silver platter when we were children. Perfect parents, endless opportunities. anwhile, I survived a mother who made my life hell every single day."
My finger shot out accusingly, even though I knew it made look childish. "Maybe instead of wallowing in self-pity, you should take a hard look at who actually stole from whom."
The impact of my words was imdiate and devastating. The rage in her eyes didn’t diminish, but it shifted, redirecting itself toward the small girl in her arms.
Roxanne’s gaze dropped to Elena, and ice flooded my veins. Elena made a small whimpering sound that pierced straight through my heart. Every protective instinct I possessed roared to life.
"Elena," Roxanne’s voice turned arctic. "I never want to see you anywhere near Seraphina again. Are we perfectly clear?"
The little girl nodded frantically, burying her face deeper into her mother’s coat.
This had crossed every line imaginable. The ugliness was suffocating, and Elena didn’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire. I turned away, ready to remove myself from this toxic situation and let the silence consu everything.
But Roxanne wasn’t finished with .
"Seraphina!" Her voice cracked like a whip. I froze mid-step but refused to turn around.
"I won’t let you replace Elena with your daughter."
Ti ceased to exist.
The blood drained from my face so quickly I thought I might collapse. My knees threatened to buckle beneath . I stood there like a statue, my ears ringing with nothing but white noise.
What had she just said?
I couldn’t turn around. Couldn’t move. Could only stand there while pure panic tore into my chest like a wild animal.
My daughter.
Nobody else knew. Only Julian. He’d insisted we keep it secret from everyone, so there was no way he would have told her.
But then how did she know?
He wouldn’t have betrayed that confidence. He understood what was at risk.
Terror flooded through like a tidal wave. Roxanne knew about her.
I broke into a sprint without looking back. I didn’t care if Roxanne was watching, didn’t care about anything except getting ho.
The mont I burst through my front door, I lunged for my phone. My hands were shaking so violently it took multiple attempts to dial Julian’s number.
I pressed the phone against my ear, listening to the endless ringing. He didn’t pick up.
My panic transford from cold dread into a raging inferno. I began pacing frantically around my kitchen, circling like a caged animal. I needed answers imdiately. I needed him to understand what Roxanne had revealed.
He wasn’t answering. He wasn’t answering.
Just as I was about to lose my mind completely, my phone buzzed. Julian was returning my call. I answered before the first ring finished.
"Julian! Thank God!" I practically shrieked into the phone. "Roxanne knows. She knows about our daughter! She just threw it in my face!"
Silence. Complete, suffocating quiet from his end. It stretched on forever, though it was probably only seconds.
Then his voice ca through, calm and controlled, making feel completely unhinged.
"Seraphina. You need to stop being so paranoid."
The ground vanished beneath my feet. "What?" I barely whispered, the word scraping painfully from my throat.
"You’re obviously under trendous stress," Julian continued, his voice dripping with condescending pity that felt like a physical blow. "You’re becoming suspicious of everyone around you. Roxanne couldn’t possibly know anything like that. She’s completely in the dark about everything."
The air left my lungs entirely. He was choosing Roxanne’s side. He was deciding to trust her word over mine, over our child’s safety, without even hearing my explanation.
My heart splintered into a thousand pieces. No explanation was necessary. The crushing realization that I was completely alone hit harder than any words he could have spoken.
I shouldn’t be surprised. He’d chosen others over countless tis before, yet my heart and mind refused to learn the lesson.
Before I could endure another word of his pitying dismissal, I ended the call.
The phone clattered to the floor. The house’s silence pressed down on like a weight. I slumped against the wall, pulling my knees tight against my chest.
He didn’t believe . He wouldn’t help . It was crystal clear that finding his daughter wasn’t his priority, because if it were, he wouldn’t care who I suspected.
Slowly, cold fury began replacing my fear. Roxanne knew sothing. I hadn’t misunderstood or imagined it, and I certainly wasn’t being paranoid.
I pushed myself upright, wiping away the tears of betrayal from my cheeks.
I made a promise right there, speaking it aloud to the empty room. I would make Roxanne tell everything. I would find my daughter.
With or without Julian. I could handle this alone.
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