MARRIED TO THE MAN I MUST DESTROY

A lot of people had always spoken about the Laurent estate, they spoke about it very softly and carefully, as though even admiration might offend it. For Seraphina Quinn, it had been a fairy tale. It had been a place she cleaned with her mother’s hands and watched with her father’s tired eyes, It had been more than a mansion! A place where beauty lived upstairs and silence lived downstairs. A masterpiece carved out of a dream, resting magnificently beneath the beautiful evening sky with an aura that defined power. The Golden-coloured walls of the mansion stretched across the vast estate, glowing softly beneath rows of coloured lanterns that lined through driveway like fallen stars. The towering glass windows of each appartments, reflected the fading sunset, catching every shade of amber rose drifting across the horizon with their crystal surface. Inside the mansion itself was an unfolded breathtaking luxury! The chandeliers were made of cascading crystals hung from incredibly high ceilings, scattering the lights across the crystal floors that gleamed like ice. The entire estate itself, breathed elegance, power, and money! Yes! The Laurents were exceedingly rich!. But inside the servant quarters, was a different story. Morning light slipped through the narrow windows like something ashamed of itself, touching faded bedsheets and cracked wooden floors and the building looked worn and exhausted from years of rain and neglect. That was where Seraphina was born and raised. As as a child, Seraphina had learned the language of privilege without being taught it. She had always listened to the soft laughter that always came from the ballroom above, the clink of glasses that sounded like freedom, the distant sound of music from a piano that never belonged to her world, and the constant display of wealth and riches. And also, the beauty of the Empress Blue Necklace. It was spoken of frequently in the servants quarters and how beautiful and blinding the diamond glitters. A diamond necklace so rare it was said to hold the ocean inside its stones. A family treasure of the Laurents. A symbol of the Laurent’s power and authority!!. That morning, her father had left earlier than usual. He had been summoned to assist with preparations for the annual Laurent Charity Gala that was always celebrated at the end of the year. A grand ceremony when the family invites politcians, celebrities, big entreprenures, royalties, and their very rich close associates. He had ironed his uniform twice and his shoes had been polished until they reflected shame. Mr Smith Quinn was a diligent man who carried himself with the quite discipline of a man who had spent most of his years devoted to service for the Laurents. He was one the oldest staff of the Laurents empire, and even though he wasn’t making a bogus salary, he made sure he gave his only daughter and his lovely wife all the love and care he could afford. And his faithfulness and diligency to his job, made him loved and respectected amongst the servants in the estate. Seraphina loved her father immersly. “You stay close to your mother today,” he had said quietly before heading out. Her mother had smiled quietly in agreement, pulling Seraphina by the shoulder closer to herself. And Seraphina had nodded in agreement, pretending not to feel the excitement building up in her chest. She was happy she was going to be present at the Gala as she had always wanted to follow her parents to attend to guests at the Gala for a long time but her father had always objected to it, promising he would allow her only when she clocked sixteen. Seraphina had clocked sixteen last month and she had always dreamt of entering the Laurents mansion and even attend the Gala to assist her parents and see the people that controlled the world with her own eyes. By evening, the estate had transformed. Lights had flooded all the corridors. Flowers had been placed like offerings along marble staircases making it look like a paradise, Chandeliers burned above guests who arrived in cars, Seraphina had only ever seen in movies. She had been saving hard to buy a beautiful flower dress for the Gala, even though it was not expensive, she wanted to look her very best. The mansion was filled with women in gowns that shimmered like spilled starlight. Men whose laughter sounded expensive and perfume thick enough to make the air feel borrowed. And above them all ,the Laurent family. Untouchable. Especially him. Damien Laurent. He had apeared briefly that night, descending the grand staircase like someone carved from restraint itself. Even then he was a youngadult, he had carried stillness and power like armor. He did not make eye contact with people. Not really. Not the way people looked when they saw other people. Except once. For a moment, barely a second his eyes had passed over the kitchen entrance where Seraphina stood hidden. And something unreadable had flickered when their eyes met. Then he had looked away. As if nothing had happened. As if she had not existed at all. Seraphine bit her lip. She had always heared Damien Laurent was unexplainably handsome but what she saw was unexpected. Damien was a prince! His beauty was breathtaking! His curled dark hair to his expensive tailored Italian suit was something Seraphine had never seen before. He was the heir to the Laurents Empire! The Gala had begun like all Laurent events began perfectly. Until somewhere around the room, someone suddenly let out a loud scream. A scream so loud and dramatic that the music around the room had to stop. A woman’s voice. Then another. Then chaos. “The necklace is gone!.” Those words had traveled faster than fear. The Empress Blue Necklace had vanished. The guests were frozen mid-conversation and the servants were summorned from their posts. Doors were locked and securities appeared running helter skelter. And suddenly, the mansion that had been glowing with celebration became something else entirely and there was a lot of chaos and confusion. Seraphina had been dragged into the main hall with the other servants and her parents had stood among them. Still. Her father’s hands were clenched at his sides, not in guilt, but in confusion so were the other servants as voices started rising above them. “It must be someone inside.” “Search them all.” “No one leaves until it is found.” Humiliation was not announced. It was performed. The servants were lined up and their bags were emptied. Their bodies were searched in front of laughing guests who pretended not to enjoy it. Seraphina’s mother held her tightly, whispering prayers into her ear. Then came the moment that fractured everything. A security guard shouted. “It is found!” Silence fell so fast it felt physical. The necklace had been “discovered” inside her father’s belongings. The room shifted. Seraphina did not understand at first. Her father stepped forward, stunned. “I didn’t take it!.” His voice did not shake. It did not need to,because the truth does not tremble when it is innocent. But the room had already decided her father’s faith. Whispers spread like fire. “Unbelievable…” “How predictable…” Damien’s mother descended the stairs slowly. She did not look angry. She looked entertained. “This is what happens,” she said softly, “when we allow ambition into places it does not belong.” Her words were not questioned. They did not need to be. They became law. Seraphina moved forward trembling. “No,” she said, her voice small but sharp. “My father would never…..” A hand pulled her back. It was her mother’s. “Don’t,” she whispered. “Please don’t.” But Seraphina could not stop watching her father as he was stripped of his dignity in real time. Everybody fogot his years of loyalty, his years of sacrifice, his years of uprightness towards the Laurents and guests began laughing behind gloved hands as security tightened around him like judgment made visible. And through it all, Damien Laurent watched. Not intervening. Not speaking. Only watching. As if learning something he would later pretend not to remember. The police arrived too quickly. Too conveniently. And by the time the night ended, the narrative had already been written. Thief. Servant. Shame. And her father was taken away in no time. Seraphina, who was not too young to understand the full weight of betrayal, was left standing in a mansion that no longer felt real, a mansion which no longer carried the beauty she admired, the luxury she dreamed of…… Only cruelty. That night, everything in her broke. Quietly. The love, The enthusiasm, The peace she ever felt. Her father didn’t return from the sheriffs office until the next day. He didn’t return like the man he always used to be and like the man who was always vibrant and lively, he returned as someone completely emptied. He did not speak much. He only looked at Seraphina for a long time, as if trying to memorize a face that would not survive the world it had been placed in. Then he left again. And this time, he didn’t return. They found him hours later, he had committed suicide. Her mother did not scream when she heard the news. She only sat down slowly, as if her bones had finally given permission to stop holding her up. Seraphina was devastated. “Did father do it?” She had asked her mother, her voice trembling. Her mother’s hands shook as she placed her hands on her daughter’s face and then she whispered the words that would follow Seraphina for the rest of her life. “Never let powerful people decide your worth Seraphina. You know your dad was the most honest man ever and he would never take what does not belong to him.” That night, her mother’s breathing became frail and uneven and by morning, it had stopped entirely. The estate became very silent almost immediately, too silent as if it had never destroyed anything at all. Seraphina stood alone in the servant quarters, surrounded by the absence of everything she had ever known, and that was when she realized something inside her had shifted and the world had shown her what it was willing to do. And she had learned it well. But what no one saw…… What no one questioned… What no one investigated….. Was that deep beneath the estate, in a restricted vault secured by three biometric which code was known only by the Laurent family alone, the Empress Blue Necklace had already been removed hours before it was ever declared missing. Someone had entered the vault silently and disconnected the alarm so it will not trigger and only one person had known the exact timing of the gala security rotation. Only one person had access to the override codes and as the mansion above drowned in music and merriment, the necklace had disappeared and sneaked out of the vault into Mr Quinn’s dresser. Clean. Intentional. Perfectly executed. Damien stood at the window side looking at everything unfolding before his young eyes, confused and uncertain of what would become of him when he finally starts controlling this crazy empire. An empire that cared less for the life and dignity of the common masses. An empire controlled with passion of wealth, greed and power no matter what it takes. His father had always told him, “no pity in business son, the poor people are just a pawn in a big game of chess.” His mind couldn’t go off everything that transpired the night before and the beautiful servant lady he briefly set his eyes on….not knowing who she was or what she would be capable of doing. What he didn’t know was that she was a girl who would one day return not as a servant’s daughter… but as the consequence of everything that night had buried alive.