~ Lucien ~
I knew something had shifted before she did.
It wasn't intuition—I didn't deal in feelings or gut instincts. It was observation. The kind of attention to detail that had built my empire and destroyed my enemies. Small changes in pattern. Micro-behaviors that most people missed entirely.
Seraphina Vale had disappeared. Not literally. She still lived in that pristine penthouse, still drove her Mercedes to the gym three mornings a week, still existed in the carefully curated bubble of Adrian's world. But she'd stopped appearing where it mattered. Where I could see her.
Three charity galas in two weeks, all declined. A museum fundraiser she'd co-chaired—suddenly unable to attend due to "fatigue." The opera season opener, where the Vales had box seats—Adrian went alone, making po
