THE FIRST MOVE.
1735 Words
The elevator doors closed behind Seraphina.Only then did she finally let out the breath she had been holding.
Her face remained calm, while her shoulders were straight, making her hands not shake.
But inside her chest, she was really pained
Something she had spent five years trying to bury.
Elena. That name had followed her into that building.
She had walked into Vaughn Corporation as Seraphina Vale.
She had looked Dominic Vaughn directly in the eyes.
And she had survived. The elevator moved downward.
Seraphina stared at her reflection in the polished metal wall.
For a second, she saw two women.
The woman she used to be, and the woman she had become.
Then her phone rang.Marcus.She answered immediately.
“How did it go?” he asked.
Seraphina walked out of the elevator and into the quiet lobby.
“He knows.” Marcus was silent for a second.
“Everything?” He knows that I’m alive.”
“And?”
Seraphina’s heels clicked against the marble floor as she walked toward the exit.
“And nothing.” Marcus laughed softly.
“Nothing?”
She pushed open the glass doors.
The cold air touched her face.
“He wanted answers,” she said. “I didn’t give him any.”
“Good.” Seraphina stopped beside her car.
For a moment, she looked up at the tall Vaughn Corporation building.
Dominic was somewhere inside.
Probably still standing in that conference room.
Probably angry and confused
Maybe even hurt. Once, she would have cared.
Once, seeing pain in his eyes would have broken her.
But not anymore.
“At least,” she said quietly. Marcus became silent.
He knew her too well.
“Are you alright?” Seraphina looked away from the building.
“Yes.”
“That was too fast.” Her lips tightened.
“Marcus.”
“You can lie to everyone else,” he said. “Not to me.”
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then she opened the car door.
“I’m fine.”
“Seraphina—”
“I said I’m fine.” The call went silent.
Marcus sighed.
“Alright.” She got into the car.
“But remember why you went there.”
Her eyes darkened.
“I remember.”
“Good,” Marcus said. “Because Dominic Vaughn is not the only person watching Phoenix Group now.”
Her hand froze on the steering wheel.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you when you get back.”
The call ended. Seraphina stared at the phone.
A strange feeling entered her chest.
But she had learned something during the last five years.
Power attracted attention. And attention attracted enemies.
She started the car. Whatever Marcus had discovered...
She would deal with it. Because Elena Vaughn was gone.And Seraphina Vale did not run anymore.
**************************************************
Inside the conference room, Dominic remained standing in the same place.
The door was closed, while Seraphina was gone.
But her presence still remained.
Her voice, eyes and her cold expression.
There is no “us.” The words repeated in his mind, again and again.
Dominic suddenly turned and slammed his fist against the table.
The loud sound filled the empty room.
Jason Reed rushed inside.
“Sir?” Dominic didn’t look at him.
“Close the door.” Jason hesitated.
Then he did. Dominic walked toward the window.
His jaw was tight, while his hands were clenched.
Jason had worked for him long enough to know when not to speak.
But this time... He couldn’t ignore it.
“That was Elena,” Jason said carefully.
Dominic’s eyes darkened.
“I know who she is.” Jason swallowed.
“She’s changed.” Dominic gave a cold laugh.
“No.” Jason looked confused. Dominic turned around.
“She didn’t change.”
His voice was low.
“Maybe this is who she always was.”
Jason frowned slightly. Dominic walked back toward the table.
His eyes landed on the proposal Seraphina had left behind.
Phoenix Group. He picked it up.
“Find out everything about her.”
Jason nodded.
“We already tried, sir.”
“Try again.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Her company. Her investors. Her partners. Every person she has spoken to in the last five years.”
Jason hesitated.
“Sir...” Dominic looked at him.
Jason immediately lowered his head.
“I understand.” He turned to leave.
“Jason.”
He stopped.
“Yes, sir?”
Dominic’s expression changed slightly.
Only for a second.
“Where is Axel?” Jason slowly turned back.
The question surprised him.
“Axel?” Dominic looked away.
“Yes.” Jason was silent.
“We haven’t found anything about him either.”
A strange pressure entered Dominic’s chest.
Five years. Five years without seeing the boy.
He remembered the night Elena left.
Axel’s small hand inside hers. The child had looked back.
But Dominic hadn’t stopped him.
At that time, he had told himself that it was better and easier.
Elena wanted the divorce, she wanted to leave.So he had let her.
But now...
Now the mansion felt empty.
His mother still complained about everything.
Selene still walked around like she owned the place.
But somehow.. Nothing felt right.
“Find him too,” Dominic said.
Jason stared at him.
“Sir?”
“Did you not hear me?”
Jason quickly nodded.
“Yes, sir.” The door closed behind him.
Dominic looked down at the proposal again.
Seraphina Vale. His ex-wife.
His past. And now...His rival.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
“Fine,” he muttered.
“If you want a real challenge ...”
His eyes became cold.
“Then let’s see who wins.”
**************************************************
Seraphina entered Phoenix Group.
The moment she stepped inside, Clara Evans walked toward her.
“Miss Vale.” Seraphina handed her bag to Clara.
“What happened?”
“Marcus is waiting for you.” Seraphina’s expression became serious.
“And?”
Clara lowered her voice.
“We received another offer.”
“From Vaughn Corporation?”
“No.”
Seraphina stopped walking.
Clara handed her a file.
“The name is Victor.” Seraphina took the file.
Victor She had heard that name before.
Everyone in the business world had.
He was an investor. A powerful one.
The kind of man who could make a company rise overnight.
Or disappear.
“Why is he interested in us?” Seraphina asked.
“That’s what Marcus wants to discuss.”
Seraphina walked toward her office.
When she opened the door, Marcus was sitting on the couch.
He looked relaxed.But his eyes told a different story.
“You look worried,” Seraphina said.
“I am.”She closed the door.
“That’s new.” Marcus smiled slightly.
“Victor Rowan contacted us.”
“I know.”
“He wants to invest.”
Seraphina placed the file on her desk.
“And?”
“And I think you should refuse.”
She looked at him.
“Why?”Marcus stood.
“Because Victor Rowan doesn’t invest without wanting something back.”
Seraphina crossed her arms.
“Everyone wants something back.”
“Not like him.” Marcus walked toward the window.
“Victor Rowan has destroyed companies before.”
“Legally?”
Marcus turned.
“That depends on who you ask.”
Seraphina stared at him.
“So, what does he want from Phoenix Group?”
Marcus smiled without humor.
“That is exactly what worries me.”
Before Seraphina could answer, Clara rushed into the office.
“Miss Vale!” Seraphina frowned.
“What happened?”
Clara looked nervous.
“There’s a problem.”
Marcus straightened immediately.
“What kind of problem?”
Clara handed Seraphina her phone.
“Someone leaked information about our new project.”
Seraphina’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“The project with the East District land.”
Marcus grabbed the phone.
His expression changed.
The news was already spreading.
Phoenix Group was planning a major development project.
A project that was supposed to remain secret.
Until now. Seraphina’s face turned cold.
“Who had access to that information?”
Clara hesitated.
“Only the executive team.”Marcus looked at Seraphina.
Someone inside Phoenix Group had betrayed them.
Seraphina slowly placed the phone on the desk.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then she smiled. Clara stared at her.
“Miss Vale?”
“Interesting.” Marcus frowned.
“You’re enjoying this?”
“No.” Her eyes became sharp.
“But now I know.”
“Know what?”
Seraphina looked directly at him.
“Someone thinks I’m still easy to destroy.”
She walked toward her desk and pressed the office phone.
“Call an emergency meeting.” Clara nodded quickly.
“Yes, Miss Vale.”
“And Marcus.” He looked at her.
“Find out who leaked it.”
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“I will.” Seraphina turned toward the window.
Her phone suddenly rang.An unknown number.
Seraphina stared at it for a moment.
Then she answered.
“Hello?”A man’s voice came from the other side.
“Miss Vale.” Her expression changed.
“Who is this?”
“You know my name.” She went silent.
Victor Rowan.
“I heard you were an intelligent woman,” he continued.
“So I won’t waste your time.”
Seraphina walked slowly toward the desk.
“What do you want?”
“To meet you.”
“No.” A soft laugh came through the phone.
“Very direct.”
“I’m busy.”You’re interested.”
“I’m not.”
Victor paused. Then his voice became colder.
“You should be careful, Miss Vale.”
Seraphina’s eyes narrowed.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”Another pause.
“Advice.”The line went dead.Seraphina slowly lowered the phone.
Marcus watched her.
“Who was it?” She looked up.
“Victor Rowan.” His face immediately darkened.
“What did he want?”
Seraphina picked up the leaked project report.
Then she looked at Marcus.
Her eyes were calm.
But there was fire inside them.
“Me.” She walked toward the door.
“Elena would have been scared.”
The door opened.Employees were already gathering for the emergency meeting.
Seraphina walked forward.Her steps were steady, making her back straight and her eyes really cold.
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