THE GAME OF REVENGE

The first time Seraphina Laurent saw Alexander Devereaux, she was standing beneath a chandelier worth more than her childhood home. She hated him before he even looked at her. That was the plan. Hate made things easier. Love complicated them. And Seraphina Laurent had spent the last seven years making sure she would never allow herself to love a Devereaux. She tightened her fingers around the folder in her hand and stared across the crowded ballroom. Alexander Devereaux stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, surrounded by people who laughed too loudly at everything he said. He wasn't laughing. He rarely did. Thirty-one years old. CEO of Devereaux Holdings. Heir to one of the most powerful business empires in the country. The man whose family had watched hers fall apart. The man whose name had appeared in the last investigation her father ever worked on. The man Seraphina had spent seven years preparing to destroy. She had imagined this moment countless times. She had imagined walking toward him with hatred in her eyes. She had imagined confronting him. She had imagined making him suffer. But she had never imagined that Alexander Devereaux would look exactly like that. Tall. Impeccably dressed in a black suit. Dark hair brushed away from his forehead. A face so calm it was almost emotionless. His expression wasn't arrogant. It was worse. He looked like a man who had never needed anyone's approval. Seraphina hated that. She hated the way people moved aside for him. She hated the way conversations seemed to quiet whenever he passed. Most of all, she hated that the first thing she noticed about him wasn't his power. It was his eyes. Cold. Sharp. Observant. Eyes that didn't simply look at people. They studied them. As if every person in the room were a problem waiting to be solved. Seraphina looked away. Don't stare. Don't let him notice you. Don't forget why you're here. Her phone vibrated. She glanced down. ELENA: Are you inside? Seraphina typed quickly. SERAPHINA: Yes. Another message appeared. ELENA: And? Seraphina looked at Alexander again. He was speaking to an elderly investor. She watched him for three seconds. Four. Five. Then typed: SERAPHINA: He's exactly where we expected him to be. The reply came almost immediately. ELENA: Remember why you're there. Seraphina's thumb hovered over the screen. She already knew. She had known every morning for the past seven years. Her father had died believing someone had stolen everything he had built. His company. His reputation. His friends. His dignity. And when Gabriel Laurent died, Seraphina lost the last person in the world who had ever made her feel safe. She had been twenty years old. Young enough to believe that powerful people could be held accountable. Old enough to learn that they rarely were. The Laurent family name had disappeared from the business world within months. Their assets were frozen. Their accounts were investigated. Their company was swallowed by competitors. And the Devereaux empire grew stronger. Seraphina never forgot that. She never forgave it. Her father had once told her something she hadn't understood until years later. Never trust a man who has nothing left to lose. At the time, she'd thought he was talking about himself. Now she wondered if he had been talking about the Devereaux family. Seraphina slipped her phone into her purse. Tonight wasn't about grief. It wasn't about memories. It wasn't even about revenge. Tonight was about opportunity. She had spent six months building the identity that had brought her here. Six months of applications. Interviews. Background checks. Professional references. And carefully constructed lies. She wasn't here as Gabriel Laurent's daughter. As far as Devereaux Holdings knew, she was simply Seraphina Laurent, a highly qualified corporate strategist with an impressive academic record and a career history that looked clean. Perfect. That was exactly what she needed. She took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. She didn't drink it. Her eyes remained on Alexander. Then he looked at her. Their eyes met. Everything inside her went still. Alexander had stopped listening to the investor. His gaze was fixed directly on her. Not her dress. Not her face. Her. Seraphina forced herself not to look away. One second. Two. Three. Alexander said something quietly to the man beside him. Then he started walking toward her. Her heartbeat quickened. Damn it. She hadn't expected him to come this soon. She lowered her glass slightly. Stay calm. He stopped in front of her. Up close, he was even more intimidating. "Seraphina Laurent." It wasn't a question. She smiled politely. "Mr. Devereaux." His eyes remained on hers. "You know who I am." "Everyone here does." "That's not what I asked." Her smile remained. "I've read about you." "That isn't what I asked either." For the first time, Seraphina felt something unpleasant crawl down her spine. He was testing her. Already. She took a small sip of champagne. "You have an impressive reputation." "Reputation is usually what people talk about when they don't know the person." "Then perhaps I should get to know you." His eyes narrowed slightly. "You should be careful with that." "Why?" "People rarely like what they discover." Seraphina smiled. "Maybe I'm not most people." Something changed in his expression. Not amusement. Interest. That was more dangerous. Alexander glanced toward the folder in her hand. "You're the new strategist." "Yes." "Starting Monday." "That's correct." "You've done your research." "I do my job." "No." His voice was quiet. "You did more than your job." Seraphina's fingers tightened around the folder. "What makes you say that?" "Your interview." He stepped slightly closer. "You knew the company's internal acquisition strategy before you were given access to it." Seraphina's heart skipped. He noticed. Of course he noticed. She had studied the company for months. But she hadn't expected him to confront her about it. She gave him a calm smile. "I researched the company before applying." "That wasn't public information." "Then perhaps your security department needs improvement." For the first time, the corner of his mouth moved. Barely. Almost a smile. Almost. "Perhaps." He looked at her for another moment. Then said: "Welcome to Devereaux Holdings, Ms. Laurent." She nodded. "Thank you." Alexander turned away. Seraphina watched him walk back toward the crowd. Only when he disappeared behind several guests did she release the breath she'd been holding. Her phone vibrated again. She checked it. ELENA: What happened? Seraphina stared at the screen. Then typed: SERAPHINA: He noticed me. Three dots appeared. ELENA: That's bad. Seraphina looked across the room. Alexander was speaking to another executive. But his attention wasn't there. His eyes were on the reflection of the ballroom windows. And in the glass— he was watching her. Seraphina's stomach tightened. She looked away. Then another message appeared. ELENA: Leave if you need to. We can find another way. Seraphina immediately typed: SERAPHINA: No. She deleted it. Typed again. SERAPHINA: I'm staying. She locked her phone. She had come too far. Seven years of anger had brought her here. She wasn't going to turn around because Alexander Devereaux had looked at her twice. She placed the champagne glass on a nearby table. Then she opened the folder. Inside was a photograph. An old photograph. Her father stood beside a much younger Alexander. Alexander couldn't have been more than twenty-four. Beside him stood his father. Richard Devereaux. And beside Richard— Gabriel Laurent. Seraphina stared at the picture. Three men. One dead. One powerful. One standing ten meters away from her. She turned the photograph over. There was a handwritten sentence on the back. A sentence written by her father. If anything happens to me, don't trust the Devereaux family. Seraphina closed her eyes. She had read those words so many times that they no longer felt like words. They felt like a command. She put the photograph back into the folder. Then she felt someone standing behind her. "Interesting photograph." Her blood ran cold. She turned. Alexander was standing there. Alone. His expression was unreadable. Seraphina closed the folder immediately. "I didn't hear you approach." "I noticed." She swallowed. "You shouldn't sneak up on people." "I wasn't sneaking." His eyes dropped to the folder. "Who gave you that?" Seraphina forced herself to smile. "It's personal." "Most things are." He looked at her for a long moment. Then his gaze moved toward the ballroom. "Did you know my father?" Seraphina froze. "No." The answer came too quickly. Alexander noticed. Of course he did. He looked back at her. "Interesting." "What is?" "My father used to say the same thing." Seraphina said nothing. Alexander stepped closer. "Whenever someone asked him about Gabriel Laurent." Her heartbeat stopped. He said her father's name so casually. As though it meant nothing. As though it hadn't destroyed her life. "Did you know my father, Ms. Laurent?" Seraphina's mouth went dry. She could lie. She had prepared for this. She had rehearsed every possible question. But she hadn't prepared for the anger rising inside her. "Yes," she said. Alexander's expression changed. Barely. "How?" Seraphina stared directly into his eyes. "Because Gabriel Laurent was my father." Silence. The music continued behind them. People laughed. Glasses clinked. But the world around them suddenly seemed very far away. Alexander didn't move. For the first time that evening, his perfect composure cracked. Only for a second. But Seraphina saw it. Recognition. Shock. And something else. Fear. Then it disappeared. Alexander looked at her as though he were seeing her for the first time. "Your father..." "Yes." "He's dead." Seraphina's jaw tightened. "Seven years." Alexander said nothing. She waited for an apology. A question. Anything. Instead, he asked: "Why did you apply to my company?" There it was. The question she had expected. Seraphina smiled. "Because you're hiring." Alexander stared at her. "That's your answer?" "It's the professional one." "And the personal one?" She stepped closer. Close enough to see the faint scar near his jaw. Close enough to see his eyes sharpen. "The personal one isn't your concern." Alexander leaned toward her. His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Everything that happens inside my company becomes my concern." Seraphina didn't move. Neither did he. For several seconds, they simply stared at each other. Then Alexander straightened. "Monday." She frowned. "What about Monday?" "Eight o'clock." "I'm scheduled for nine." "Not anymore." He turned to leave. Seraphina watched him. "Mr. Devereaux." He stopped. She looked at his back. "Why did you hire me?" Alexander turned his head slightly. For a moment, she saw something in his eyes that she couldn't understand. Then he said: "Because I wanted to see what Gabriel Laurent's daughter was willing to do to get inside my company." Seraphina's blood turned cold. He walked away. She stood frozen. Her carefully constructed identity. Her months of preparation. Her entire plan. It suddenly felt meaningless. Because Alexander Devereaux hadn't just discovered who she was. He had been waiting for her. Seraphina looked down at the folder in her hands. Her father's photograph stared back at her. And for the first time in seven years, she wondered if she had been wrong about one thing. Maybe she hadn't entered Alexander Devereaux's world to destroy him. Maybe— he had allowed her to enter because he wanted her there.