Chapter 4: Tables Turned
1746 Words
The guest room smelled of Tuberose.
Expensive, creamy, and sweet.
But to Serena, it was the scent of intrusion.
Lila had been here.
Serena stood in the center of the plush carpet, her eyes scanning the room.
Alfred had laid out a dress on the armchair—a pale, chiffon thing, delicate and expensive.
Serena glanced at it and scoffed.
They wanted to dress her up? To hide the poverty she had lived in for twenty-two years?
No. She wasn’t a doll to be played with.
She smoothed down her stained T-shirt. She would wear her rags to dinner like armor. It was her first war.
Turning her attention to the bed.
It was made perfectly, the sheets pulled tight enough to bounce a coin. But the scent was strongest here.
Serena approached the pillows. There were four of them, fluffy and white.
She ran her hand over the first one. Soft.
She touched the second one.
Her fingers brushed against something hard through the silk case.
A cold smirk touched Serena’s lips.
Amateurs.
She reached inside the pillowcase and pulled out the object.
A diamond necklace. It cascaded over her hand like a waterfall of ice. It was heavy, vintage, and worth more than Serena’s entire existence up to this point.
If the maids found this during a “routine cleaning,” or if Lila “accidentally” stumbled upon it while giving a tour, the narrative would be set.
The poor girl from the slums couldn’t resist the sparkle. A thief by nature.
She didn’t panic. She didn’t throw it out the window.
She simply slid the diamond necklace into the tight front pocket of her worn-out jeans. It was a snug fit, the hard stones pressing uncomfortably against her hip bone, but she patted it gently.
She checked the clock. 6:55 PM.
Dinner was in five minutes.
Serena walked out of the room. The hallway was quiet.
As she reached the bottom of the grand staircase, she passed the foyer. The coat rack stood there, holding a single white cashmere coat—the one Lila had worn earlier.
Serena didn’t stop walking. She didn’t look around.
She simply brushed past the coat.
With a sleight of hand she had learned from Martha—the only useful thing that woman had ever taught her—Serena pulled the necklace from her jeans and slipped it into the deep right pocket of Lila’s coat.
The motion took less than a second.
“Miss Serena?”
Alfred appeared from the dining room. He glanced at her clothes—still the dirty T-shirt and jeans—and his eyebrow twitched slightly, but he said nothing.
Serena smiled, her hands already empty and hanging loosely by her sides.
“I’m ready, Alfred.”
The dining room was silent as a grave.
The table was long. Arthur sat at the head, looking like a king bored with his kingdom. Eleanor sat to his right, nervously adjusting her napkin.
Brandon sat on Arthur’s left. He didn’t look up when Serena entered; he was scrolling through emails on his phone.
And Lila.
She sat next to her mother. Her eyes were red-rimmed, perfectly tragic.
Serena took the empty seat next to Brandon. He shifted slightly, creating distance, his cold blue eyes flicking toward her attire with disdain for a fraction of a second before returning to his screen.
“Mushroom soup,” Eleanor said, breaking the silence with a tight voice. “I hope you like it.”
“It’s fine,” Serena said.
She took a sip.
Lila wasn’t eating. She was fidgeting. Her hand kept going to her bare neck, rubbing her collarbone.
Brandon sighed, dropping his phone onto the table with a dull thud. “Lila, stop fidgeting. It’s distracting.”
“I can’t help it, Brandon,” Lila whispered, tears instantly filling her eyes. “My necklace... Grandma’s vintage Cartier necklace... it’s gone.”
Arthur looked up, frowning. “You were wearing it this afternoon.”
“I know! I took it off to wash my face before dinner, and I left it on the vanity. But when I went back...” Lila looked across the table.
Her gaze locked onto Serena.
It wasn’t a subtle look. It was an accusation.
“It’s gone,” Lila sobbed. “Someone took it.”
Arthur dropped his spoon. It clattered loudly against the china.
“Alfred!” he barked.
The butler stepped forward.
“Search the house,” Arthur commanded.
“Check the common areas. And check the guest room.”
“Arthur!” Eleanor gasped.
“We have a stranger in the house,” Arthur said, ignoring Serena entirely. “Search everything.”
Brandon picked up his wine glass, swirling the red liquid. “Make it quick, Alfred. I have a conference call at eight.”
Two maids hurried upstairs.
Lila buried her face in Eleanor’s shoulder. “I don’t want to believe it, Mom. She’s my sister... maybe she just wanted to borrow it...”
Serena continued to eat her soup.
She didn’t defend herself. She simply savored the taste of the mushrooms, sensing Brandon’s gaze on her.
He was watching her, waiting to see if she would c***k.
Ten minutes passed.
The maids returned. They looked pale.
“Well?” Arthur demanded.
“Sir,” the lead maid stammered. “We... we searched the guest room. The bed, the luggage, the bathroom. We even checked Miss Serena’s backpack. We found nothing.”
Lila’s crying stopped abruptly. She lifted her head. “What?”
“It’s not there, Miss,” the maid said.
“That’s impossible,” Lila blurted out, her voice becoming sharp. “Did you check the pillows?”
The room went quiet.
Serena set her spoon down. Clink.
She leaned back in her chair, tilting her head slightly.
“The pillows?” Serena asked softly. “Why would the maids check inside the pillowcases for a necklace, Lila? Is that where you usually hide things?”
Lila froze. “I... I just meant...”
“You seem very sure it’s lost,” Serena said, her voice smooth like velvet wrapped around a blade.
She pointed a slender finger toward the foyer.
“Why don’t you check your own pockets?”
Lila frowned. “My coat? I haven’t touched it since—”
“Just check,” Serena said.
Brandon let out a short, dry chuckle. He leaned back, finally looking interested. “Go on, Alfred. Check the coat.”
The butler walked to the coat rack. He reached into the pocket of the white cashmere coat.
He pulled out the diamond necklace.
Lila’s jaw dropped. She looked at the sparkling jewels dangling from Alfred’s gloved hand, then back at Serena. Her eyes widened in horror. She had been outplayed.
“Oh,” Alfred said dryly. “It appears it was in your pocket all along, Miss Lila.”
Serena took a sip of water. “Seems my little sister has a bad memory. You should get that checked. It goes well with the bad heart.”
“I...” Lila stammered, her face turning a violent shade of red.
“Careless,“Brandon muttered, picking up his fork again. He glanced at Serena, his eyes narrowing slightly. It wasn’t warmth, but it was a flicker of respect. She wasn’t the prey he thought she was.
“Enough,”Arthur grunted. He waved his hand dismissively. “You found it. Sit down and eat.”
Serena didn’t react. She expected this. In this house, Lila was the porcelain doll.
The rest of the meal passed in silence.
When the main course was cleared, Arthur cleared his throat.
“The merger with the Knight Corporation is critical,”Arthur said seriously. “The contract states that a Vance daughter will marry into the Knight family.”
Lila perked up instantly, wiping her eyes. “Julian called me yesterday, Daddy. We’ve been friends since prep school. Everyone knows we’re perfect for each other.”
“Julian is a nice boy,”Eleanor agreed.
“However,”Brandon cut in. “The contract doesn’t specify which daughter. And Julian isn’t the one pulling the strings.”
Lila frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The power has shifted,”Arthur said, looking tired. “It depends on the Head of the Knight family.”
“The Head of the family...”Eleanor shivered slightly. “You mean Sebastian?”
Sebastian Knight—twenty-eight, unmarried, and notoriously good-looking.
Clang.
Serena’s knife slipped from her fingers and hit the edge of her plate.
The sound was sharp, violent.
Everyone turned to look at her. Brandon’s eyes bored into her profile, analyzing her sudden reaction.
“Sebastian Knight,”Brandon said, testing the name like a weapon. “The man is a tyrant. He chewed up three competitors last month just for sport. If he decides he wants the daughter by blood for the alliance, he takes the blood heiress.”
Serena felt the blood drain from her face. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
Sebastian.
For three years, she hadn’t dared to say his name.
She remembered the way he smelled. She remembered the weight of his gaze, heavy and possessive, as if he wanted to consume her whole.
He was the most powerful man in the city. A king in a world of wolves.
And he was her ex-boyfriend.
The man she had loved with every fiber of her being. The man she had dumped in the pouring rain because she was terrified that her dark, messy life would ruin him.
“You are mine, Serena,” he used to whisper, his voice low and dangerous. “You will always be mine.”
He was dominant. Overprotective. He loved her with a terrifying intensity that burned everything else away.
If he knew she was here... if he knew the girl who broke his heart was actually the Vance heiress...
“You can run, Serena,” he had told her, standing in the rain, looking like a fallen god. “But if I ever find you again, I’m never letting you go.”
Serena’s hands trembled beneath the table. She clenched them into fists until her nails dug into her palms.
If Sebastian Knight walked into this house and saw her, he wouldn’t care about the contract. He wouldn’t care about Julian or Lila.
He would come for her.
And this time, he would never let her run away.
- Writer
