She claimed she wanted to talk. She wanted to clear the air surrounding the accusations Elena made towards her. Regarding her signature found on the document.
The invitation arrived on thick cream paper that smelled faintly of expensive perfume.
Elena knew that scent. Seraphina always wore it.
The letter reads;
"We should talk. At least for the sake of our friendship. Even if it's the last time we will ever speak to each other."
Sake of our friendship.
Elena stared at the words longer than she should have.
Behind her, Arthur read the note once. He snatched it from her and tossed it onto the desk like it had burned him.
"Don't go," he said immediately. "It's a trap. A child could see it."
Elena sighed and reached for her coat.
"She's my best friend, Arthur. Or at least she was," she said quietly. "Maybe she's finally realizing how far things have gone. Maybe she wants to fix it."
Arthur gave a harsh laugh.
"Beaumonts don't fix things. When they start a war, they only stop when the other side is buried."
"We don't know if Seraphina is behind this yet. It could be someone else. It could be Viktor. I'll meet her and hear what she has to say," she insisted.
Arthur stood and began pacing across the room, agitation rolling off him.
"Seraphina doesn't apologize," he added. "She strikes back."
Elena checked her reflection in the mirror. Her face looked drawn. The past few weeks had carved exhaustion into the corners of her eyes.
"I won't be long," she said. "She's a lot of things, Arthur, but she isn't a murderer."
Arthur stepped forward and caught her arm.
"Tell me the location she asked to meet," he said. "Be honest."
Elena sighed. "The school stables."
He closed his eyes for a second, then nodded once.
"You take four guards. Armed."
"But Arthur—"
"No arguments."
She hesitated, then nodded.
"Fine. Four guards."
He still didn't look satisfied. But he let her go.
The stables were quiet. Too quiet. It was missing its usual sounds. Horse shifting in their stalls, grooms talking, and even the soft rustle of hay.
Elena stepped inside anyway.
Her heels echoed against the stone floor, the sharp sound bouncing through the long wooden building. Behind her, the guards followed at a cautious distance.
Seraphina stood near the far stall. Dust floated in the beam of sunlight above her head.
"You came," Seraphina said. Elena stopped about ten feet away.
"I got your letter," she replied. "What is this, Sera? The fraud, the accusations, why are you doing this?"
Seraphina ignored the question.
"You chose him," she said. Her voice was flat.
"You chose a man over me. Over us."
Elena frowned.
"He chose me, Sera. I didn't steal anything from you."
"You knew he was mine."
"He was never yours. Besides, you didn't tell me anything. I should be the one angry here."
Seraphina's expression twisted.
"I didn't need him to love me!" she suddenly screamed. "I needed the future! I needed the title! You stole my future! My life! You took it all after everything I've done for you!"
Her voice echoed through the rafters.
"You were supposed to stay where you belonged," she continued. "You were supposed to marry Viktor and disappear into the background. That was the plan. But instead, you got greedy. You wanted the crown."
Elena opened her mouth to answer. The shadows moved. The gunshots were soft. Muted pops. Her guards dropped before they could even reach their weapons.
Elena turned to run. A hand tangled in her hair and yanked her backward. The world spun.
When her vision cleared she was tied to a chair in the center of the stable aisle. Zip-ties bit into her wrists. Seraphina stood in front of her, breathing hard.
"You think you're special?" she hissed.
Slap.
Her hand cracked across Elena's face. The sound echoed.
"You think you are better than me because he chose you?"
"Sto—"
Another slap.
"You think he actually loves you?"
"Seraph—"
Another slap.
"You're just the violin girl who got lucky."
Again.
And again.
After the first few blows Elena tried to fight back, kicking and twisting, but the ties held tight. The chair barely moved. Eventually, the room blurred.
After the tenth strike, her head sagged forward. Blood spilled from her mouth and nose. Darkness swallowed her.
Back at the estate, Arthur was pacing. The clock ticked. One hour passed. Then another. The sun began to set, bleeding red light across the windows.
"Sir," the head of security said carefully. "We should go check."
Arthur grabbed his keys.
"No," he said. "If this is a trap they're expecting a team."
He headed for the door.
"They won't expect me alone."
"Sir—"
"If I'm not back in an hour," Arthur said, "call the authorities."
Then he was gone.
Arthur's car tore down the road toward the stables. When he arrived, the first thing he saw was blood. His guards lay in the grass near the entrance, dragged from the doorway.
"Shit… Elena!" he shouted.
He ran inside. And froze. She was tied to a chair in the center of the barn. Her clothes were stained. Her face was swollen and bruised.
For a moment Arthur couldn't breathe.
"Hey… hey…" he whispered as he rushed toward her.
He never reached her. Six men stepped from the empty stalls. They moved fast before Arthur could process what was happening.
He fought back like a cornered animal, landing one solid punch and driving another man back with an elbow. But there were too many of them.
A heavy kick slammed into his ribs and sent him crashing to the floor. Hands grabbed him. Pinned him. His face was forced into the dirt.
Elena stirred. Her eyes opened slowly. When she saw him on the ground she let out a broken sob.
"Arthur… Arthur!"
Footsteps echoed across the wooden floor. A man stepped into the light.
Viktor Volkov.
He smiled. The sight of that smile made Arthur's stomach turn.
"Finally, the great Valois heir has fallen," he said.
Viktor dropped a stack of papers near Arthur's head.
"Sign them."
Arthur spat blood on Viktor's shoe.
"Go to hell."
Viktor nodded once. One of the men stepped toward Elena. He grabbed her hand. Arthur felt dread rise in his chest.
"What are you doing? Get away from her!" Arthur yelled.
The man bent her index finger back. A sick pop filled the stable.
"Aaaaghh!" Elena jerked against the chair. It was a raw, broken sound. Arthur roared, trying to break free.
"S… Stop! Stop! Goddamit!" He shuddered.
"Sign the documents," Viktor said calmly. "The school. The accounts. Everything. I won't ask again."
The man reached for her next finger. Arthur's resistance collapsed.
"I'll sign! Please stop hurting her. Please. I'll sign it."
They released his arm. His hand shook violently as he scribbled his name across the papers. Viktor examined the signatures, satisfied.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
One of the men asked quietly, "Kill them?" Viktor glanced at the couple. Arthur was already crawling toward Elena.
"Not yet," Viktor said.
"We are not done with them. Come with me. We have other things to do."
When the cars were gone, the stable fell silent. Arthur dug his pocketknife from his jacket and sawed through the zip-ties around Elena's wrists.
She slumped forward, breathing shakily. He pulled her into his arms. Her fingers were swelling. Her face was bruised and bleeding.
"We have to go," he said hoarsely.
"To the kids. Before they come back for us."
They drove back to the estate as fast as the car would go. Arthur was already planning. They'd leave the country. Disappear. Start over somewhere far away from this nightmare.
Even if he wanted to reach out to the Valois family for help, now wasn't the best time. Not when Viktor still held most of the power. He had to make sure his family was safe first.
Then they turned the final corner. Arthur slammed the brakes. The estate was burning. Flames climbed the walls, swallowing the roof. Smoke poured into the night sky.
Elena opened the door before the car fully stopped.
"The twins!" she screamed.
Arthur grabbed her arm as she tried to run forward. The front entrance was already a wall of fire. Inside, the house groaned as beams collapsed. Servants' screams had already faded into silence.
Arthur stood there, staring at the inferno that had been his home. His children were inside. Everything was inside.
He looked at Elena. Then back at the fire. And understood the truth. They hadn't just taken his money. They had taken his world.