2026-02-25 18:22:41"Young Lord," she said, her voice a clear, ringing bell that shattered the silence. "You summoned me. Is there a problem with the acquisition?"
The manager’s heart stopped. He felt it sink down to his stomach with a sull thud.
Zachary looked down at the manager, his eyes burning with a cold, predatory light.
"He thinks the card is a fake," Zachary said softly. "Why don't you explain it to him?”
She cocked her head to the side, eyes going dark, " Did he now?” Her words were hushed, almost whispered but they hung in the air, thick with menace.
The manager, still reeling from the shock of her arrival, stammered, "CEO Knowles? W-what can we do for you? I'm so very sorry we allowed you to stand in the presence of this buffoon!"
Instead of answering, Seraphina's hand shot out, a swift, decisive motion that left a red imprint of her hand blooming on the manager's cheek.
The sound of the slap echoed through the silent store.
"Insolent fool," Seraphina hissed, her eyes blazing with fury. "Do you have any idea who you're speaking to?"
The manager, clutching his stinging cheek, was utterly bewildered.
He had assumed, based on Zachary's unassuming appearance, that he was nothing more than a lowly thief.
"I… I apologize, Madam," he stammered, bowing low. "I didn't realize… I thought he was just… a…a nobody!" He tried to save face but if anything he made it worse.
Seraphina's eyes narrowed, her anger intensifying. "A nobody? You dare to treat the Young Lord as a common peasant?" Her voice dripped with venom.
"Your ignorance is astounding."
Just then, a new figure rushed into the store, his face a mask of panic.
It was Mr. Vena, the owner of "Gems of the Orient," and he had clearly heard the commotion.
"Madam!" he exclaimed, bowing deeply. "What an unexpected honor! I am so sorry for any… inconvenience you may have experienced."
His eyes darted nervously between Seraphina and Zachary, trying to decipher the situation.
He had seen everything in the CCTV monitors and when Seraphina Knowles had actually stepped into his boutique his heart had leaped into his throat.
Seraphina turned her icy gaze on Mr. Vena. "Your manager and your clerk have displayed an unacceptable level of disrespect towards the Young Lord. Their behavior is a disgrace to your establishment."
Mr. Vena's face drained of color.
He understood the gravity of the situation immediately.
Offending Seraphina Knowles was akin to signing his own death warrant.
"I… I am deeply ashamed, Madam," he stammered. "Their actions are entirely their own, and I take full responsibility. Please, allow me to rectify this immediately."
Without hesitation, he turned to the manager and the clerk, his face contorted with rage. "You two! You're fired! Get out of my store! Now! You're lucky I don't call the police for your behavior!"
The manager and the clerk stood there, stunned and speechless, their faces a mixture of shock and terror.
They had no idea who this young Lord was, but they understood that they had just lost everything because of him.
Meanwhile, Elise's mother and sister, who had been watching the scene unfold with growing confusion, were growing impatient.
The fact that some big shot like Seraphina Knowles actually knew Zachary and was helping him could only mean one thing.
Zachary was clearly sleeping with her.
"Honestly, Zachary," Martha said, her voice dripping with disdain. "You really have no shame, do you? Parading your new… conquest around like this? It's pathetic."
"Yeah," Chloe chimed in, her voice shrill. "You're just using her for her money, aren't you? Just like you tried to use Elise!"
Mr. Vena's eyes widened in horror.
He couldn't believe these women were continuing to insult Seraphina and Zachary, even after witnessing the scene that had just unfolded.
He knew he had to get them out of the store before they made the situation even worse.
"I am so sorry, Madam, Young Lord," he stammered. "Please, allow me to escort these… guests out of the store. They are clearly causing a disturbance."
Before Elise's mother and sister could protest, Mr. Vena grabbed them by the arms and dragged them towards the exit. "Out! Out! Both of you! You are no longer welcome in my establishment!"
He shoved them out onto the street, slamming the door behind them.
He then turned back to Seraphina, his face a mask of desperation.
"CEO Knowles, Young Lord, I sincerely apologize for the behavior of those… individuals. I assure you, such a thing will never happen again. Please, tell me, is there anything I can do to appease your anger?"
Seraphina regarded him with a cold, calculating gaze. "See to it that the Young Lord receives the Celestial Harmony Crystal, free of charge, as compensation for the disrespect he has endured. And ensure that this… misunderstanding is never repeated."
Mr. Vena bowed deeply. "Of course, General Manager Knowles! It will be done immediately!"
Meanwhile, Elise's mother and sister stood on the sidewalk, utterly stunned. They couldn't believe they had been thrown out of the store like common criminals.
"What just happened?" The younger blonde wailed. "Why was that woman defending Zachary?"
"I don't know," Martha said, her face contorted with anger. "But I'm sure she's just another one of his sugar mummies. He's probably latched onto her for her money."
"That little…" Chloe spat, her face red with fury. "He's going to pay for this! He thinks he can just waltz back into our lives and steal what's rightfully ours? We'll show him!"
Martha nodded grimly. "We need to tell Elise. She needs to know what Zachary is up to. And we need to get that crystal back. It's essential for my son in law's plan."
She pulled out her phone and dialed Elise's number. "Elise, darling, you won't believe what just happened…"
She proceeded to recount the events of the past few minutes, embellishing the story with her own biased interpretations.
She told Elise about the Celestial Harmony Crystal, about Zachary's new "sugar mummy," and about how he had stolen the crystal that they had planned to gift to the new Chairman of the Prism Dragon Group.
Elise listened in stunned silence, her mind reeling. She couldn't believe that Zachary had not only survived but had apparently found another wealthy woman to support him.
The thought of him
living a life of luxury while she struggled to maintain her own status filled her with a burning rage.
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CHAPTER 107. UNWANTED COMPANY
The elevator ride down to the fourth floor felt longer than usual.Zachary stood in the corner, arms crossed, watching the numbers tick downward on the small display above the doors. Beside him, Seraphina was scrolling through her tablet, her expression focused, her lips pressed into a thin line.Neither of them spoke.The silence wasn't uncomfortable, quite the opposite really.In no time, the elevator doors slid open with a soft chime."Fourth floor," Seraphina announced, stepping out into the corridor. "Mira's office is at the end of the hall."Zachary followed, his footsteps echoing on the polished floor. The fourth floor was quieter than the executive levels, fewer people, smaller offices, the kind of space where real work got done without fanfare or ego.'Mira Chen,' he thought. 'The woman who can find patterns in numbers that shouldn't exist.'He was curious to meet her. Genuinely curious. Someone that sharp, that unnoticed, that content to stay in the shadows while others too
CHAPTER 106. VISITING
"If they take the bait, yes." Seraphina's voice was calm, but there was satisfaction underneath. The kind of satisfaction that came from knowing you'd outmaneuvered someone who didn't even know they were being played. "We'll have their IP address. From there, we can trace it back to a physical location. A department. A desk. A person."Zachary stared at the hologram, impressed despite himself. His fingers had stopped their restless tracing. His whole body had gone still."That's... actually brilliant.""Miss Chen is very good at what she does.""So she came up with all of this?""The financial angle was hers. The tracking script too." Seraphina's lips curved slightly. "She's very good."Zachary nodded and his fingers drummed once against the armrest. "So what's the problem? It sounds solid."Seraphina didn't answer immediately. Her mouth thinned slightly and her expression had shifted. The satisfaction was gone, replaced by something else.'Guilt,' Zachary realized. 'She looks guil
CHAPTER 105. HONEY POT
Seraphina's eyes narrowed slightly. "Levi is loyal to me. He's been loyal for a long time. If I tell him to cooperate, he'll cooperate."Zachary wanted to argue. Wanted to point out that Henderson's loyalty to her was exactly the problem.That the man was in love with her and saw Zachary as a rival, and no amount of professional courtesy would change that.But he couldn't say that.Because saying that would mean admitting that he'd noticed. That he'd been watching Henderson watch her. That it bothered him more than he wanted to admit.'And then she'd ask why it bothers you,' a voice whispered in his head. 'And what would you say? That you're jealous? That you don't like the way Henderson looks at her? That you—'He cut the thought off."Fine," he said, the word clipped. "He stays. For now."Seraphina studied him for a moment, her pale eyes searching his face. "You're not happy about this.""I don't have to be happy. I just have to tolerate it.""That's not an answer.""It's the only o
CHAPTER 104. THE BUSINESS TEAM
A week had passed since the night Zachary had carried Seraphina into his townhouse. A week of meetings and briefings, of late-night phone calls and carefully worded memos. A week of pretending that nothing had changed between them.It was exhausting.Zachary stood at the window of his office, staring out at the city below. The morning light was sharp and unforgiving, painting everything in harsh clarity. He'd been here since seven, unable to sleep, his mind churning through possibilities and contingencies.The investigation was moving. Slowly, but moving.Seraphina had been working tirelessly. Her contacts, her network, her quiet questions whispered in the right ears. She'd promised him a progress report today. A full update on the business team she'd been assembling.He checked his watch. 8:47 AM. She'd be here any minute.The knot in his stomach tightened.'It's just a meeting,' he told himself. 'Just business. Nothing else.'But his pulse disagreed.He turned from the window and
CHAPTER 103. KIND
Seraphina shook her head slightly at this, hair flying."You were being kind sir. It's nothing." But Zachary disagreed. "I was being an idiot."She looked up at that, amusement making her lips twist."Perhaps both," she said.Zachary laughed, a short, breathless sound, and rubbed the back of his neck. The tension in the room had shifted. Less electric now. More awkward. But not... bad. It wasn't terrible."We should probably get off the floor," he said."That would be advisable."They stood up together, both of them a little unsteady, both of them careful not to touch. Zachary busied himself with straightening his shirt. Seraphina gathered her hair, twisting it back into a loose knot at the nape of her neck.The silence stretched between them, thick and strange."You should sleep here," Zachary said finally. "Tonight. It's late. You're exhausted. There are guest rooms upstairs."Seraphina's hands paused in her hair. "Young Lord, that's not—""I'm not taking no for an answer." He c
CHAPTER 102. THE THRESHOLD
Zachary jerked his head back, barely avoiding having his corneas gouged out. Unfortunately for both of them, his balance wavered and her weight shifted wrong in his arms. He tried to regain his momentum but his foot caught on the edge of the rug.“Ugh!" And down they went.He tried to catch her, tried to twist so he'd hit the ground first and she'd land on top of him—but his coordination was shot, his brain still processing the near-blinding, and they went down in a tangle of limbs and startled gasps.Thud.The impact knocked the air from his lungs. His arms hit the floor, one hand cradling her skull while the other braced her back.In the process, something, an elbow, a knee, he wasn't sure, connected with his ribs.He wheezed like a dying mammal.And then everything went still.He was on top of her. His body was pressed against hers, his arms braced on either side of her head, his face inches from her face.He was pinning her to the floor.Her hair had come completely loose from
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