Chapter 2

Xiomara looked as though someone had stripped her naked in public. Her face drained of all color.

But she was quick on her feet. Within seconds, her expression crumpled into one of pitiful vulnerability. "Mom, Dad, I already said it wasn't Seraphine. But I love you both so much! You always take my side—no matter what. It's not like when I was with my foster parents, where I was beaten, bullied, unloved..."

She threw herself into the Wipere parents' arms. "Mom, Dad, I'm so grateful you found me and brought me home! I'm finally not some unloved child anymore!"

"I know what I did was wrong. I was just so scared of losing you. Please don't abandon me. Please don't send me back, okay?"

"I know I can't compare to Seraphine..."

Xiomara sobbed pitifully, her helplessness tugging at Haven and Ryder's heartstrings. The three of them clung to each other tightly. "Oh, my poor daughter. We understand. It's our fault for losing you in the first place."

"We're the ones who made you suffer."

What a touching scene. The guests applauded warmly.

What a performance.

Seraphine watched them coldly, picked up her luggage, and walked out the front door.

As she passed Gavin, his eyes turned venomous. "I didn't realize how vicious you were. You stole Xiomara's place for all these years and feel no guilt—and now you're trying to ruin her? I'm so glad I'm not marrying you."

Seraphine looked at him with an expression that defied description. After a moment's thought, she said, "Two pieces of trash. Perfect match."

"You—!"

"Oh, I forgot to mention. The other day, I accidentally hacked into your computer. Guess what I found?" Seraphina patted his shoulder, a cool smile on her lips. "You really are remarkably stupid."

Gavin's face went white as a sheet.

He'd hired the world's top cybersecurity experts. There was no way Seraphine could've breached his system. Impossible. She had to be bluffing. That bitch.

Seraphine slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked out. Just then, a tractor pulled up in front of the Wipere Villa.

The vehicle was caked in mud. One headlight was busted, the front bumper dented like it'd been in an accident. The once-red paint was chipped and peeling, revealing rust-stained metal underneath.

In short: a disaster.

The man driving the tractor spotted Seraphine and jumped down, flustered but excited.

"Seraphine! I'm your second brother!"

Clayton Windsor hurried over. The moment he got a clear look at the girl's face—her luminous, striking features—he froze. Seraphine looked exactly like their mother had in her youth.

Except Seraphine's features were even more captivating.

Clayton straightened his wrinkled suit and apologized earnestly. "I was at a construction site earlier. The car broke down on the way here. I didn't want to be late picking you up, so I borrowed this..."

The real story was that the Windsor parents had been reminiscing about their old rural life and insisted Clayton drive them around in a tractor to relive the good old days. He'd been pulled off a work site inspection for it.

Then, right in the middle of that, they'd gotten word about their youngest daughter.

The whole family had been too excited to waste time switching vehicles. His parents had urged him to just take the tractor and go.

Seraphine nodded slowly, unsurprised. She'd already heard all about her biological parents' situation from the Wiperes.

But...

Her gaze lingered on Clayton's wrist with growing amusement. Never mind everything else—the watch he was wearing was a one-of-a-kind custom piece.

Worth over a hundred million dollars.

Seraphine's lips curved.

She didn't care much about money. But she was starting to get very interested in her biological family.

Seeing his little sister stay silent, Clayton couldn't read her thoughts. He scratched his nose awkwardly. "Mom and Dad wanted to come too, but... this thing only seats two. They're waiting at home to welcome you."

True enough. The tractor bed could barely fit two people.

"Let me get your luggage. We'll head back right away." Clayton reached for Seraphine's suitcase, only to realize she had just one small bag. He frowned, confused. "That's it?"

Seraphine nodded.

He tossed the suitcase into the tractor bed. The next second—CLANG. The seat broke.

The Wipere family, who'd just stepped outside, witnessed the whole thing.

Xiomara could barely contain her glee.

Seraphine's family really was as poor as the reports said! They couldn't even afford a decent car. They'd shown up in a tractor—and a broken one at that.

Seraphine deserved this miserable life.

Haven hadn't expected Seraphine's biological parents to be this destitute either. Look at the man who'd come to pick her up—covered in mud, hair disheveled. Probably some construction worker or scrap collector.

That tractor was so banged up, they'd probably have to pay for damages when they returned it.

Even Ryder's expression was difficult to read. A construction laborer wearing a suit? A peasant pretending to be wealthy. How vain.

Clayton crouched by the tractor seat, fiddling with it to fix it. Just as he turned to call Seraphine over, he noticed the Wipere family standing there. He immediately straightened his suit, walked over, and pulled three bank cards from his pocket.

"You must be the family who raised Seraphine. I came in a hurry and didn't bring a proper gift, so please accept these three cards. In the future—"

"No need," Haven cut him off haughtily. "The best thanks you can give us is taking Seraphine off our hands."

She didn't even bother saying another word. She turned and went back inside.

"Gavin, the guests are waiting for us to toast. Let's go in." Xiomara shot Seraphine a mocking glance, her superiority radiating like she'd just won a war.

Gavin waved dismissively at Seraphine with disdain and contempt, then followed Xiomara inside.

Only Ryder remained, standing there awkwardly. "Seraphine, about earlier... Take this card. Consider it a token of goodwill from me."

The same card from before.

Seraphine refused again.

Clayton spoke up. "We're already grateful you raised Seraphine. You don't need to give her anything. But these three cards—"

"Then we're even." Seeing Seraphine's biological family in this state, Ryder lost interest. He just wanted them gone. "Leave as soon as you can."

Three cards, five cards—whatever. Combined, they probably didn't even add up to ten thousand dollars. Not enough to cover a single meal for him, the richest man in Silverpeak Town.

Clayton awkwardly pocketed the three cards.

One was worth three hundred million dollars.

One was a global ultra-luxury black card.

And one was an authority card that commanded respect anywhere in the world—"see the card, see the person." Fewer than fifty existed globally. Even royalty didn't have one. It was essentially a worldwide pass to power and privilege.

Though the card Clayton offered had some limitations, it still would've been enough to make the Wipere family soar to the top domestically.

Unfortunately.

Clayton stared at the Wipere family's retreating backs, frowning slightly. Why did it seem like Seraphine had been treated so poorly by them?