Chapter 1 The Marriage That Never Existed.

Seraphina's POV

My life fell apart before noon.

Just an hour earlier, I had been sitting in the back of my car with a smile on my face.

In my lap was a leather folder containing the final deed for a large piece of commercial land beside Roth Holdings headquarters.

For four months, I had worked quietly to secure it.

The owner had rejected Damien's offers for years, but I refused to give up. I negotiated personally, adjusted terms, and finally closed the deal.

It was supposed to be my anniversary gift. A surprise for the man I believed was my husband.

"We're here, Mrs. Roth," Thomas, my driver, said.

I smiled and stepped out into the rain.

All I needed was a certified copy of my marriage certificate, so my lawyer could finish the paperwork.

Simple right? Or so I thought.

A few minutes later, I stood at the government records counter.

The clerk typed my information into her computer and then she frowned.

"Can you repeat the names?" she asked.

"Seraphina Lancaster and Damien Roth." I repeated enthusiastically.

She typed again. She paused for a long time, and then she looked up at me again.

"Honey, are you sure you're married?" She asked.

"What kind of question is that?" I laughed as I asked.

The woman turned her monitor slightly.

"There is no marriage record under those names," she answered and my smile disappeared.

"I'm sorry?" I said confused.

"According to the state records, you've never been married to Damien Roth," she explained.

For a second, I thought she was joking, but the serious look on her face told me otherwise.

"But that's impossible." I protested even as my heart began to beat fast.

The clerk shook her head. "There was no marriage license. No certificate. No registration."

I stared at her, my mouth almost hung open.

Six years of marriage and anniversaries. Six years of helping Damien build Roth Corporation, and now the clerk was telling me none of it existed.

I left the building in a daze and the moment I got back into the car, I called Marcus, my grandfather's lawyer.

He was the only person I trusted completely.

"Marcus," I whispered when he answered.

"What happened?" Something in my voice must have alarmed him because of the sudden concern in his voice.

"The record office says Damien and I aren't married." I forced the words out.

Saying it out felt worse because it made it real and real was the last thing I wanted this situation to be. 

"Stay where you are. Let me investigate," Marcus said and hung up.

The next two hours felt like two years as I waited impatiently for Marcus' call.

Finally, my phone rang. It was Marcus and I answered it immediately.

He sighed heavily. "The marriage certificate is fake, Seraphina."

My stomach dropped and I stopped breathing.

"The document was forged. The registration number belongs to another couple. Legally, you were never married to Damien Roth," Marcus explained deeper.

"No..." I pressed a trembling hand against my mouth.

Those words shattered what remained of my world.

"I started checking your trust accounts. Millions of dollars have been moved out over the last three years," Marcus continued.

"What?" I froze.

"The money is being transferred into shell companies connected to Roth Holdings."

I couldn't speak. I had devoted years of my life to Damien and his company. Now I wasn't even sure who he really was.

"Who knew?" I whispered.

Marcus was silent for a moment.

"Based on the paperwork, this wasn't done by one person." He finally spoke.

My eyes filled with tears. It means it involved the entire family. They all knew.

"Damien is currently out of town, correct?" Marcus asked.

I nodded before remembering he couldn't see me.

"Yes," I answered.

"I suggest hiring a private investigator."

I looked out at the rainy streets. For the first time, doubt entered my mind.

What if Damien's business trip was another lie?

"I'll do it." I agreed.

Marcus gave me the number of a secret investigator and two days later, I got my answer.

The investigator called with an address. It was an exclusive restaurant on Seattle's waterfront and Damien had booked a private dining room.

It was supposedly for an anniversary celebration, but that problem was that our anniversary wasn't until the next day and my heart sank.

That night, I went there myself. I wore a black coat and cap. I kept my head down as I walked through the restaurant.

I found the private room and when I got closer, I looked through the glass and my entire world exploded. 

Damien sat at the center of the table. His parents were there. His sister Sophia was there also, and they were all smiling and laughing and celebrating happily.

But it was the woman beside him that nearly stopped my heart.

Camilla Sinclair.

My best friend. My sister in everything except blood.

She sat beside Damien wearing a diamond wedding ring and his hand rested possessively on hers. Then he leaned over and kissed her cheek and the room spun around me.

No! No! No!

This couldn't be happening, I thought, and then I noticed something else.

Camilla's hand rested on a swollen stomach. She was pregnant!

The door wasn't fully closed, so their voices drifted into the hallway.

"I'm tired of hiding," Camilla complained.

"Just hold on a little longer," Damien said. "Once we get control of the remaining Lancaster assets, everything will belong to us."

My blood turned cold.

"Honestly, she was so easy to fool." Sophia laughed.

The entire table laughed. Even Margaret, Damien's mother, joined in the laugh. The woman I had trusted like a mother.

Then Margaret raised her champagne glass.

"Seraphina was so desperate for a family, and we gave her one." She mocked and they laughed even more.

Tears burned my eyes, but I forced myself to stay quiet because I needed to hear everything.

"We targeted her at exactly the right time," Camilla said smugly. "After her grandfather died, she was lonely enough to believe anything."

"That fake rescue worked perfectly." Damien chuckled.

I froze. Fake rescue? What are they talking about?

Then I suddenly remembered and my heart nearly stopped.

The kidnapping! They were talking about the kidnapping that Damien supposedly saved me.

So it had all been staged. Every single thing. The love, the marriage, the family and even the rescue. It was all a lie.

I stood there for several seconds. Listening and watching.

Then something inside me broke, or maybe it finally woke up.

The tears stopped, but the pain remained and beneath it, something colder appeared. Something dangerous.

I quietly turned around and walked away. The rain poured heavily as I stepped outside, but I didn't look back.

I pulled out my phone and called Marcus.

"Seraphina?" He answered immediately.

"It's all true." I told him as I stared into the dark Seattle night.

There was a brief silence, then he asked softly, "What do you want to do?"

A slow smile appeared on my face. The kind of smile that frightened even me.

For six years, they thought I was weak. They thought I was their victim. They used my money, my work, and my love, but not anymore.

"We say nothing," I said calmly.

"What?" Marcus asked.

"We let them think I know nothing." I continued coldly as I looked back at the glowing restaurant.

At the people who had stolen six years of my life and I made a promise.

A promise to every tear I had shed. A promise to the little girl who lost her parents. A promise to myself.

"I'm taking everything back, Marcus." My voice was deadly cold. "Every dollar, every lie, every secret and when I'm finished..."

I watched the rain fall.

"They'll wish they never met Seraphina Lancaster."