Chapter 5 The Master Key.
Seraphina's POV
Getting an appointment at Blackthorne International wasn't easy. It was a multi-billion-dollar empire, and you couldn't simply walk in and expect a meeting with the CEO.
For three days, I had been calling his assistants, trying to get just five minutes on his schedule. Every time, the answer was the same.
"Mr. Blackthorne is too busy, Mrs. Roth."
Or, "Mr. Blackthorne's schedule is full."
But I didn't give up. Then one day, I called the secretary and told her to deliver a simple message.
"Tell Mr. Blackthorne that I can help him get Roth company."
The next day, I got a call from the secretary.
"Mr. Blackthorne would like you to come to his office by 10pm tomorrow night."
It was past ten o'clock at night when the private elevator opened on the top floor of Blackthorne Tower.
The executive lobby was dark except for the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the rainy Seattle skyline.
I walked down the polished hallway, forcing my shoulders back despite the nervous knots in my stomach. I couldn't afford to look weak tonight.
The secretary led me to a pair of black doors. "Mr. Blackthorne is waiting."
I pushed them open and stepped into the main office. The room was large, smelling faintly of leather and whiskey. Cassian Blackthorne sat behind a dark wood desk.
His suit jacket was gone, his sleeves rolled up, and his tie loosened slightly. He stared at a laptop screen before finally looking up.
"You've been trying very hard to meet me," he said.
"And that's because I have valuable information."
Cassian closed the laptop and leaned back in his chair, studying me.
"Is this a new game Damien is playing? Did he send his sweet, quiet little wife to beg for the downtown property back? Because let me tell you, you're wasting your time."
"Damien didn't send me," I said, pulling a black flash drive from my coat pocket and tossing it onto his desk. "And Damien doesn't play games like this. He isn't smart enough."
Cassian glanced at the flash drive. "What is this?"
"That is the master key to the entire Roth Corporation financial structure," I said, placing my hands on the desk.
"Every encrypted spreadsheet, hidden ledger, tax loophole, and major investor profile from the last six years. I built that company from the ground up, Mr. Blackthorne. While Damien collected awards and posed for cameras, I was fixing the numbers and stabilizing the business. I am the reason Roth Holdings became a multi-million-dollar empire. Not him."
Cassian remained silent as he studied me, searching for any sign of a lie. Then a faint smile touched his lips.
"I knew it," he said quietly. "I always suspected the real brains behind that idiot were never properly acknowledged. Damien is too arrogant to build something that solid. But that still doesn't answer my question, Seraphina. Why are you handing your husband's empire to his biggest rival?"
"He isn't my husband," I snapped. "The marriage certificate was forged. Him, his family, and my so-called best friend Camilla Sinclair have been deceiving me from the beginning. They staged a kidnapping rescue six years ago to exploit my loneliness after my grandfather died. They used me to drain the Lancaster fortune and fund their own lives and their unborn child."
Cassian's amusement disappeared. His jaw tightened as he listened.
"They picked the wrong woman to fool," I continued. "They want my grandfather's land? They want my wealth? Fine. But I'm going to make sure they burn in the ashes of the empire I built for them."
Cassian picked up the flash drive and turned it over in his hand before setting it down again. Then he leaned forward.
"It's a beautiful story of revenge, Seraphina," he said. "But going after Damien means declaring war on a powerful corporation. It means destroying everything you spent six years building. It means burning down whatever remains of your old life. Are you truly ready for that? Because once we start, there is no turning back."
I didn't back down. "My old life was already erased the second they turned me into a ghost," I said calmly. "I'm just returning the favor."
I stepped closer to the desk and met his gaze. "We should work together."
