Chapter 2

Elara's POV

I walked out of the crematorium, step by step, clutching the freezing urn.

Over the past three hours, I had sent Callum forty-six texts and called him seventeen times. Silence.

The rain battered my face. I wiped my eyes and headed straight for the Trade Manager’s office at headquarters.

At the end of the hallway, Callum’s heavy oak door was slightly ajar. A woman’s coquettish laughter drifted out.

"What if Elara throws a fit when she gets back and finds out her daughter was used for an experiment?" It was Seraphina.

"A fit?" Callum scoffed. "What can she possibly do? When she gets home tomorrow morning, I’ll just buy her a pair of earrings and say a few sweet words. She’ll get over it."

"Callum, you're so good to me."

"Being a test subject for your Eclipse Serum is an honor for her—and the greatest value that pup will ever have in her life."

My blood froze in my veins. I raised my leg to kick the oak door down.

"Ma'am! You can't go in there!" Two security guards lunged from the blind spot, twisting my arms behind my back and dragging me toward the stairs.

"Let me go! Callum, get your ass out here!"

They showed no mercy, tossing me straight out into the torrential rain. The wooden box slipped from my grasp, crashing into the mud. The lid jolted open, leaving a crack.

The freezing, muddy water began seeping toward the ashes of my four-year-old daughter.

I threw myself over it like a madwoman, shielding the box with my own body. I bit my lip to swallow down my sobs. "Don't be afraid, Tessa. Mommy is taking you home."

In five years of marriage, Callum had spent countless nights away, using "work" as an excuse to chase his precious Beta title. Our marriage was nothing but a rotten shell.

In this shattered home, Tessa was the only one who waited by the window for me every day. She was the one who used her chubby little hands to wipe away the cuts I got from gathering herbs.

And now, the child who loved me with her entire being had been shoved into the grave by her own father.

At 2:00 AM, the front door finally opened.

Callum walked in reeking of alcohol, completely oblivious to me sitting in the dark like a drenched ghost.

"Elara? Why the hell are you playing dead in the dark?" he ordered naturally. "Go get me a glass of ice water. I drank too much with the investors today."

I didn't move. I just stared at him coldly. "Where is Tessa?"

Callum paused, the lie rolling off his tongue effortlessly. "She’s at my mom’s. My mom missed her granddaughter, so she took her for a few days."

"Your mom?" I gave a hollow laugh. "Everyone in the Thorne family knows she despises Tessa and won't even let her through the front door."

Callum’s face darkened. Irritated, he pulled a velvet box from his pocket and tossed it into my lap.

"Stop being so sarcastic. I picked up some earrings at the jewelry store for you. Put them on and stop annoying me."

I didn't even look at it. I threw the box back at his feet.

"They reek of cheap perfume," I stared at his frozen face. "You bring Seraphina’s trash home and expect me to treat it like a treasure?"

"Elara Thorne!" Callum roared, his voice spiking as his pride took a hit. "Are you insane? Throwing a tantrum the moment I walk in!"

"Am I going insane, or are you too busy drinking champagne with Seraphina, celebrating how you drained my daughter of her blood?" I stood up abruptly, screaming the words at him.

The moment I said it, the arrogance in Callum’s eyes shattered. He stumbled back half a step, his face turning pale.

"How... how did you know?" He quickly softened his tone, reaching out to grab me.

"Listen, Elara, it’s not that serious. I just dropped the kid off for a minor live trial. Seraphina promised me nothing would go wrong. This is a good thing for Tessa—"

He brushed off his monstrous crime as if it were nothing, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Alright, what is it going to take for you to calm down? A new car? Do you want me to personally pick Tessa up from the infirmary tomorrow?"

"Pick her up?"

I suddenly smiled, my eyes devoid of all warmth.

The mate bond acutely sensed my overwhelming, murderous hatred. The agonizing whiplash of the bond instantly drained the color from Callum’s face. He let out a muffled groan and crashed hard to his knees.

"You want me to calm down?" I looked down at him, enunciating every word.

"I want Seraphina dead."