Chapter 4
The snow was colder than I expected.
Only a thin sweater covered me. The wound at my ankle was still raw. Wind drove snow into my face as soon as I crossed the gate of Calder Manor, each bit sharp against my skin.
The door behind me did not close right away.
Roman was still there.
He probably thought I would break the way I always had. Stand in the cold for a while. Cry for a while. Then turn back and knock, begging him to let me in.
For seven years, I had been the first one to lower my head.
The travel bag lay open in the snow. My frozen hands gathered the documents and clothes one by one, brushing away white clumps before pushing everything back inside.
The manor door slammed shut.
Still, my head did not turn.
The villa road stretched long ahead. Yellow streetlights looked dull under the snow. My fingers stiffened. My knees went numb. Snow water soaked the cuts at my ankle until the pain turned deep and dull.
My feet kept moving.
For seven years, I had lived in Calder Manor and never walked this road alone.
Roman always arranged a car, guards, timing, and place. He gave me many things. Choice was not one of them.
Now I was finally walking out by myself.
Even in a snowstorm.
The phone rang when my hand could barely hold it.
Declan's voice came through, low and carrying anger.
"Turn left at the gate. Don't look back."
My throat tightened.
"Okay."
By the time I reached the outer gate, the snow had grown thick enough to blur the road.
Headlights appeared in the distance.
One beam. Then another. Then more, cutting through the white night.
Twelve black armored cars rolled in without a sound.
The motorcade blocked the whole road.
Every plate belonged to the O'Rourke family.
The middle door opened.
Declan O'Rourke stepped out.
He wore a black coat. Two lines of bodyguards followed and stood straight in the snow, a silent black wall behind him.
The moment my brother saw me, his face changed.
His eyes moved over my thin sweater, my white face, and the blood at my ankle. The anger in him almost broke free.
Declan crossed the space in long steps and wrapped his coat around me.
The fabric still held his warmth.
His hand touched my face. His voice dropped to a dangerous quiet.
"Who did this to you, Seraphina?"
He called me Seraphina.
That name landed in the snow, and my eyes suddenly burned.
Seven years had passed.
Someone finally called me that again.
Not Serena Vale. Not Roman's understanding old woman. Not a place in Calder Manor that could be replaced.
My name was Seraphina O'Rourke.
The O'Rourke heir who had been missing for seven years.
The last of my strength left as I leaned into Declan.
"Take me home."
No more questions came from him.
He bent and carried me into the car.
Before the door closed, he looked back toward Calder Manor. His eyes were colder than the snow.
At the same time, inside Calder Manor, Roman sat in the study with a drink.
The fire burned hot, but irritation stayed under his skin. Three hours had passed. The snow outside kept getting heavier. Serena had not come back.
At last, he slammed the glass down and ordered the butler to open the cameras.
The road footage came up quickly.
On the screen, twelve black armored cars waited in the snow. Declan O'Rourke stepped out himself, wrapped Serena in his coat, and carried her into the car with his own hands.
Every guard around them lowered his head at the same time.
Color drained from Roman's face.
The butler's voice shook.
"Sir, that was Declan O'Rourke."
Roman's head snapped up.
The next second, the finance officer rushed into the study, pale and out of breath.
"O'Rourke Bank just froze our port credit line. The order was signed by Seraphina O'Rourke."
Roman stared at the electronic file.
The woman he had thrown into the snow was not an unwanted orphan.
She was the O'Rourke heir who had been missing for seven years.
She had left Calder Manor and cut off his port money line in the same night.
Roman stared at the signature until the letters blurred.
The signature read Seraphina O'Rourke.
The woman he threw into the snow had just taken his empire by the throat.