Chapter 4

A stray cat leaped down from the windowsill, letting out a shrill yowl that shattered the deadly silence. Ethan’s hand, in the midst of lifting the sack, froze in mid-air.

Liam let out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "It's just a cat."

In the darkness, Serafina dug her fingernails deep into her palms. Though her fingertips held no sensation, the agonizing pain radiating from her wrists kept her lucid. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, leaving a dark crimson stain on the inside of the sack.

...

Morning light filtered through the gaps in the heavy velvet curtains. Serafina stared quietly at the fresh bruises on her arms and the dull ache in her ribs.

"What happened here?" She pointed to the shocking injuries, her tone terrifyingly calm.

Ethan’s eyes darted away, avoiding her gaze. "Maybe... you had a nightmare last night and fell out of bed, hitting the furniture?"

Liam hurriedly changed the subject, plastering a hypocritical smile on his face. "Next week is your birthday, Sera. Is there anything you want?"

He crouched down, attempting to hold Serafina’s bandaged hand as he usually did. "I'll throw you the grandest birthday party, alright? Right here in the manor's banquet hall."

She recalled her birthdays before she turned fourteen. Back then, she would wear custom haute couture gowns. Ethan would personally place a diamond tiara on her head, and Liam would hold her hand for the first dance.

But since Mia appeared, everything had changed. Mia became the star everyone flocked to at the parties, while she became merely a supporting character.

"No need," Serafina answered softly.

"That won't do!" Ethan and Liam spoke in unison, their gazes burning as if they genuinely cared, though in reality, it was to mask their guilt.

Liam gently patted her shoulder. "We will throw you a grand party like never before, letting everyone know that the daughter of the Blackwood family is still nobility!"

...

Over the next few days, Ethan and Liam left early and returned late, acting secretive. Even Mia was nowhere to be seen.

Serafina watched their busy figures with cold detachment until her birthday arrived.

"Here is the dress and jewelry prepared for you, Sera." Liam hurriedly set down an exquisite gift box. "I'm going to check the banquet hall arrangements. Get changed, and we'll head down."

After the door closed, Serafina noticed he had left his phone on the vanity. When the screen lit up, her blood froze instantly.

It was a three-person group chat, the name blatantly reading "Guardian Angel and Her Knights."

The latest message was a photo of Mia. "Does this dress look good, Brother Ethan, Liam?"

Serafina trembled as she used her wrist to touch the screen and scroll up. More messages flooded her vision—selfies of Mia under the Eiffel Tower, photos of Ethan holding her while eating ice cream, and a video of Liam personally fastening a pink diamond necklace around her neck.

It turned out that the so-called "preparations" of the last few days were nothing but a cover for them accompanying Mia on a shopping spree in Europe.

As for the dress in Serafina’s hands, the tag was even stamped with "Sample"—it was a reject the brand had sent to Mia, which she had discarded.

Tears dripped onto the phone screen. She stiffly returned the phone to its original spot.

When Liam returned, he was surprised to find Serafina hadn't changed yet. Before he could ask, she said softly, "My hands are too ugly. I don't want to change."

"Don't say that." He cupped her face carefully. "You will always be my princess."

Subsequently, Liam had a maid help her into the ill-fitting sample dress and old jewelry, then pushed her toward the banquet hall.

...

The banquet hall was decorated in resplendent luxury, with towering champagne towers and clusters of fresh flowers. But no one spared a second glance for the birthday girl in the wheelchair.

From beginning to end, Ethan stayed by Mia’s side cutting the cake, while Liam busied himself arranging the hem of Mia’s dress and introducing the "newly crowned genius violinist" to the guests.

Serafina was like an outsider, watching her own birthday party turn into another woman’s coronation.

Suddenly, a massive boom shook the hall, followed by the acrid smell of smoke and leaping flames.

"Fire! The gas in the kitchen exploded!" Panic erupted in the crowd.

The fire spread with terrifying speed, and the massive crystal chandelier swayed precariously.

Serafina watched helplessly as Ethan and Liam rushed toward Mia without a second's hesitation.

In the chaos, her wheelchair was knocked over by the fleeing crowd. At the moment the ceiling came crashing down, she vaguely heard Liam’s distant shout: "Sera!"

But that voice was quickly drowned out by the roar of the fire.

Darkness swallowed everything.

"The beam collapsed! Both ladies are trapped—who do we save first?" A fireman's anxious voice cut through the smoke. "Miss Blackwood is in a more dangerous position—if we don't get her out now, she might burn to death!"

"Save Mia first!" Ethan’s calm voice sounded incredibly cruel, without a shred of hesitation. "Mia’s hands are needed for the violin; she cannot be injured!"