"Sera, it's time for lunch, and I won't let you skip it, especially after you already skipped breakfast this morning," Corvine's voice carried from the entrance, calm but unyielding, the kind of steady authority that never needed to be loud to be obeyed, as he stepped inside and adjusted the knot of his tie with a quiet, habitual precision.
The day had dragged on longer than expected, and the maids had filled him in the second he returned ready to drop her at the hospital later, their worried whispers making it clear that she had not moved from that chair for hours.
The glow of Seraphine's monitors washed the entire room in a cold, electric blue, turning the polished surfaces metallic and the shadows sharp enough to cut, while the soft hum of processors and cooling fans created a mechanical heartbeat that felt more alive than the rest of the mansion combined.
