She had once believed that Lucien Ashford deserved what happened to him. That thought haunted her now.
She sat at her desk with the curtains drawn and her laptop open, scrolling through old financial articles from five years ago. The headlines were still there, frozen in time, kept like evidence of a public execution: ASHFORD GROUP COLLAPSES AFTER LIQUIDITY CRISIS.
CEO LUCIE N ASHFORD STEPS DOWN AMID INVESTIGATION.
INDUSTRY TITAN FALLS IN SHOCKING REVERSAL.
She remembered reading those headlines while seated at the breakfast table across from Adrian. She had looked up at him, stunned.
"I did not see that coming," she had said.
Adrian had stirred his coffee calmly."You should have," he had replied. "Lucien overextended himself."
She had accepted that explanation without question. Now she understood how carefully that narrative had been planted.
Lucien Ashford had not overextended himself, he had been cornered.
She remembered the first time she met him. It was at a charity gala six months before her wedding. He had stood near the balcony doors, speaking quietly with a group of investors. He carried himself with controlled confidence that did not demand attention but drew it anyway.
Adrian had leaned close to her ear."That is Lucien Ashford," he had murmured. "He is ambitious and reckless."
When Lucien approached to greet them, his gaze had been direct but unreadable.
"Miss Vale," he had said, extending his hand. "Congratulations on the engagement."
His handshake had been firm."Thank you," she had replied politely.
Adrian had smiled at him in a way that felt cordial but competitive."You should join us for a drink," Adrian had suggested.
Lucien had declined."I have learned to avoid partnerships that look too convenient," he had said evenly.
At the time, Seraphina had thought the comment arrogant. Now she recognized it as instinct.
The downfall began quietly. Ashford Group had announced a strategic acquisition in the renewable sector. The move had been bold but calculated, analysts initially praised it.
Two weeks later, rumors of regulatory violations surfaced. Anonymous sources questioned the valuation models, and a sudden credit downgrade followed.
Seraphina remembered asking Adrian whether the rumors were credible. "Markets are sensitive," he had said. "Once doubt enters, it spreads."
"What if the doubt is manufactured?" she had pressed lightly.
He had smiled."Then someone is playing a dangerous game."
She understood now that he had been the one dealing the cards.
Lucien had attempted to stabilize his company by negotiating emergency funding. Several banks withdrew at the last minute. Important investors pulled out. There was more media coverage.
Seraphina remembered seeing Lucien in front of a wall of cameras at a live press conference.
He had looked composed despite the pressure.
"Ashford Group remains fundamentally strong," he had stated. "We are addressing temporary liquidity concerns." His voice had not wavered.
Adrian had turned off the television halfway through. "He is finished," he had said flatly.
She had frowned."That seems harsh."
"It is realistic," Adrian had corrected.
The collapse accelerated after that. Regulatory investigations were launched, lawsuits were filed, and share prices fell sharply.
Seraphina had never questioned how quickly the pressure had mounted.
She had never examined who benefited. Now, five years later, she pulled up archived transaction records and saw the pattern clearly.
Shell companies linked to Adrian had shorted Ashford Group stock aggressively before the rumors surfaced.
Strategic leaks had appeared in media outlets owned by subsidiaries Adrian quietly controlled.
Vale Holdings had absorbed several of Ashford's distressed assets at reduced valuations.
It had not been a coincidence, it had been orchestrated. Seraphina leaned back in her chair, her pulse steady but heavy.
Lucien had lost more than a company and he had lost credibility.
She remembered the final article: ASHFORD TO RESIGN AS CEO.
The photograph accompanying it showed him leaving the corporate headquarters alone. His expression had been unreadable, but his isolation had been unmistakable.
Adrian had watched that coverage with a sense of detachment.
"Competition keeps the market efficient," he had remarked.
She felt sick now remembering how she had nodded, and everything she had remembered would give her the courage to stop the wedding
Her phone vibrated.
Lucien: I assume you are reviewing old reports.
She stared at the screen."Yes," she typed. "I did not understand what happened to you." There was a silence before his response.
Lucien: Most people did not.
She delayed, then asked the question directly."Did Adrian engineer it?"
The reply came slowly.
Lucien: I cannot prove it.
Lucien: But I have always known.
Seraphina closed her eyes briefly."I believed his version," she admitted.
Lucien: That does not surprise me. The words did not carry accusation, only fact.
"He plans to do the same to Vale," she wrote.
Lucien: He already has. Her breath caught.
Lucien: The difference is that this time, you are aware. She rose from her chair and walked toward the mirror. Her reflection looked different from the woman who had stood in that charity hall five years ago.
That woman had been certain of her future. This one understood the cost of certainty."What did it cost you?" she typed.
Lucien's response took longer this time.
Lucien: My father built Ashford Group from nothing.
Lucien: Watching it dismantled in months felt like watching him die a second time. The honesty in that message struck her harder than any accusation could have.
"I am sorry," she wrote.
Lucien: Do not apologize.
Lucien: Help me prevent it from happening again.
Her grip tightened around the phone. She had once viewed Lucien as collateral damage in a rivalry she did not understand. Now she saw him clearly, he had been the warning.
Adrian had tested his methods on Lucien before perfecting them on Vale.
Seraphina inhaled slowly."If we work together," she typed, "we will not be allies of convenience."
Lucien: What will we be? She held her reflection's gaze.
"Partners," she replied. Several seconds passed.
Lucien: Then you need to know something before tomorrow.
Her pulse quickened."What?" she asked. The reply appeared in three deliberate lines.
Lucien: Adrian's emergency motion includes a clause transferring personal liability to you.
Lucien: If the takeover triggers regulatory review, you will carry the risk.
Lucien: He plans to let you fall publicly.
The room seemed to tilt. Seraphina held the edge of her desk to steady herself. He was not just stealing her inheritance, he was preparing her as a shield. Her phone vibrated again.
Lucien: If you walk down that aisle, you become his scapegoat. The weight of that truth pressed against her ribs.
She looked at the calendar on the wall. Tomorrow, the ceremony, the vows, her public devotion, or her public rebellion. Her phone buzzed one final time.
Lucien: I can protect you. Her heart beat hard against her chest.
Lucien: But only if you choose me before he traps you. Seraphina stared at those words because the rival her husband had destroyed was offering her an escape, and somewhere in the estate below, Adrian was preparing a wedding that would bury her alive.