Chapter 2

In Ling City

Serene’s POV:

Impatience gnawed at me as I confronted Lorenzo at the dining table. I couldn’t understand why he had yet to give me my rightful inheritance, though I already expected this to happen. I had been staying in their house for what felt like an eternity, surrounded by his mistress and their bastard, both of whom showed nothing but fake concern for me.

“When are you going to give me what’s mine?” I demanded, my voice laced with frustration. Lorenzo avoided meeting my gaze, a sign that he was hiding something. Growing up, people would always look me in the eye when they spoke to me, a way for me to gauge their honesty. But Lorenzo was different now, and I knew he was lying.

“The attorney is already working on it,” he replied dismissively, his words lacking conviction. I had grown accustomed to people’s empty promises, but coming from my father, it stung even more.

Daisy, Lorenzo’s mistress, couldn’t resist adding her side comment. “Serene, why are you in such a rush? Haven’t you been well taken care of in the countryside? Or are you just eager to get your hands on your money?”

I couldn’t help but scoff at her audacity. How dare she speak to me in such a disrespectful manner, completely oblivious to the irony of her own words? I wanted to maintain an angelic image in their eyes. Still, ever since I arrived in Ling City, my angelic wings had transformed into thorns in my head.

“What do you take me for? A mere pig, waiting to be fed?” I retorted, smirking at Daisy, reveling in the power of my words.

“Well, I never mentioned you were a pig until now, considering how much weight you’ve gained,” she shot back, her confidence unwavering. I laughed and rolled my eyes, refusing to let her get under my skin. It’s not true that I have gained weight, but I’m sure I have gained something far more valuable: the courage to speak my mind.

Mavie, the bastard, chimed in, attempting to defend her mother’s insult. “Mom, you don’t have to say it like that. We have guests.” But I saw through her feeble attempt to deceive me.

Realizing her mistake, Daisy quickly apologized to our guests, Ryan and Reynold, feigning concern for my lack of manners. I couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing her apology was insincere. Everyone at the table turned their attention to me, curious about my reaction.

“If you refuse to give me what is rightfully mine, then I will take matters into my own hands,” I declared, my voice dripping with determination. I had no intention of staying in their presence any longer. The sight of how Lorenzo treated Mavie ignited a burning rage within me.

A month had passed since my arrival, and I had expected Lorenzo to simply hand over my inheritance. But it wasn’t going as smoothly as I had hoped. He would give the same excuse whenever I asked: “The attorney is still working on it.”

During this month, I discovered that Mavie was Lorenzo’s daughter before he married my mother. Although I had already learned about this from my grandparents, a part of me still clung to the hope that my father could redeem himself because my weak heart still loved him as a daughter.

Lorenzo was insistent on arranging a marriage for me. If I hadn’t known him better, I might have believed his claims that the man he had in mind was good and kind and would take care of me.

But no way! I stood my ground and objected to his matchmaking shenanigans. I mean, seriously, the guys he wanted me to consider were someone any wealthy parents wouldn’t want to marry their daughters off to. We’re talking about company drivers, sons of his friend’s maids, and other folks that even the most lenient parents would think twice about marrying off their kids unless the girl wanted it. I am not looking down on that kind of person; they work hard. But I am talking about Lorenzo, and I'm sure he wouldn't let Mavie marry those men he was pushing to me.

Desperate to uncover the truth about my mother’s will, I sought out the attorney my dad had mentioned. Let me tell you, this old geezer looked like he could scare the living daylights out of anyone but not me, not Serene Portico. He revealed the details of the will, and I couldn’t help but clench my fist when I finally understood what Lorenzo had been up to. The details of the rest shall remain under lock and key. Bless his heart, the attorney thought it was only fair to let me in on that part, considering Lorenzo had gotten his hands on it, too.

Naturally, I wasted no time telling Enzo about the whole ordeal to investigate. It turns out that Reynold wanted me for his son, and Lorenzo struck a shady deal with him to arrange a marriage for me and render the will null and void.

After another three months, everything was settled, and I decided to marry Ryan for a simple reason: he was easy to handle. After getting married, I planned to leave the mansion to proceed with my plan and continue my leadership in Portico. I would secure my inheritance and send Lorenzo back to where he came from.

As I was about to leave my bedroom, Mavie, in a low and almost sobbing voice, pleaded, “Can’t you just choose someone else? Does it have to be Ryan?” Her victim act didn’t easily fool me, even though I had no idea what she was plotting. Just as I was about to leave, she tried to stop me.

I raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “So, are you suggesting I accept someone Dad has chosen for me?”

“Serene, you’re new to the city; you can’t gauge whether Ryan genuinely likes you. But I know he likes me. We grew up together and were already dating,” she claimed, showcasing her impressive acting skills. If anyone witnessed our exchange, they might assume I was overreacting or had stolen her boyfriend.

“Well, then you’ll have to talk to him,” I replied, returning to walk away. I had chosen Ryan because he had approached me first. He would be easy to manipulate due to his ignorance, and I thought I could have him wrapped around my finger. But this conniving woman wanted him for herself.

“Please, Serene. You can choose anyone but Ryan,” she pleaded, grabbing my arm tightly. Her grip indicated her intention to harm me. I pushed her away, not wanting to cause her any real harm. However, the actress took over and dramatically fell to the floor, pretending to hit her head on the corner of the door frame. She cried as if she had cracked her skull.

“I didn’t expect you to do this much–” I muttered before a sudden push interrupted my words.

“What did you do to her? How could you hurt her?” Ryan exclaimed, rushing to Mavie’s side with concern. I knew he was gullible and easily swayed, so it wasn’t surprising to see him come to her aid.

“I didn’t do anything to her,” I replied, cringing at their display while Ryan continued to support the drama queen.

“How is she on the floor?” Ryan responded, his suspicion directed towards me.

“Because she laid herself there?” I casually replied, taking a step closer to them. “It’s not my fault that she’s weak and foolish.” I casually remarked, watching Ryan help Mavie regain her footing. I knew it was all an act, but I was curious to see where this charade would lead.

“How dare you hurt my daughter? We welcomed you into our family, which is how you repay us.” Daisy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, her voice filled with anger.

“You were just standing there and didn’t do anything to stop your daughter?” I incredulously asked. Daisy’s eyes widened, and she glanced at Ryan.

“I apologize for her behavior. That’s precisely why I wanted you to marry Mavie instead of her! She’s far too unladylike and unworthy of you,” Daisy declared, emphasizing her words with exaggerated hand gestures, causing me to roll my eyes.

“I don’t think you have the luxury of putting on an act right now. Aren’t you concerned about your daughter’s well-being?” I retorted, causing Daisy to avert her gaze towards Mavie, whom Ryan was now cradling.

“I must commend you for enduring the pain. Shouldn’t you be losing consciousness by now?” I asked mockingly, knowing that the blow to her head must have been painful. As I reminded her of the scene she was acting on, she glared at me in response.

“What’s going on here?” The one and only Lorenzo arrived, his expression filled with worry as he looked at Mavie. A pang of sadness and pain struck me, surprising even my stone and cold heart. How could I feel this way when he was nothing more than a disgusting scumbag who wasn’t deserving of the title of father. “Who did this to you?” he demanded, his anger directed towards me. I waited for Mavie to answer, but Daisy beat her to it.

“It was Serene; she hurt our daughter, Lorenzo,” Daisy interjected. He glared at me with fury and stepped closer before delivering a slap across my face. Time seemed to slow down at that moment as I witnessed Daisy and Mavie’s lips curl into triumphant smiles. But my training had prepared me for more than that. Did they think I would cringe?

“So this is what you’ve become after living with your grandparents? Is this what they taught you? To steal someone else’s boyfriend?” Lorenzo snarled.

“Is that what your bastard told you? That I was stealing him away from your precious daughter? If he wanted a bitch for a girlfriend, then so be it. I wouldn’t stop him. He’s all yours,” I replied, looking at Mavie and Ryan, whose mouths hung open in shock.

“He was a fool, an idiot, and, above all, a weakling. I thought he would be easy to handle, but it turns out he was even worse than I expected,” I added, bursting into laughter.

“You’re saying that because you couldn’t have him, and now you realize he loves Mavie,” Lorenzo countered, making me laugh harder.

“Love my ass!” I exclaimed. “He wanted Mavie because his dad told him to, thinking she would inherit my mother’s wealth. Sorry to burst your bubble, Ryan, but your father’s plan won’t work. I know he and Lorenzo made that agreement,” I revealed, causing Lorenzo’s eyes to widen. He hadn’t anticipated that I would uncover their secret.

“Believe whatever you want, but you still need to pay for what you did to Mavie,” Lorenzo finally managed to utter before retreating to Mavie’s side.

“Dad, it wasn’t Serene’s fault. She didn’t do this on purpose.” Mavie spoke up in a soft voice, deliberately appearing weak. I was certain she was doing it to impress Ryan.

“Don’t be too kind, Mavie. Why are you still taking her side? You’re such a good girl,” Daisy said, attempting to sugarcoat Mavie’s defense of me.

“Enough with the theatrics. Whatever you do to yourself, I couldn’t care less,” I declared, then turned my gaze to Lorenzo. “You better give me what is rightfully mine. Because if you don’t, I will make sure that there’s nothing left for you and your mistress when I fight for it, especially for your illegitimate child,” I added, delivering the final blow.

I remembered something as I stood on the stairs, ready to step down. I turned to face them with a mischievous smile and uttered, “Oh, even if you were to hand it over willingly, rest assured, you’ll receive nothing in return. You’ll be tossed back into the trash where you belong, along with your mistress and your illegitimate daughter.” With those cutting words, I left the scene and gracefully made my way to the waiting car, where Enzo, my trusted right-hand man, was already waiting for me.

At that moment, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands and find a suitable husband. I couldn’t rely on Ryan anymore after everything that had transpired. He had proven to be quite malleable, a perfect pawn in my game, but my plans had been thwarted.

“You might want to try your luck at the Royale Club,” Enzo suggested, his voice laced with a hint of excitement. I nodded, appreciating his suggestion, and replied, “Tell Nadine to dig into the CCTV footage of my mother’s mansion. I’m sure they put it there to monitor my movements and see that we got a copy before they decided to take it down.” Enzo nodded, fully understanding my intentions. Nadine is our organization and the world’s top hacker. I’m confident that she will be able to get everything I need because Lorenzo will do everything to take me out of the picture.