Seraphina followed Lady Lockwood's right-hand aide into her personal office chamber. Inside were Lady Lockwood herself and three other Lockwood family elders. The room had an eerie atmosphere, with dim lighting that gave it more of a coven chamber vibe than an office.
"Grandma, you sent for me?" Seraphina said, her head bowed.
"Yes, Seraphina, please have a seat," Lady Lockwood replied.
Seraphina took her seat. It was positioned a few meters in front, facing Lady Lockwood and the elders, as if she were on trial and they were the judges.
"Seraphina, I want to start by stating how much we appreciate the sacrifice you made to secure the Maverick two hundred million dollar contract. The entire Lockwood family is in your debt," Lady Lockwood said solemnly.
'Here she goes with the sacrifices bullshit again,' Seraphina thought to herself.
"As flattering as your compliment may be, I can assure you that I made no sacrifices whatsoever in securing this contract. All I did was visit Maverick Corporation, gain an audience with the assistant CEO, show her the Lockwood contract plan proposal drafted by me, and that was it," Seraphina explained out loud.
The three elders looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Their expressions clearly showed they didn't believe Seraphina's story.
"We have reason to believe that you engaged in an illicit affair with a member of the Bishop family to curry favor and ultimately increase your chances of getting the contract," one of the elders explained.
"That's insane. I would never!" Seraphina protested.
"So, are you saying that you haven't been in contact with any member of the Bishop family from the time you were tasked with securing the contract up until now?" another elder asked. An obvious trap.
"Yes, I mean, no," she stuttered.
"YES or NO, which is it?" they threw at her again.
The question confused Seraphina. Her mind instantly flashed to Ethan Bishop. She wanted to lie or deny her encounter with him, but she felt the truth was her only way out of this.
"Just once, Ethan Bishop, and true, he did offer me a deal—that I divorce my husband and offer him my hand in exchange for helping me secure the Maverick contract. But I rejected his proposal instantly. What you hear now are nothing but rumors," Seraphina explained.
Lady Lockwood parted her lips. "Seraphina, as the head of the Lockwood family, I am grateful for your sacrifice."
"Grandma..." Seraphina tried to call out to her.
But in response, Lady Lockwood lowered and shook her head. "But as your grandmother, I am deeply disappointed and ashamed of your act," she said.
"Grandma it's not true. You have believe me"
"Seraphina, we thank you for your service, but in the best interest of the Lockwood Family and Corporation we cannot assign you as the project manager of the two hundred million dollar Maverick Corporation contract," an elder said.
'What the hell did he just say?' Seraphina screamed in her thoughts. She hoped she had misheard them, but their words were clear as crystal.
"No, you cannot do this! You cannot do this to me! This cannot be happening!" Seraphina cried out. She was losing it. How could she lose her life's biggest achievement to a fake rumor?
"We are deeply sorry, Seraphina. We understand that this is a tough pill to swallow, but you have to understand that this is in the best interest of the Lockwood family, of which you are still a part," an elder said.
"No, you don't understand! I deserved to be project manager! I earned it!" she challenged.
Seraphina looked over to her grandmother, Lady Lockwood, her eyes welling up. "Grandma, please..." she beckoned, hoping for intervention.
"Sera..."
"I swear to you, Grandma, I haven't done what I am being accused of. It's all a rumor. Rumors spread by people trying to soil my good name and undermine my accomplishment. You cannot believe them."
"Is it still a rumor if we have concrete evidence?" Lady Lockwood uttered.
"What! There's no way there exists evidence for such a bogus claim! Show me your evidence, and I swear to seal my lips and accept my fate," Seraphina challenged.
The elders looked at each other and signaled in approval.
"Very well then," they said.
In a few seconds, Daniel Lockwood walked into the room with his phone in hand. On loudspeaker, he played the voice note that had been sent to him.
("Come on now, you know I am not one to kiss and tell," Ethan's voice said with a mischievous smirk.
"You sly fox, how dare you!"
"I'm sorry, her offer was just too good for me to pass up."
"What was her offer exactly?" Jerry asked.
"Seraphina Lockwood and I made a deal: a night in paradise in exchange for a hundred million dollar contract. Come on, man, you've seen the curves on her body. Only a fool would pass that up.")
Seraphina froze. She couldn't believe her ears. Not once had she considered that Ethan Bishop would go as far as to soil her name just because she refused to divorce her husband and marry him.
But what hurt her the most was how her family took his word as absolute. At the very least, it was his word against hers. And they had chosen his. It would be useless for her to attempt to change their minds.
Seraphina rose to her feet and stormed out with tears.
...
In the mansion garage, Alexander leaned over Seraphina's car, stargazing. Admiring the complexities of the constellations, it was true beauty. It was a beautiful moment until he was interrupted.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Alexander turned. It was Ezekiel.
"It appears they haven't taken the trash out yet. What do you want, Ezekiel?"
Ezekiel chuckled. "I must say, that wife of yours had me scared for a second. I almost believed she actually secured the Maverick contract and that my time in the Lockwood family had come to an end," he said.
"What are you rambling on about? Seraphina did secure the Maverick contract and even doubled the budget allocation," Alexander said defensively.
"Not without sucking up to Ethan Bishop."
"What the hell are you talking about? My wife did no such thing!" Alexander's face stiffened, his fist tightly clenched, suppressing the burning urge to punch Ezekiel.
"Oh, then I guess you haven't heard," Ezekiel replied coyly.
"Heard what?" Alexander closed the gap between them, pressing Ezekiel back.
Ezekiel started to feel the heat and was running out of smart words when suddenly, he spotted Seraphina coming from a distance.
"You should ask her. I bet she could tell you all about it in detail. And from the sad look on her face, it appears the Lockwood elders have already told her," he said.
Alexander abandoned Ezekiel and rushed over to Seraphina, whose face was a complete mess, her tears having utterly ruined her makeup.
"Seraphina, wha..."
She managed to say, "Just DRIVE."
Alexander said not a word more and did as she requested.
The car ride was an awfully quiet one.
When they got home, Seraphina sprinted to the bedroom. Alexander tried to follow her to comfort her and find out what was going on, but she locked the door behind her.
Alexander was confused and out of ideas. Only then did he notice that the living room TV was on, and on the screen was Ethan Bishop in an interview. Alexander impulsively grabbed the TV remote and turned up the volume.
"Mr. Bishop, there have been rumors that you somehow had a hand in the acquisition of the two-million-dollar Maverick contract by Seraphina Lockwood. What are your comments on that?" the interviewer asked.
"I have never been one to kiss and tell, but if I must, I would say it was worth every single penny."
Alexander fumed with rage. He clenched his fist so hard that it shattered the remote into pieces. Alexander had sworn never to return to his old ways, to never again be the man he once was. But tonight, tonight he was going to make an exception.