The Carrington Company stood like a mirror to the city: glass, steel and ambition. Inside, everything gleamed. Precise. Controlled.
Seraphina Carrington wasn't here for any of that.
Her heels clicked against the marble floor like gunshots.
The receptionist glanced up.
"Miss Carrington..."
"Don't bother announcing me," she snapped, storming past her.
The assistant, already wise to the Carringtons' ways, simply nodded and sank into her seat. Seraphina was a storm no one tried to stop.
She pushed open her father's office door.
"Father, we need to talk about this ridiculous sum you transferred. You expect me to launch an..."
She stopped.
So did the woman perched on her father's lap.
Raymond Carrington. Fortune 500 icon, master of control, was leaned back in his chair, shirt collar undone, his tie around a wrist that now rested on a thigh that wasn't his wife's.
For a beat, no one moved.
Seraphina's eyes swept the scene. Then she smiled, thin and cold. "So this is where the rest of my 'budget' went."
The woman, mid-thirties and corporate neat, stood quickly, struggling to button her blouse with whatever dignity she could salvage. Seraphina recognized her; the new legal advisor. The red lipstick made her easy to remember.
Raymond's voice stayed calm. "Close the door, Seraphina."
She didn't move. "During office hours, really? And you..." she snapped at the woman, voice sharp as glass, "...can you not see I'm talking to my father? Your boss. Remember him?"
The woman mumbled an apology and slipped through a side door.
Silence settled. Heavy.
"This isn't your concern," Raymond said.
Seraphina let out a bitter laugh. "Not my concern? You throw me into a six-month trial with barely enough money to breathe, but you've got time for office affairs?"
She stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "And honestly, why do you have such awful taste in women? Mother, rest her soul, wasn't exactly Carrington material, but even this is beneath her."
He stood and straightened his cuffs. "Watch your tone. You came for money, not to audition for a morality play."
"No, I came for respect," she said. "You gave me crumbs and called it a challenge. I'm not Thea. I won't pretend to be grateful."
"You wanted to play big. This is how it's done. Resourcefulness. Not entitlement."
He stepped forward, close enough for her to see the faint scars near his face. The ones he never explained. Battle souvenirs from a past no one dared question.
"You think this is punishment? It's preparation. If you can't build from nothing, you don't belong in this family's future."
"And if I do?" She asked. "You'll call that love?"
"I don't give love, Seraphina. I give opportunity."
She studied him. This man who built everything but couldn't hold a family together.
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "No wonder we're all broken."
He didn't reply. He turned, poured himself a drink. The ice cracked in the glass.
"Leave if you're done," he said.
But she didn't move. "You're not untouchable, Father. Play with fire long enough, and even you will burn."
Then she walked out. Her heels echoed down the hall until the sound disappeared.
Raymond looked into his drink. His reflection wavered. He still didn't blink.
*****
That afternoon at Arkos Biotech.
Jane Hayes stood outside the door marked Jace Davis, CEO. She adjusted her cardigan and knocked twice.
"Come in."
The office was spacious and still. Light filtered through tall windows, slicing the air into soft lines. Jace Davis sat behind his desk, sleeves rolled, gaze steady.
"You're late," he said without looking up.
Jane checked the time. "I'm actually on schedule. This is my lunch break."
He looked up, one brow lifted. "Fierce," he thought, watching her. A factual person.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said, realizing she might be in trouble.
He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands. "Fair point. Sit."
She did, straight posture, cautious eyes.
"I'll make this quick," he said. "I'm traveling next week for the Oncology Summit in Switzerland. I'll need a personal aide. You've been selected."
"Me?" There was a shock in Jane's eyes, too quick for most to catch, but he saw it.
Jane opened her mouth, then shut it for half a second, just long enough to weigh her words.
"It's not that I don't want it," she said carefully. "I'm just... surprised. I'm only an assistant secretary. A student. I wasn't exactly born for the cocktail circuit."
He leaned back. "So you're saying you're unqualified?"
"No, Sir. Just... not expected."
He didn't smile. "Good, I don't like expected."
She hesitated. "I also care for my mother. She's sick. Travel would be complicated."
Still, he said nothing. The room buzzed faintly with the white noise from the air vents which underscored the silence.
"You'll be gone four days," he said. "We'll cover accommodations, and the pay is generous. Your job is secure. So, if you're saying no, say it clearly."
"I'm not declining," she said. "I'm just... trying to process all of this."
He watched her like a chess master watching an unpredictable opponent.
"You think I chose you by accident?"
"I think I was invisible until about twenty-four hours ago."
That earned the smallest twitch of a smile. "You're observant. Keep that."
Jane leaned forward slightly, tone cautious but firm. "If this is more than admin work, I'd rather know."
Jace stood and moved toward the window, hands in his pockets. "Everything's a test, Jane. The sooner you learn that, the more further you'll go."
"And if I don't want to play?"
He faced her again. "Then you wouldn't be sitting here."
There eyes met. Quiet tension.
He handed her a folder. "Your itinerary. You'll be briefed daily. I expect punctuality and discretion. I hear you're late often, you already proved that. That would have to change."
She was shocked. He'd done his homework before she came.
"You'll be around classified research and high-level investors. That's not a responsibility I hand out lightly."he continued.
She took the folder, fingers tightening around the edge. "Understood."
As she stood to leave, he added, almost casually. "Your mother will receive full in-home care through our wellness program while you're gone. No charge."
Jane froze. Her throat closed, but her spine stayed straight. "That wasn't mentioned, it's not in the folder."
"No," Jace said, watching her. "That was part of the decision."
She stepped out of his office, the folder pressed against her chest.
Her reflection in the glass wall looked calm.
But inside, her pulse ran fast and unsure.