Chapter 125
Chapter 125:
Seraphina stood in the empty apartment. The silence was deafening.
Her phone buzzed. It was her mother.
They’re coming for the money, Sera. Get it from him. Or we’re dead.
Seraphina looked at the phone. She looked at the door. Panic turned into a twisted kind of resolve. She had one card left: her body, and Liam’s savior complex.
She ran to her suitcase. She dug through the clothes until she found a small wooden box. Inside were sticks of incense she had bought from a “specialist” in the underground market. Blue Lotus and Opium blend. An intense aphrodisiac and mild hallucinogen.
She also grabbed a bottle of sleeping pills.
She poured the pills into her hand, then dumped them into the toilet and flushed. She kept the empty bottle.
She lit the incense. The room began to fill with a thick, sweet, pinkish smoke.
She typed a text to Liam.
Goodbye, Liam. I can’t live without you. I took them all.
She hit send. Then she lay down on the sofa, arranging her hair perfectly, and waited.
Liam was driving back to the office when the text came through.
He cursed. He slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching.
He hated her right now. But he couldn’t let her die. It would be a PR nightmare. And… despite everything, he felt responsible. He had created this monster.
He spun the steering wheel, making an illegal U-turn. He raced back toward the safe house.
Liam arrived at the apartment door, his chest heaving from the exertion of the stairs. He raised his silver-headed cane and smashed it against the handle. Once. Twice. The cheap lock gave way with a splintering crunch.
“Seraphina p>
Eո𝘫𝘰y 𝘳e𝖺d𝘪n𝘨 𝗅𝘦ga𝗅l𝘺 оո 𝖻𝘦l𝗻о𝘷е𝗅𝘀.cо𝗆
He stumbled into the room, his injured leg dragging, pain radiating up his hip with every step. The room was dim, the air thick with a sweet, cloying smoke that smelled of rotting flowers and musk.
He saw her lying on the sofa. Her arm hung limp over the side. The empty pill bottle lay on the floor.
“No, no, no,” Liam muttered, limping to her side. He dropped his cane and fell to his knees, wincing as the impact jarred his fractures.
“Wake up!” He shook her.
Seraphina groaned. Her eyes fluttered open. She looked at him, her pupils dilated—whether from the incense or sheer mania, he couldn’t tell.
“Liam?” she whispered. “You came back p>
“What did you take?” Liam demanded, grabbing her shoulders.
He was coughing now, the smoke irritating his throat.
“Just… water,” she murmured, pointing to a glass on the table. “Help me… my throat burns p>
Liam grabbed the glass. It was half-full of water. Without thinking, he lifted her head and brought the glass to her lips. But she turned her head away.
“You drink,” she said deliriously. “To… to wash away the sins p>
Liam, exhausted, dehydrated from the stress, and not thinking clearly, took a sip of the water to test it. It tasted slightly bitter. He set the glass down.