**Chapter 19**
The glass window of the VIP room was battered by the heavy rain, making a frustrating racket.
When Damien walked in, the two bodyguards immediately straightened their backs.
He pushed the door open directly. Brooke was staring blankly by the window. Hearing the commotion, she flinched, nearly dropping the water cup in her hand.
“Brother… brother…”
She scrambled to her feet, her eyes darting away.
“I… I was just getting Miss Reed some hot water…”
Damien gave a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping over her trembling fingers.
“What are you afraid of?”
“N–nothing…”
Brooke shook her head frantically, her back pressed tight against the wall, wishing she could shrink into a ball.
Seraphina, who had been feigning sleep on the bed, immediately opened her eyes when she heard voices.
D
9:29 AM
<
Upon seeing Damien’s grim face, she instinctively shrank into the covers, but still forced a gentle smile.
“Damien, you came to see me?”
Ever since she was forcibly admitted to this private hospital three days ago, she had been monitored 24 hours a day like a prisoner.
“What have you found?”
Damien didn’t look at her, asking the bodyguard at the door directly.
“Miss Reed has been very cooperative these past three days, it’s just…”
The bodyguard handed over a tablet.
“She secretly contacted someone from the Reed family this morning.”
Seraphina’s face instantly paled.
“I just asked my family to send some change of clothes!”
Damien finally looked at her, his eyes as cold as if looking at a lifeless object.
He unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down, crossing his long legs.
“Any news from France?”
This question was directed at the assistant who had followed him in.
“Not yet.”
The assistant’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
“Miss Elara was last seen on surveillance at Charles de Gaulle Airport, and then it’s as if she vanished into thin air…”
“Someone must have tried to erase her tracks…”
“Useless!”
The shattering sound of a glass slamming against the wall made everyone flinch.
Damien loosened his tie, the oppressive aura of his rage making it hard to breathe.
“Keep looking. Turn every Chinese community in France upside down.”
After the assistant hastily retreated, only the beeping of the monitor remained in the room.
“Damien, did you come here for something in particular today?”
Seraphina forced a stiff smile, breaking the silence first.
Damien said nothing walking directly to her He grabbed a handful of her long hair dragging her entirely off the badl
D
<
Seraphina cried out in pain, tears instantly gushing from her eyes, her scalp feeling like it was being ripped off.
She landed miserably on the floor, looking up to meet Damien’s icy eyes, her heart sinking sharply.
Intense humiliation and fury were followed by boundless terror.
“Damien… what’s wrong?”
Her voice trembled, yet she still tried to maintain composure.
“Is… is something wrong with the baby?”
Damien’s lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were chillingly cold.
“Nothing much. Just found something interesting, and I wanted to invite Miss Reed to see it with me.”
He released her hair and turned to the hospital room’s television, connecting his phone to it.
Seraphina slumped on the floor, watching the TV screen light up, her ominous premonition growing stronger.
“What is th-”
Her voice died in her throat.
On the screen was none other than footage from her birthday banquet!
She saw herself elegantly approaching Elara, feigning conversation, then, as she turned, slipping the blue diamond necklace into Elara’s pocket…
“No, it’s not…”
Seraphina’s face changed. She looked at Damien pitifully.
“I can explain everything…”
But Damien just watched the surveillance footage with a cold expression, not saying a single word.
The footage continued to play-
Elara was pressed to the ground by bodyguards and searched. Brooke held up the necklace triumphantly. Elara was dragged towards the guest room. The vagrant slinked in after her….
Seraphina trembled all over, not daring to look at Damien’s expression.
The next second, she struggled to lunge forward and turn off the TV.
“No! Don’t play it! Don’t play it!”
But Damien violently yanked her hair, fine strands breaking from her scalp. His other hand clamped down hard on her
wrist, with a force that threatened to crush her bones.
“What’s the rush?”
<
C
€
His voice was soft, but it sent shivers down one’s spine.
“The show has just begun.”
She watched, wide–eyed, as the muffled groan of the vagrant came from the screen, followed by Elara stumbling out of the room, frantically rushing into Damien’s room.
It was a long time before anyone came out, until she herself appeared in the footage.
Then, a clear sound suddenly blared from the TV-
*Smack!*
It was Seraphina’s own harsh slap landing on Elara’s face.
“…How dare you try to seduce him again?!”
Her shrill voice echoed through the room.
“Get her back to the Sterling mansion immediately!”
