Chapter 267

SERAPHINA’S POV If there’s one thing I’ve mastered, it’s performance. Every glance, every sigh, every tear that clung just so to my lashes—it was all calculated, measured, and delivered with the precision of a seasoned actress. And the best part? They all believed it. No one questioned how the accident happened. No one cared to wonder if perhaps Seraphina, the darling daughter, might have had a hand in her own misery. No. They were too busy gasping, too busy scolding Aurelia, too busy eating the spectacle I’d laid before them. This time, there were no accomplices within the family. No whispering to Father. No little nudges to Mother. Not even Darius or Kael. I didn’t need them. All I needed was a handful of well-placed wolves in the pack, the kind that sold secrets and gossip like bread. I fed them a story, laced with just enough truth to taste real, and let them carry it like wildfire: Aurelia had been the last one with me. Aurelia had pushed me too far. Aurelia had always been like t