Audrey Winslow proclaimed her innocence:
“Am I that kind of person?
It was probably my father.
He’s always been worried that there’s something shady about our marriage, afraid you’re keeping a woman on the side and that it will undermine the Winslow Family’s foundation.”
She paused.
“You’d better send someone to protect Miss Quinn secretly.
If my father sets his sights on her, it won’t end well.”
Damian Fairchild’s narrow eyes narrowed even further, and the menacing aura around him grew heavier and more intense.
After seeing off Rhona Langley and the others, Seraphina Quinn began preparing for Sunrise Media’s open casting call for *Phoenix Return*.
*Phoenix Return* was a major IP and Sunrise Media’s biggest project for the second half of the year.
They had publicly announced a budget of two hundred million just for casting, so the competition at this open audition was exceptionally fierce.
Seraphina Quinn spent half the day reading the original novel of *Phoenix Return* and summarizing the characters.
She was a newcomer, not professionally trained, and had no connections.
A leading role was completely out of her league.
So, she set her sights on the role of the female lead’s handmaiden.
When the female lead, Lady Sheridan, entered the palace as a Concubine, she brought four handmaidens with her.
Two died, one was crippled, and one betrayed her.
The two who died lived for five and ten episodes, respectively.
Both died from their own stupidity and were written off before gaining any audience appeal, so Seraphina wasn’t interested in them.
The one who betrayed Lady Sheridan lived the longest, surviving until the final episode, but she was a villainous supporting character—a terrible archetype.
The one who was crippled, however, was a likable character.
She was fiercely loyal to her mistress, surviving with grim determination even after her hands and feet were cut off and her eyes were gouged out, and she stayed by Lady Sheridan’s side until the very end.
Furthermore, the casting call required the actress for this handmaiden to play an ugly character and speak Mongolian.
This would significantly reduce the competition, so Seraphina Quinn felt it was worth a shot.
Once she had her target, Seraphina Quinn started practicing Mongolian by following videos online.
She was a natural when it came to academics; learning languages was no challenge for her.
The hard part was the acting.
She was busy until evening, only closing her laptop when her stomach started to rumble.
The apartment was newly rented.
Other than the essential toiletries she had bought during her hospital stay, she didn’t have any household supplies.
So, Seraphina Quinn planned to go out to a nearby supermarket to buy some things and come back to make noodles for dinner.
The supermarket had discounts after 8 p.m.
So, even after going downstairs, Seraphina Quinn just went to a nearby plaza to practice her acting skills with videos on her phone instead of heading straight to the supermarket.
Whenever she felt hungry, she would take a sip of mineral water.
She managed to wait until eight o’clock, but just as she was getting up to go to the supermarket, a bald man blocked her path.
The bald man had a vicious face and a big, brawny build.
He looked terrifying.
Sensing he was up to no good, Seraphina Quinn instinctively took a step back and turned to run, but the bald man chopped the back of her neck with the side of his hand. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
She collapsed without even a chance to resist.
Damian Fairchild received news that something had happened to Seraphina Quinn just five minutes later.
At that moment, he and Audrey Winslow were having dinner with Mr.
Winslow, who was in Aurelium on a business trip.
In the middle of their toasts, Seth Thorne hurried in from outside, leaned in, and reported in a low voice to Damian Fairchild:
“There’s been an incident.
Miss Quinn has been…
kidnapped.” He paused.
“Our men were a step too late.”
Damian Fairchild’s expression darkened.
He lifted his gaze to Mr.
Winslow, who was seated at the head of the table, and found Mr.
Winslow looking right back at him.
Their eyes met, and Damian Fairchild instantly knew.
‘Mr.
Winslow did this.’
With that thought, Damian Fairchild gestured for Seth Thorne to leave.
Audrey Winslow, sitting beside Damian Fairchild, noticed his grim expression and turned to ask him in a low voice, “What happened?”
Damian Fairchild: “Your father kidnapped Seraphina Quinn.”
Audrey Winslow frowned but didn’t dare to rashly demand the person back from Mr.
Winslow.
She was just a sacrificial pawn used by the Winslow Group to solidify its foundation.
Whether a daughter of the Winslow Family had any say or status depended on her value.
Clearly, although she was the daughter who had married best from the Winslow Group, the actual benefits she brought them were next to none.
She had the least value, and thus, no standing to demand anyone from Mr.
Winslow.
Audrey Winslow lowered her head, took a sip of juice, and mulled over how to bring it up.
But at that moment, Damian Fairchild, who was beside her, spoke directly to Mr.
Winslow:
“Father-in-law, did you come all the way to Aurelium to kidnap my good-for-nothing, useless ex-wife just to threaten me?”
Mr.
Winslow was an old fox.
He replied with a deep, meaningful smile:
“Damian, don’t be so tense.
We’re all men here.
It’s perfectly normal for a man to have a few confidantes on the side.
I was just curious what kind of creature could make my dear son-in-law so concerned.
I have no intention of harming her.”
Damian Fairchild couldn’t be bothered with his political games.
He slammed his wine glass down on the table and demanded her back directly:
“If even a single hair on her head is harmed, your time as my ‘Father-in-law’ is over.”
Mr.
Winslow’s eyes narrowed, his expression turning serious.
“Damian, are you planning to discard me now that you’ve gotten what you wanted?
Don’t forget how you got your position as Mr.
Fairchild in the first place.
Let me be blunt: you can keep women on the side, but Audrey must remain your official wife.
That is my bottom line.”
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When Seraphina Quinn woke up, she found herself next to a trash can in a red-light district.
A foul stench permeated the air.
At the mouth of a nearby alley, streetwalkers were soliciting business.
“Hey, boss, a hundred bucks is already a steal!
Don’t go!”
A drunk man cursed, “Fuck, you look older than my mom and you want a hundred bucks?
Ptooey!”
Realizing the depravity of her surroundings, Seraphina Quinn immediately pushed herself to her feet.
Other than a dull ache on the back of her head, she had no external injuries, but her phone was gone.
The dilapidated streetlights flickered, alternating between dim and dark.
To get out of here, she had to go through the alley ahead, but…
Seraphina Quinn looked down.
Her white dress was severely torn, with a rip that went all the way up to the top of her thigh.
If she paraded through the streets like this, she would definitely attract the attention of men with ill intentions.
“Well now, you must be new here, huh?”
“Damn it, how much?
I’ll book you for the night.”
When the drunkard spotted the scantily clad but pitifully beautiful Seraphina Quinn, he became incredibly excited.
He took a step toward Seraphina Quinn, and she took a step back, until she had nowhere left to retreat, her back pressed against the base of a wall.
As he got closer, the drunkard realized Seraphina Quinn was even more delectable than a siren.
An innocent face, a hot body, and a pair of moist, alluring eyes that made him want to violate her completely, to trample her underfoot right then and there.
“Don’t come any closer.”
As the drunkard lunged at her, Seraphina Quinn bent her knee and kicked him squarely in the groin.
While the drunkard howled in pain, Seraphina Quinn grabbed a beer bottle from a trash can that was over three feet tall and smashed it over his head.
When he was too pained to stand up straight, she took off running.
She was terrified and frantic.
She didn’t notice when she ran right out of her shoes, and didn’t dare to stop even when the sole of her foot was pierced by something sharp…
The wind whistled in her ears.
The alley seemed endlessly long, as if she could never run to the end of it, and all the while, the drunkard was in hot pursuit…
Seraphina Quinn was in pain and despair.
‘I can’t imagine how miserable I’ll be if I fall into his hands.’
Distracted, Seraphina Quinn missed a step and pitched forward violently.
But the expected pain never came.
A strong, powerful arm caught her firmly and pulled her into an embrace.
A familiar male scent, mixed with the faint smell of alcohol on his body, washed over her.
Seraphina Quinn looked up and met the man’s downward gaze.
Her nose tingled.
“Damian Fairchild…
what took you so long?
Waaah~”
An indescribable sense of grievance overwhelmed her, and she broke down sobbing, looking utterly pathetic.