The black car disappeared into the traffic before Seraphina could get a proper look at the driver.
She remained by the window, staring at the empty street.
Something about the car bothered her.
It had been parked across from Alexandria Corporation for almost an hour.
It had not moved, and no one had gotten out.
Then, the moment she noticed it, the headlights came on and it drove away.
She turned from the window.
Lucien was standing near the door.
“You saw it too,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Who was inside?”
“I don’t know.”
Seraphina frowned.
“You’re telling me you don’t know?”
Lucien looked at her calmly.
“I said I don’t know.”
“That sounds strange coming from someone who always seems to know everything.”
“I don’t know everything.”
She folded her arms.
“You act like you do.”
Lucien ignored the comment and walked toward the window.
His eyes followed the road.
“Did you notice anything unusual?”
“Just the car.”
“Anything else?”
Seraphina thought for a moment.
“No.”
Lucien nodded.
“Then don’t worry about it.”
She stared at him.
“That’s your solution to everything.”
“It usually works.”
“It doesn’t work for me.”
Lucien turned toward her.
“Seraphina, if someone is watching you, I’ll find out who.”
His voice was different this time.
There was no teasing.
No arrogance.
He sounded serious.
She studied his face before quietly nodding.
“Fine.”
That evening, Seraphina left Alexandria later than usual.
Most of the employees had already gone home, and the building had become unusually quiet.
Lucien was waiting near the entrance.
“You’re late.”
She looked at him.
“I had work.”
“You should have called.”
“I didn’t know I needed permission to work late.”
Lucien’s eyebrow lifted.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I was thinking you should stop arguing.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Let’s just go home.”
They walked toward the parking lot.
Lucien suddenly stopped.
Seraphina nearly walked into him.
“What?”
He didn’t answer.
His eyes were scanning the surroundings.
“What is it?” she asked again.
“Nothing.”
She sighed.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking around like someone is trying to kill us.”
Lucien looked at her.
“Maybe someone is.”
She stared at him.
“That isn’t funny.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
Before she could respond, his phone rang.
Lucien answered immediately.
“Yes?”
A man’s voice came through.
“Sir, we checked the vehicle.”
Lucien’s expression remained unchanged.
“Who owns it?”
“We’re still tracing it.” The source of this chapter is g.com.
“How long?”
“A few minutes.”
Lucien ended the call.
Seraphina looked at him.
“Was that The Black Covenant?”
“Yes.”
She smiled slightly.
“So you do have people who can actually answer your questions.”
Lucien gave her a look.
“They’re better than most.”
“Are they all as annoying as you?”
“Probably.”
She laughed.
For a moment, the tension disappeared.
Lucien looked at her.
He wasn’t used to that sound.
Her laughter was strangely comforting.
He quickly looked away.
“Get in the car.”
Seraphina smiled.
“Yes, sir.”
The next morning, Seraphina woke earlier than usual.
She stood in front of the mirror, fixing her hair while thinking about everything that had happened.
Adrian Blackwood.
The Black Covenant.
The strange car.
And Lucien’s strange behavior.
She still knew almost nothing about him.
Yet somehow, she trusted him more than she wanted to admit.
When she came downstairs, Lucien was already there.
He was sitting on the sofa, reading something on his phone.
“You’re early,” he said.
“So are you.”
“I’ve been awake.”
Seraphina walked toward the kitchen.
“Do you ever sleep?”
“Sometimes.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is.”
She opened the refrigerator.
“Do you want breakfast?”
“No.”
She turned around.
“Why?”
“I don’t need it.”
She stared at him.
“Right. Of course.”
She prepared her breakfast alone.
A few minutes later, Lucien’s phone rang again.
He answered.
Darius’s voice came through.
“Sir, we found something.”
Lucien stood.
“Talk.”
“The car from yesterday was registered under a company that doesn’t exist anymore.”
Lucien’s eyes narrowed.
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
Darius paused.
“The company was dissolved three years ago.”
Lucien was silent.
“Who owns it?”
“We’re still looking.”
“Find them.”
“Yes, sir.”
The call ended.
Seraphina looked at him.
“What did they find?”
“Nothing important.”
She frowned.
“You’re lying.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Lucien slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Let’s go.”
— This chapter is updated first at g.com.
That night, they returned home later than usual.
Seraphina stepped out of the car and looked around.
The street was quiet.
Too quiet.
Lucien closed the car door.
Then he stopped.
His eyes fixed on the road.
Seraphina followed his gaze.
The same black car was parked across the street.
Her stomach tightened.
“That’s the car.”
Lucien nodded.
“Stay behind me.”
This time, she didn’t argue.
The car remained still.
Neither of them moved.
Then the driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out.
He closed the door slowly.
Seraphina couldn’t see his face clearly from the distance.
Lucien stepped forward.
“Stay here.”
She grabbed his sleeve.
“Lucien.”
He looked at her hand.
Her left hand.
The black cross was hidden beneath her sleeve.
For a brief moment, his expression softened.
“I’ll be right back.”
He gently removed her hand from his sleeve.
Then he walked toward the stranger.
The man took several steps forward.
Lucien’s eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?”
The stranger stopped.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked past Lucien.
Straight at Seraphina.
Something about that look made Lucien’s expression change.
He stepped directly in front of Seraphina.
“Don’t look at her.”
The stranger finally smiled.
“I wasn’t looking for you.”
Lucien’s eyes became cold.
“Then who were you looking for?”
The man said nothing.
He reached inside his coat.
Seraphina’s breath caught.
Lucien immediately turned toward her.
“Run inside.”
But before she could move, the stranger pulled out something small.
Not a weapon.
A photograph.
He held it up.
Seraphina couldn’t see it clearly from where she stood.
But Lucien did.
And the moment he saw the photograph, he froze.
For the first time that night, Seraphina saw genuine shock on his face.
The stranger smiled.
“You should ask your grandfather about this.”
Seraphina’s heart stopped.
“My grandfather?”
The man turned around and walked back toward the car.
Lucien didn’t follow him.
He simply stared at the photograph in the man’s hand until the car disappeared into the darkness.
Seraphina slowly approached him.
“What did he mean?”
Lucien remained silent.
“Lucien.”
He finally looked at her.
“I don’t know.”
But this time, Seraphina could tell something was different.
He wasn’t hiding the answer.
He genuinely didn’t have it.
And somewhere far away, inside the moving black car, the stranger looked down at the photograph.
A younger Alexander Vale stood in front of an old building.
Beside him were two people Seraphina had never seen before.
The stranger folded the photograph and whispered,
“Five months is a long time to stay away, Alexander.”
The car disappeared into the night.