Seraphine studied Santiago carefully, her gaze steady, her breathing even, while a quiet certainty settled deep in her chest, because something about his confidence felt incomplete, like he was standing in the middle of a storm he didn’t even realize had already begun to tear everything apart outside those walls.
"I’m not marrying you," she said, her voice calm but unyielding, every word landing with quiet force. "And you’re not doing anything to me."
For a brief second, silence stretched between them, thick and charged, before Santiago let out a low exhale, the kind that carried impatience wrapped in control.
"For the last time," he said, his tone tightening, "marry me." He took a slow step closer, his eyes dark with intent that made the air feel heavier. "We harvest organs, expand everything I’ve built, and you use that charm of yours to bring in more children..." His lips curved into something disturbingly satisfied. "Then we run the underworld together."
The words hit hard, but Seraphine’s reaction wasn’t fear. It was disgust. Raw, unfiltered disgust that flashed across her face before she even tried to hide it, her eyes sharpening as something colder settled in its place.
"I’m going to free those kids," she said, her voice dropping, each word edged with promise. She didn’t want him to know she already had. "And I’ll make sure every single one of them stands in court and tells the world exactly what you’ve done." She leaned forward just slightly, her gaze locking onto his. "There’s nowhere for you to go, Santiago. It’s over. You just haven’t caught up yet."
For the first time, something flickered across his expression. Not fear, but irritation mixed with disbelief.
He tilted his head, studying her like she had just said something ridiculous.
"Do you even understand where you are?" he asked, his voice quieter now, but carrying a sharper edge. "From the moment you stepped foot in here, you were never meant to walk out." His gaze dragged over her, slow, possessive, unsettling. "Unless you agree to marry me..." He paused, letting the weight of his next words settle in. "I’ll use you however I want. No one’s ever going to see you again."
A soft scoff slipped from Seraphine, her lips curling slightly as she shook her head, like she almost found him amusing. "You really think so," she said, her tone laced with disbelief.
"I do," Santiago replied instantly, his confidence snapping back into place like armor. "Because no one can get into anything I run."
That was the opening she had been waiting for. Slowly, Seraphine adjusted her position, every movement controlled, every second stretched with purpose as her mind stayed locked on one goal. Buy time, keep him talking, keep him distracted.
"If your security was that tight," she said, her voice smooth, almost conversational, "then how have I managed to tear everything apart from the inside?"
The change in his expression was immediate. Subtle, but unmistakable. "As long as I’m here," she continued, her tone steady, her confidence unshaken, "nothing you try is going to work. Your tech team can sit in front of their screens all day and all night, but they’re not getting past what I put in place."
It was like watching realization crash into him all at once. His eyes narrowed, his posture tightening as the pieces began to fall together in his mind, faster and faster, until the truth stood right in front of him.
"So it’s you?" he demanded, his voice rising, edged with disbelief and anger. "You’re the one who went after my servers?"
Up until now, he had assumed she had only wandered into places she shouldn’t have been, that the issues with his system were nothing more than temporary technical issues his team would fix soon enough.
He hadn’t even considered her and now, the truth stood there, staring him in the face.
That same "ant" he had dismissed. The anger that surged through him came fast and unfiltered, raw enough to burn, but Seraphine didn’t flinch. She had to get out before the bomb goes out.
"There’s a lot you don’t know about me," she said, her voice calm, her gaze unwavering as it held his. "But I’ll tell you this much..." A faint, dangerous smile curled her lips. "Today is where everything you built falls apart."
Something in him snapped. "Guards!" Santiago roared, his voice echoing through the room, sharp and commanding.
More men rushed in immediately, their footsteps heavy against the floor, their presence closing in around her from every direction.



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