Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 144

< Chapter 108 fire Serenal

Chapter 108: Fire Serena!

(Author’s POV)

Phineas drove back to the Everett estate.

When he walked into the kitchen, Arthur was there-standing at the counter, holding a glass of water, having just finished a video conference. He took one look at his brother’s face and set the glass down.

Phineas walked into the living room and dropped a folder on the marble coffee table.

“Look at that.”

Arthur picked it up and opened it. Security camera stills, time-stamped and sharp. He turned through them slowly. In each one, the figure crouching at the end of the fifth-floor hallway was the same – slight build, dark hair, the distinctive silver bracelet she’d been wearing since her birthday.

Serena.

Arthur set the folder down. He stood there for a moment with his hands flat on the table, then drew a long breath through his nose.

He went upstairs without a word.

Three minutes later, Serena appeared at the top of the staircase, squinting against the light, her hair still pressed flat on one side from the pillow. She was halfway down the stairs before she saw Phineas standing in the living room.

She stopped.

The sleepiness left her face all at once.

She came the rest of the way down slowly, and when she got close enough to see the photographs spread across the coffee table, the last trace of hope in her expression went flat.

Phineas looked at her without moving.

“Don’t call me uncle,” he said. “Not tonight. Tonight I’m a shareholder of Everett Global, and you’re an employee, and you’re going to explain to me exactly what you thought you were doing.”

Serena opened her mouth.

Arthur cut her off before she could start. “Don’t.” His voice was quiet but hard. “What you did tonight has a name. In any legitimate company, it’s called workplace bullying. That’s not a family matter. That’s a firing offense.”

“I was just-” Serena started.

“You locked a colleague in a room overnight,” Phineas said. “Alone. With no phone access. That’s what you did.”

Chapter 108 Fire Serenal

“It was a joke-”

“Was it?” His voice didn’t rise. It got quieter. “If someone did that to you – locked you in your office, jammed the lock so you couldn’t get out, left you there until morning would you think it was funny?”

Serena didn’t answer.

“A joke,” Phineas said, “requires both people to find it funny. That’s the definition.” He paused. “So I’ll ask you again. Was it a joke?”

She pressed her lips together. Her chin came up. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to do exactly what I’d do with any other employee who pulled something like this.” He said it without hesitation. “Tomorrow morning I’ll notify HR. You’re terminated.”

The word landed in the room and sat there.

Serena stared at him. “You’re serious.”

“I am.”

“Over this? Over one-”

“Yes.” He didn’t let her finish. “Everett Group doesn’t need an employee who bullying her colleagues and thinks her last name makes it acceptable. It doesn’t matter who the target was. It doesn’t matter what the

you did.” reason was. None of that changes what

Serena stood frozen. She knew he would be angry and was prepared to apologize, but she never expected it to be like this.

养

Arthur said nothing. He stood with his arms crossed, his face drawn, and he didn’t say a word in her defense.

Phineas picked up his jacket from the back of the chair and looked at his brother. When he spoke again, his voice had dropped some of its edge – not soft, but less formal.

“I know this puts you in a difficult position. I’m sorry for that.” He held Arthur’s gaze. “But I have to hold the line. That’s why our father handed this company to me. You know that.”

Arthur nodded once. It was a small movement, reluctant and tired, but it was there.

“She didn’t get here on her own,” Phineas continued. “The way she handled this – the lack of judgment, the assumption that there wouldn’t be consequences – that’s been building for a long time. And she didn’t come up with this idea on her own, either.” He paused.

“Someone pointed her at Aurora. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing and knew that Serena wouldn’t see it coming. If you don’t address that now, it’ll happen again. The next person who wants to use her as a tool will have an even easier time of it.”

Arthur’s expression shifted. Phineas didn’t wait for a response. He put on his jacket, walked to the front door, and left.

Chapter 108 Fire Serenal

The house was quiet after the door closed.

Arthur stood in the living room for a moment, then sat down on the sofa. Serena was still standing near the coffee table, her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes red and filling.

She started crying. Not loudly – just the tight, frustrated kind, the kind that comes out when you’ve been caught and there’s nothing left to say.

“He didn’t have to talk to me like that,” she said. “He was so-”

“Stop.” Arthur’s voice was flat. “Don’t.”

She looked at him.

“If you didn’t have the Everett name,” he said, “you would have found out a long time ago what that kind of behavior costs you. In the real world. Without anyone to smooth it over.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and looked at her directly. “I’m not angry at Phineas. I’m angry at myself. I should have had this conversation with you years ago.”

Serena wiped her face with the back of her hand.

“Sienna.” He said the name like it had weight. “You need to stay away from her.”

“She’s friend-”

“She’s not.” His voice was sharp. “That’s done. And whatever she told you, whatever she asked you to do, whatever she made it sound like – she was using you. That’s what she does. She plays the long game and she never shows her hand, and you walked right into it without asking a single question.”

Serena said nothing.

“You were a pawn,” Arthur said. “You still don’t see it. That’s the part that worries me.” He stood up and straightened his shirt. “The Everett name opens doors. But it won’t keep cleaning up your messes forever.”

He went upstairs.

The living room was quiet. Serena sat down on the sofa where her father had been sitting, the photographs still spread on the coffee table in front of her.

She’d locked a door. That was all. She’d thought it was harmless – a prank, something to inconvenience Aurora for one night, nothing that would leave a mark.

She hadn’t expected things to end this way. Her uncle was truly heartless, she thought bitterly to herself.

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