Unloved Unwanted Unstoppable (Seraphina and Dominic) novel Chapter 110

The officer stood up and discussed the situation with Seraphina. "We encounter this quite often. Normally, we take them back to the station and run their information through the missing persons database to locate their family. How about we take her with us for now..."

"No."

The old lady suddenly seized Seraphina's wrist in a death grip.

"I'm not going. I won't go to that place," she shook her head, a layer of sheer panic glossing over her cloudy eyes. "I'm going home with my sweetheart. I stay wherever she stays."

The officer crouched back down, gently trying to persuade her, but the old woman refused to let go.

She squeezed Seraphina's wrist, her small frame trembling violently, clearly terrified of being taken away by force.

Seraphina looked down at the deeply lined, panicked face, and felt a sudden, sharp tug at her heart.

It vividly reminded her of the year she had gone missing at age five.

She had been exactly like this—cowering on an unfamiliar street corner, clutching desperately to a stranger's shirt, terrified to let go because they were the only person who had shown her any kindness.

"Let's do this," Seraphina said, looking at the officers. "She won't go, and I physically cannot force her. My apartment is just upstairs. I'll take her up, get her some food, and let her rest. You guys can run her information, and once you locate her family, just give me a call."

The officer nodded. "That works. Are you absolutely sure it's not an imposition? Sometimes it takes a while to track down relatives—"

"It's fine," Seraphina replied without hesitation. "It's just an extra plate at the table."

She crouched down and extended a hand to the trembling woman. "Come on, ma'am. Let's go make you some dinner."

Seraphina guided her step-by-step toward the building entrance and led her up into her apartment.

"Here, ma'am. Let's change your shoes," Seraphina said, opening the door and placing a pair of soft slippers on the floor.

The old lady stood in the doorway, staring around the space for a long moment, as if determining whether it was a safe environment.

Finally, she bent down and slid her feet into the slippers.

Seraphina helped her settle onto the sofa, then went into the bedroom to grab a light throw blanket, draping it carefully over the woman's knees.

"Just relax here for a bit. I'm going to whip something up in the kitchen."

Looking at her, Seraphina was suddenly reminded of the Lockwood grandmother.

They were around the same age, sharing that exact same tender, grandmotherly warmth.

That woman had been one of the very few sources of genuine comfort during Seraphina's suffocating marriage.

She wondered how the Lockwood grandmother's health was holding up these days.

Seeing that her guest had finished eating, Seraphina shook off her thoughts, gathered the dishes, and carried them into the kitchen to wash, the apartment settling into a peaceful, cozy quiet.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of Northport.

Gideon Cole sat in the expansive living room of his villa. Over a dozen men stood before him, heads bowed in heavy, suffocating silence.

He wore a crisp black dress shirt, one hand resting on the arm of the sofa, his fingers tapping a slow, rhythmic beat against the leather.

"If you can't find her, double your manpower and keep searching. You will find my grandmother."