Unloved Unwanted Unstoppable (Seraphina and Dominic) novel Chapter 202

Cynthia trailed closely behind him, and the three of them quickly vanished from the shop's entrance.

Once they were a good distance away, Dominic secured his daughter in the car, let out a slow breath, and settled into his seat.

Cynthia slipped into the back as well, leaving the interior of the car cloaked in heavy silence.

No one spoke a word.

Cynthia clenched her fists tightly.

An unspeakable wave of suffocating frustration churned violently in her chest.

Dominic was already at the absolute pinnacle of Northport's elite; a single word from him could send shockwaves through the entire business district.

Yet, standing in front of Gideon, he was reduced to absolutely nothing.

She bit her lip, replaying the humiliating scene in her mind.

Gideon had actually shown up again.

She looked down at the poster tube resting near her feet.

Inside was a painting worth millions of dollars, won at an auction by Dominic as a gift for her.

The artwork originally belonged to the Sinclair family, sold off during their years of financial ruin; it was an heirloom passed down through Arthur's lineage.

Back then, Clara had secretly sold it for a small fortune to pay for Arthur's life-saving surgery.

When Arthur eventually discovered the truth, he was utterly devastated for months, drowning in guilt for failing to protect his family's legacy.

Witnessing his sorrow, Zachary and Seraphina had sworn to buy it back the moment they had enough money.

However, as years passed, all their inquiries hit a dead end, and the painting vanished from the market.

And now, that very painting was in Cynthia's possession.

She had purposely come today to flaunt the masterpiece by hanging it right at the entrance of The Delight Cafe.

She had thoroughly scouted the place, knowing that Seraphina helped out at the shop every Friday, which guaranteed her attendance today.

She wanted Seraphina to watch helplessly as the sacred family heirloom she dreamt of recovering remained firmly in Cynthia's grasp, treated like a cheap decoration hung at the door of a common cafe.

But she never anticipated that Gideon would interrupt her perfect plan.

Now, she didn't even dare to pull the painting out of its tube.

Brushing off her surprise, she quickly headed to the kitchen to help prepare the meal.

A comfortable silence settled over them.

The following days passed in peaceful routine.

Then, Seraphina received an invitation from Vivian; Tristan was hosting his birthday banquet at Westside Tech Park, and Vivian desperately wanted her there.

Initially, Seraphina intended to decline, but Vivian mentioned they had booked the park's advanced raw material testing facility, meaning the samples they had gathered from the mountains could be precisely analyzed.

That detail undeniably caught Seraphina's interest, so she finally agreed to attend.

Vivian was thrilled and immediately urged Seraphina to bring Zachary along.

Seraphina suddenly understood—that had been Vivian's ultimate goal all along.

Seraphina chuckled and agreed, though she noted that it was entirely up to Zach to decide if he wanted to go.

Vivian eagerly accepted those terms.

Vivian: [Awesome! I'll be waiting for the good news, Seraphina!]