Unloved Unwanted Unstoppable (Seraphina and Dominic) novel Chapter 36

"You took Lauren's dress, didn't you?" Eleanor demanded, her tone accusatory. "She needed that for her competition. Why would you steal her dress? You have a closet full of clothes! Why do you always insist on competing with her?"

Seraphina's voice was pure ice. "That dress belongs to me. She's the one who tried to steal it."

Lauren's eyes instantly filled with tears. "Seraphina is right... It's my fault. I... I know I've occupied your rightful place in this family for all these years. It's only natural that you despise me..."

Right on cue, the perfectly formed tears spilled down her cheeks.

Eleanor's heart broke for her. She pulled Lauren into a fierce hug and shot Seraphina a venomous glare. "What did Lauren ever do wrong? If she hadn't been here to keep us sane all these years, we wouldn't have survived!"

Seraphina stood perfectly still, her fingers slowly curling into tight fists.

She had heard this exact speech a thousand times, yet the utter betrayal still burned like acid.

She stared dead at Eleanor. "So I'm just supposed to hand over everything to her? First it was my biological parents, now it's my own daughter. Every luxury, every advantage, even the car this family supposedly bought for me—she snapped her fingers, and you gave it to her. Is none of that enough?"

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Alistair slammed his hand against the coffee table. "You're the older sister! It's your duty to yield to her! It's just a damn dress, why are you being so petty?"

Looking at her biological father, the last flickering ember of warmth Seraphina held for this family died completely.

"That dress is important to me," she stated, her voice dangerously calm. "I have a competition to attend as well. I'm not giving it up."

"You—" Alistair shot up from the sofa, his face purple with rage. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

Eleanor's expression turned frigid. "You used to be so compliant. When did you become so horribly selfish?"

Seraphina didn't respond.

It was a stack of photocopies detailing massive corporate fraud and embezzlement within Alistair's company. If this leaked to the public, the fines alone would bankrupt him, and the criminal charges would put him away for years.

"Seraphina, are you insane?" Eleanor shrieked, her voice cracking in terror.

Watching their absolute panic, Seraphina felt no rush of victory. She just felt exhausted.

"I'm perfectly sane," she replied evenly. "I'm just done letting you use my real family as leverage."

Alistair glared at her, the sheer hatred in his eyes practically radioactive. "You're blackmailing me? I am your biological father!"

"My biological father?" Seraphina let out a dark, breathless laugh. "You never raised me for a single day. Even after you 'brought me back,' you never gave me a dime. My college tuition was paid for by the family who actually loved me. Every meal I've eaten, every piece of clothing I wear, I earned myself. What exactly have you done for me, other than use the people I love to control me?"