The truth was still too much for everyone in that room to process, but Seraphine only let out a cold scoff. Watching Ravyn struggle to breathe under the weight of it all brought her no joy.

It only dragged her right back to the day he stood in front of her without a shred of mercy and told her he’d killed their daughter. Now he was finally tasting that same kind of agony himself.

"Oh, spare me the drama." Her lips curled with bitter resentment as she folded her arms. "I only wanted to teach you a lesson, and from the look on your face, you finally learned it."

Ravyn’s shoulders loosened just a little. His heart scrambled for anything, any scrap of proof that this was all some terrible misunderstanding. "I... I don’t get it," he admitted, genuine confusion filling his voice.

Seraphine rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt. "Why are you this slow?" she snapped. "You looked after Bryan for only a few months, yet somehow you think that stacks up against the six years I spent raising him?" She tightened her arms across her chest. "Why do you think I used the name Marjorie?"

A wave of confusion rippled through the room. Most of the people standing there couldn’t follow what she meant. Only Ravyn and Corvine understood.

Ravyn’s eyes widened first. "So... all this time..." His brows drew together. "The reason you never fully developed your other talents was because every bit of your time went into taking care of Bryan?"

Seraphine let out an irritated sigh. "Finally. Looks like your brain is working again." Her gaze met his squarely. "Everyone gets twenty-four hours in a day. I chose Bryan. Every hour I spent taking care of him was time I could’ve used improving my other skills, building a career, or making a name for myself. Even then, I never stopped supporting you."

Ravyn froze as she continued to speak.

"I invested every dollar I earned from those private jobs into your company," she continued, pointing at herself. "Under the name Marjorie Steward."

The words landed like thunder. Everything suddenly made sense. When Ravyn found out Seraphine showed up as Marjorie to claim back all her investment, he thought she was just a bitter woman but as it turned out, she had made so much sacrifice for him that he never even knew.

The blood drained from Ravyn’s face. His breathing turned uneven as the truth crashed into him.

The confession felt like another knife twisting deep in his chest. His lips trembled. "Sera..." His voice barely rose above a whisper. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

For a moment Seraphine just stared at him. Then she laughed. It wasn’t joyful and it wasn’t mocking. It was the heartbreaking sound of someone who had long since stopped expecting to be understood. "Tell you?" She shook her head slowly. "Did you ever believe a single thing that came out of my mouth?"

Silence swallowed the room. Her eyes glistened, though not a single tear fell. "Even today," she went on quietly, "with everyone standing right here and the evidence laid out in front of you, you still doubted me. That’s why it took so long. While I was gone, I wasn’t hiding. I was gathering every piece of proof I needed to clear my name."

Those words carried years of pain, years of humiliation, years of being called a liar, a bully, years of watching people spit on her name while she endured everything alone. Pretending not to care had become the only way she knew how to survive.

Ravyn felt like someone had wrapped heavy chains around his chest. For years he had convinced himself Seraphine was the gold digger, loving him too much because of his title.

Yet the truth standing in front of him painted a completely different picture. She had protected him, supported him, sacrificed for him, loved him, and he had repaid her by destroying everything she treasured.

His throat tightened until it hurt. "No..." He stumbled backward a step. "No..." His voice cracked. "You can’t be telling me..." He swallowed hard, struggling for air. "You’re saying I killed my daughter, for a child that wasn’t even mine?"

The words echoed through the room like a death sentence. His face had gone ghostly white. Even Seraphine looked drained as she rubbed her forehead.

Nearby, Raul felt every ounce of strength leave his body. His legs nearly buckled. After everything that had just been exposed, he knew his fate was already sealed.

He secretly glanced toward the exit, hoping maybe, just maybe, he could slip away the way Beta Chuck and his wife had managed to do. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

But the second he raised his head, that fragile hope vanished. Every direction was blocked. Cold, hostile eyes tracked his every move—Corvine, Kael, even Damon.

If he somehow reached the door, he would never make it outside alive. His breathing turned shallow.

Damon stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "Ravyn." His calm voice somehow made the air even heavier. "Bryan’s biological father is Raul. It seems that everything your ex-wife has said is the truth."

Gasps erupted around the hall, Raul shut his eyes. It was over. Damon looked toward Daisy. "And only Daisy can tell you why."

The final piece fell into place. It felt as though Ravyn had just woken from a nightmare only to discover his real life was even worse. His expression darkened. The last bit of warmth drained from his eyes, replaced by something terrifying.

He slowly turned toward Damon. "You knew?" His voice was frighteningly calm. "You knew all this time, and never told me?"

Damon met his stare without flinching, his jaw tightened. "I heard plenty after I started working here. Including the fact that you fired a doctor because he tried to tell you Daisy ordered her own blood drained so she could receive Seraphine’s instead."

Ravyn’s pupils shrank. That memory came rushing back with brutal force. Callum’s repeated warnings, which he readily ignored. Almost mechanically, he lifted his head.

Across the room Callum stood silently watching him. There was no satisfaction in his eyes, only deep disappointment. Slowly, Callum shook his head.

Ravyn remembered signing off on that resignation without giving the man a chance to explain. He had trusted Daisy completely, more than everyone else, even more than his own wife.

Regret wrapped around his heart until he could barely breathe. But then another horrifying realization surfaced. If Damon had kept this from him, then how many other secrets were buried underneath everything? How many lies had Daisy fed him over the years?

His breathing grew rough. His chest rose and fell hard. Then another thought exploded inside his head. Bryan wasn’t his son, meaning another man had slept with the woman he had treasured. That single thought ignited every last ounce of fury left in him.

His eyes slowly lifted toward Raul. Without another word, Ravyn started walking, each step echoed across the silent hall, steady, heavy, terrifying.

Raul instinctively backed away, his entire body trembling. "N-No..." His voice barely worked. He kept retreating until his back slammed against a heavy wooden table. There was nowhere left to run.

Ravyn stopped directly in front of him. The air between them felt suffocating. His eyes burned with murderous rage. His fists clenched so tightly the veins bulged under his skin. For several long seconds he simply stared at Raul. Then his voice came out low and deadly.

"Is it true?"

His jaw flexed hard. Every word dripped with barely restrained fury.

"Did you fuck my woman?"

Funny enough he could not even look at Daisy. His gaze travelled apologetically to where Seraphine stood but she wasn’t there. Where had she gone?