Chapter 91: Chapter 91 Stolen Daughter Revealed
Seraphina’s POV
My feet froze at the entrance to his office.
Julian stood there holding Theo against his hip, with Elena positioned right beside them. The scene hit me like a physical blow to the chest.
They appeared to be the perfect family unit. It wasn’t simply their proximity that wounded me. Elena tilted toward him naturally as she spoke, while Julian’s hand settled comfortably on her shoulder as he lowered Theo to the floor. The image cut through my heart like broken glass.
That should have been my life.
The familiar voice of self-doubt began its cruel whisper in my head. I could have maintained our family together, raised my son alongside his father, and perhaps I wouldn’t be standing here now, consumed by terror over whether my other child was safe, whether she even recognized her mother’s face.
The ache nearly forced a gasp from my throat. I had to end this spiral of self-pity. I needed to speak with him.
"Julian," I interrupted, my voice harsher than planned.
All three turned toward me. Elena offered a warm smile with genuine politeness.
Theo, bless his heart, immediately dropped his toy car and rushed in my direction.
"Mommy!"
He collided with my legs, wrapping them in a fierce embrace. His small, warm body was the only anchor keeping me from falling apart completely. I pressed my face into his soft hair briefly, breathing in that precious, familiar smell that always grounded me. For an instant, the world felt slightly more bearable.
Over Theo’s head, I met Julian’s gaze. His expression had shifted to deep concern. "We need to talk."
Theo stepped back while maintaining his grip on my hand. He glanced at Elena, who observed us with quiet attention.
"Mommy," he whispered with obvious disappointment, "can I play with Elena? Please? Just for a few minutes?"
Both Julian and Elena waited for my response. Refusing would create unnecessary tension. These children shared blood as half-siblings, and I couldn’t make them suffer for the mistakes adults had made.
"Alright," I managed to say. I attempted a casual but firm tone. "Yes, you may play."
Theo’s expression brightened immediately.
"However," I raised one finger, meeting his eyes directly, "I will come for you in exactly twenty minutes. Ask someone to set a timer, understood? And you must remain on the playground. Stay close."
I hoped he grasped that ’stay close’ meant ’don’t go anywhere near Elena’s home.’
"Okay, Mommy! I promise!" He squeezed me one final time, planted a kiss on my cheek, then hurried over to take Elena’s hand.
The moment they disappeared from view, I collapsed into Julian’s embrace.
He appeared startled, but before he could form a question, I was clinging desperately to him, my arms circling his waist tightly as I buried my face against his chest.
"Seraphina, what’s wrong?" he asked, his voice dropping to an alarmed whisper. His powerful arms immediately enclosed me, holding me close.
The instant his touch registered, everything I’d been holding back came flooding out. The crying wasn’t pretty or controlled. It was raw, choking sobs that shook my entire body. Yet being held felt incredible. His presence, his warmth, and the steady, comforting rumble of his wolf beneath the surface began to quiet the screaming panic in my chest.
"Everything," I managed between gasps, inhaling his distinctive scent of pine and leather that belonged only to him. "Everything has gone wrong. This is all because of me."
"Calm down. Tell me what happened. You need to breathe." His hand moved in soothing circles across my back as he guided us toward his chair, though I refused to release my hold on him.
When the tears finally exhausted themselves and the sobs faded to trembling breaths, I managed to pull back enough to see his face.
"Julian," I whispered, the words bitter on my tongue. "We have a daughter."
He stared at me blankly, confusion replacing worry. "What do you mean? We have Theo. And Elena is my daughter. What are you saying?"
A horrible realization crossed his features. His eyes narrowed and his voice took on a sharp, dangerous edge. "Seraphina, please don’t tell me you hid another daughter from me too."
"No!" I cried out, the denial ripping from my throat. "I had no idea either! I swear I didn’t know!"
I broke free completely and began pacing frantically in front of him, too agitated to remain still.
"Dorian. He has evidence. He sent it to me."
Julian’s head jerked up. "What? Dorian? What are you talking about? And why were you in contact with that psychopath, Seraphina? I told you to avoid him!"
"I didn’t contact him!" I screamed, running trembling fingers through my hair. "He sent me a message. He sent me my hospital records from Theo’s birth."
I stopped pacing and drew a shuddering breath. "Julian, they only handed me one baby that day. Theo. But Dorian’s documents, and then I contacted the hospital directly for my complete medical records, and they verified it."
His jaw clenched tight. "Verified what, Seraphina? Tell me!"
"I delivered twins," I whispered. "Julian, we had twins. A boy and a girl."
The silence stretched endlessly. He simply stared at me in shock, struggling to process the impossible revelation.
"Someone stole her," I continued, desperate to get all the terrible facts out before I collapsed again. "Someone took her the day she was born. And that someone is Dorian."
His eyes widened in disbelief, then his face transformed with pure, murderous rage.
"He’s controlling her, Julian," I rushed on, grabbing his jacket. "He’s blackmailing me. He said if I ever told you about her, if you discovered the truth, we would never see our daughter again."
Julian went completely rigid. He didn’t move or speak. For several agonizing moments, he simply sat frozen in place.
"Julian, what do we do?" I shook his arms, desperate for him to respond, needing his strength.
He finally moved, shooting to his feet so violently the chair scraped across the floor. He towered over me, his hands trembling slightly.
"This better be some twisted joke, Seraphina," he said slowly, his voice deadly quiet. "Some nightmare..."
"It’s not!" I insisted. "We have to find her. We have to bring her home!"
For the first time since meeting him, I witnessed Julian’s true fury. I thought I’d seen him angry before, but this was different. This wasn’t mere frustration or irritation. This was primitive, terrifying wrath. His eyes, normally warm hazel, seemed to burn from within. His wolf was surfacing, ready to destroy everything in its path.
I quickly seized his hand, trying to anchor him before he lost control. "Julian, breathe. Please. We need to think clearly."
He gripped my hand so tightly it was painful, but I welcomed the sensation.
"I swear to you, Seraphina," he growled, his teeth bared as he spoke. "This was his final mistake. I will locate that monster. I will find our daughter. And then I will destroy Dorian."
"How?" I demanded details. I needed a strategy.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing his human side to regain control over his wolf. His eyes still blazed, but rational thought was returning.
"First," he said, drawing me close and dropping his voice to a conspirative whisper. "No one can learn about our daughter. Above all, Dorian must believe you kept this secret from me."
He locked eyes with me, his cold determination holding me captive.
"We’re going to play his twisted game now, Seraphina. And we’re going to destroy him at it."
