Howard’s face faltered for a second, then hardened into anger. “That was my mistake,” he said tightly. “I thought she caused trouble. I judged wrong. But you—” He pressed his thumb into the envelope he had kept on the desk, as if the paper had weight enough to prove his point. “You ruined everything.”
“Ruined everything?” Seraphine scoffed. “She took what’s mine—my child, my place. If anyone ruined something, it’s her stealing what’s rightfully ours.”
“From now on,” Howard said, voice flat and final, “you will not receive a single cent from me. Not one penny. You will have no claim on my estate. Not a thing.”
Seraphine’s face blanched. She straightened, chest trembling. “I’ll tell my mother about this…” she hissed. “You’ll see. She will make you change your mind.”
Howard’s jaw tightened. “Do it,” he said. “Tell her. See what she says now.”
The room fell into a brittle silence, then a polite knock sounded at the door. A woman entered in heels and silk, calm in a way that seemed practiced. Lana, Seraphine’s mother and Mr. Howard’s second wife, surveyed the scene with the easy authority of someone used to smoothing storms.
“What is this?” she asked.