[15 - The Unseen Games]

Seraphina had always loved reading books. Her father had made sure to instill the habit of reading in all three of his children. He would often bring for them various books of different genres. Some fiction, some non-fiction, and sometimes the autobiographies of exemplary individuals. 

He would often tell Seraphina stories of warriors, real life queens, of wars, and of crime. Always reminding her to be careful and alert. There were times when her mother disliked that approach. She would often voice her dislike towards his ways. In response, her father would always say that he was preparing his daughter to not just be a sweet princess but a fierce queen who was aware of how cruel and competitive this world can be.

He was the one who imparted upon her the most valuable lessons Seraphina learned in her life. He was the one whose teachings gave her the courage to rise from the ashes of Caroline Mae Sullivan and become the phoenix called Seraphina Vale.

One such lesson he had taught her was that, 'Not all battles are fought with crawn and weapons; some of the most remarkable wars are won with mind.'

And that's exactly what she was doing with Chloe.

Seraphina was manipulating Chloe using the positive reinforcement method where she would hand Chloe a glass of water only to let the thirsty little canary drink a sip before she snatches it back from her.

Giving her the luxury handbag after getting her slapped by Ivy, then letting her be Dahlia's choice only to be insulted by her. This was how she was manipulating Chloe Grayson because Seraphina knew that hurting Chloe physically would only invite unwanted attention for her. It was not that she was scared of Marcus or any of his allies, it's just that the right time hasn't come yet.

When the time will be right, Seraphina would make a grand entrance in Marcus's life. It wasn't far away in the future but it wasn't near either. Until then, she was going to play to her heart's content.

After secretly clicking a picture of the fallen Chloe, Seraphina donned the mask of sympathy and worry as she stepped forward and towards Dahlia. She held Dahlia's hand and looked at the small wound as if there was no injury as serious as the tiny wound was.

The little blood that Chloe's needle pricking drew was now coagulated leaving a very small stain on the fabric. "Gina, take Dahlia upstairs to my cabin and disinfect her wound. See, if we need to go to the doctor for an injection or something so that it would not get infected."

Seraphina delicately and gently pushed Dahlia towards Gina who took Dahlia upstairs to treat her wound. Once they were gone, Seraphina turned towards Chloe, looking down at her with an overly concerned what-have-you-done look.

"I didn't mean to do it, Seraphina. I didn't mean to." cried Chloe. Seraphina noticed her cheek swelling up and turning bright red, "She was continuously yelling at me, it all made me so nervous that I accidentally -"

"I told you to be careful, didn't I?" by saying this, Seraphina was putting all the blame of Chloe, "I warned you that Dahlia gets angered rather quickly but you -" pinching the bridge of her nose, Seraphina exhaled a frustrated sigh just to add a dramatic affect.

Chloe cried harder, "I am sorry."

"Tch." Seraphina shook her head and said, "We'll talk later, Chloe. For now, you should go and apply some ice on your cheek. It must be hurting." she then turned towards Trisha and Jacob, "You guys, please help her and get her an ice pack. And see, if she needs to see a doctor."

Her other two interns nodded their heads and stepped over to help Chloe stand up. They took her to the medical room and Seraphina told the rest of her employees to disperse and get back to their work.

Afterwards, she went to her cabin where Gina had just finished cleaning Dahlia's tiny wound and applying a band-aid over it.

"Dahlia." Seraphina called out her name grabbing her former mentor's attention. As Gina excused herself, Dahlia and Seraphina shared a smile, "Thank you so much for your help!" exclaimed Seraphina making Dahlia chuckle slightly. A change could be seen in the demeanor of both the women.

"There are only a few things that I wouldn't do for you darling." Dahlia patted Seraphina's cheek like you would do to a child and added, "And this is not among those."

Seraphina laughed and pulled Dahlia towards the couch, "I know you must have many questions but you still came and did what I told you to do without asking any questions. That means a lot to me."

Dahlia smiled and patted Seraphina's hand, "You answered the most important question and there is nothing else that I need to know. Though I am your mentor and we have been friends for so long, I understand that there are things that you don't want to share with me yet."

Seraphina felt extremely thankful towards Dahlia for her understanding behavior, "Maybe one day you would tell me on your own. But until then, I would not ask you to disclose your past and tell me anything."

Seraphina was glad be so lucky to have a mentor, a friend like Dahlia in her life. She had called Dahlia a day ago and had asked her to come in and help her create such a scene.

Dahlia had only asked her one question, "Why are you bullying an employee of yours? What did she do to you to?"

In response, Seraphina had said, "I am not bullying her, Dahlia. I am just settling some old scores. Chloe needs to understand and face the consequences of her past actions. She needs to realize what helplessness actually feels like."

And then Dahlia had agreed. No further questions asked because after working with Seraphina for years, Dahlia knew that Seraphina would never hurt an innocent person. She also felt the pain in Seraphina's voice and after the response she gave her, Dahlia could not say no.

Later, after chatting for sometime, Dahlia left. Once she was gone, Seraphina told Gina to tell Chloe that she could leave for the day to take rest. Only half an hour had passed after Chloe left, that Elijah came to visit. But unlike the last few time, he did not come to for Chloe, but for Seraphina.

Seraphina, who had been anticipating Elijah's arrival, played it cool, "Mr. Grayson, Chloe has already left for home. It seems your coming here was nothing but a waste of time."

Elijah smiled politely, "I didn't come for Chloe today. I came to meet you because I wanted to ask you for a favor."

Seraphina placed her entwined hands on her desk and smiled, "What can I do for you, Mr. Grayson?"

"Actually, the Little Angels society is organizing their annual charity gala this weekend. I was hoping for you to agree to be my plus one for the night." explained Elijah.

Seraphina's eyes twinkled as she smiled. She had received and read the message that Madison had sent her. "Uumm, I have to see if there isn't something important already there on my schedule for that day."

Elijah assumed that Seraphina was no willing to go out with him to the gala and was being polite while implying her refusal. He was about to stand up and leave but stopped when Seraphina added, "How about I take a look at my schedule and see if I can push my other appointments and make a room for the gala night? Would that be okay?" she asked looking so adorable and cute in that moment that Elijah was once again reminded of the years old Caroline from his dreams and memories.

"That would be perfect." he couldn't help but smile wide at finally having the opportunity to know this enigmatic a little more.

"By the way," Seraphina's smile turned mischievous, "Did you figure out the other thing?"

Elijah knew that she meant to ask if he had recalled where the two of them met previously, "Unfortunately, not yet."

Seraphina chuckled, a little shy she looked, "Would you not give me a hint?" asked Elijah, his tone friendly and warm which was unexpected for Seraphina considering she knew him as the cold, stone hearted devil.

"Maybe later." replied Seraphina as she stared directly into Elijah's eyes.

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Meanwhile, Marcus was at home when Chloe burst inside the mansion crying. He noticed the hand print on Chloe's swollen cheek and was ready to go out and shoot the person dead who dared to hurt his baby girl.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Marcus asked gently while holding his darling daughter tightly in his arms as she cried.

On getting no response, Marcus repeated his question in a gentler but firm voice. He pulled back from the hug and cradled Chloe's face in his hands careful to not aggravate her injury, "Darling, don't cry. Just tell Dad what happened, okay. I will make everything alright."

"Just tell me what happened and I promise I will break the hands on that bastard who dared to hurt my princess like this." wiping away his daughter's tears, Marcus tried his best to comfort her and get a name from her so that he could take action but Chloe fainted before she could give him a reply.

Marcus tenderly held onto the unconscious body of his daughter. Picking her up in his arms, he carried her to her bedroom and laid her down while his wife, Katherine, immediately grabbed onto an ointment from the first aid kit to apply onto her daughter's badly swollen cheek.

With red eyes, hands clutched tightly into fists, Marcus stared at his daughter lying unconscious on the bed and vowed to himself to severely punish the one responsible for his daughter's condition.

To think how hypocritical it was for Marcus to be so furious on seeing his daughter hurt when he himself was responsible for all the trauma that Seraphina had suffered.