[03 - A Night of Consequences]

Seraphina sat down on the couch with her dinner and turned on the television. It was time to put her next plan into action. Chloe was the only one whom she had a little thing planned against today. Ethan Grayson was also going to suffer the consequences of his past actions. Like his family members, Ethan too had a part in her sufferings.

A year older than her, Ethan was the carbon copy of Marcus Grayson. Seraphina still had several scars spread across her body that were a gift from Ethan. He would use her as a punching bag to let out his anger. 

She was 13 that year and had lost all hope of being saved. That fateful day, a 14-year-old Ethan had tried to assault her but fortunately, Ethan's mother, Marcus's wife, found him and took him back. That night she was beaten again for apparently, seducing Ethan.

Who in the sane mind would believe that a 13-year-old, beaten and bruised prisoner, tried to seduce someone?

That's Grayson's for you. They are ruthless, merciless, corrupt, greedy, and insane people who think too highly of themselves.

The humiliation that Chloe had to face today and the ordeals that she would face later were planned according to her acts of cruelty against Seraphina. But what she has in mind for Ethan and Elijah would not only be based on their actions towards her and her family but also on what Marcus did to both her elder brothers.

Nate and Chrissy. 

Nathaniel Sullivan and Christopher Sullivan.

They were 20 and 16 years old respectively, when Marcus shot them both to death. The then 10 years old, Seraphina had watched the horror happening right in front of her eyes and was haunted by it till date.

Her parents were already dead when her brothers were shot. They did not see their children dying but Seraphina was made to watch the light of life vanish from each of her family members eyes.

It was so easy for Marcus to take their lives as if they were insignificant. Tonight, Marcus Grayson will experience what it feels like to lose someone you love. Well, almost.

She wasn't going to kill Ethan. Not yet. Not so early.

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Chloe spent the whole day partying and shopping to vent her anger after being humiliated by that chit of an actress in front of so many people. She could still feel the sting of Ivy's slap and the embarrassment that she had caused her today.

She was so excited for her first day at her favorite fashion company but it turned out to be one of the worst days that she had experienced. Firstly, Seraphina insulted her fashion choices which Chloe could forgive because she was "The Seraphina Vale" after all.

But Ivy Morgan.

That cheap actress had no right to insult her but she dared to slap her. She had thought that after partying, drinking, and shopping, her mood would turn better but the memory of her being slapped continued to flash in front of Chloe's eyes. The anger she had felt at that moment still simmered beneath her skin.

If that wasn't enough, her bad luck continued to strike her even when she went to shop. She had decided to buy these designer pair of heels that she had been eyeing since they were launched. There were only 30 pairs made worldwide and each pair was customized to fit only the owner's feet.

Chloe entered the high-end store along with a few of her girlfriends, her presence commanding attention. It happened when her foot measurements were being taken for the custom heels. The stupid, irritating girl who they had hired to take the measurements poked her so hard with the stencil that it caused her to yelp in pain.

The sudden action caused the cup of iced tea in her hand to spill over her dress ruining it completely. She had immediately yelled for the manager and got that stupid girl fired on spot.

That did help ease her anger a little bit but Chloe was still mortified and simmering in rage over what had happened in the morning.

At first, she had decided to talk to her father about it but then thought otherwise. Her father was a busy man and Ivy Morgan was nothing but a measly fly. There was no need for her to bring her father into this when she was capable of handling that Ivy by herself.

Determined to handle it on her own, Chloe took out her cell phone and gave a call to a minion of hers, "I need you to gather information on Ivy Morgan," she commanded. "I want to know everything about her."

With that taken care of, Chloe headed downstairs for dinner. The Grayson family had already gathered in the lavish dining room, the table set with exquisite china and crystal. The Sullivan family was also there along with their son Asher Sullivan whom Chloe had a minor crush on and Caroline, William's niece whom he treated like his own daughter.

Caroline was also the fiancée of Ethan and Chloe's best friend.

"Hey there sweetheart!" Marcus greeted his daughter with a genuinely sweet smile and pulled out a chair for her, "How was your day?"

"It was fine, Dad." Chloe replied with a smile. "Just encountered a minor inconvenience, but nothing I can't handle." she said while sitting next to Caroline

"Good," Marcus nodded, satisfied. "It's important to deal with such nuisances swiftly."

Chloe nodded while a maid served food on her plate. Twisting the fork in the spaghetti, she turned to talk to Caroline, "So, I hear a little birdie say that my brother is planning to take you on a cruise on your birthday. Is that correct?"

Caroline blushed at being teased while the others laughed and joined in on the light hearted conversation.

"By the way, Kathy, William suggested that we should hold an engagement party for Caroline and Ethan on Caroline's birthday, next month. What do you think?" Marcus asked his wife Katherine while others except Asher stared at her eagerly waiting for a response.

Katherine chuckled, looking a little nervous, "Aye! Why are you all looking at me like that? Do you think I would argue against such a great idea?"

The elders smiled while Asher and Chloe teased Caroline mercilessly. They were such a picture perfect family, but they all were just a bunch of criminals gathered together for one purpose.

Money.

"Where is Ethan, by the way? Is he not going to join us for dinner?" questioned Caroline.

Without a second of hesitation, Marcus replied, "Ethan is handling some important work for me."

Katherine smiled and joined in to say, "He's very dedicated to the family business."

While Victoria, William's wife, nodded approvingly, commending Ethan for being so hard working, William, on the other hand, looked a bit suspicious.

He was as ignorant and blind as his family members and was aware of Ethan's lifestyle and what he might be doing right now. But William did not object because he was not going to let this simple thing cause hindrance in his years of planning.

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Meanwhile, in a luxurious penthouse a few miles away from the Grayson mansion, Ethan Grayson was far from being the dedicated worker his parents claimed him to be. His hedonistic lifestyle was a stark contrast to the image he projected in front of the public.

Right now, he was in the middle of a wild threesome, the room filled with the sound of laughter, moans, and grunts. He had one woman on all fours as he took her from behind while being kissed by the other woman as he fondled her breasts.

His phone rang causing his annoyance but seeing that it was his assistant calling, Ethan chose to answer the call. He had instructed his assistant to only call him in case of major emergencies and this must be one.

"What is it?" he asked while continuing to thrust inside the woman.

"Your father called, sir. He wants you to come home immediately." the assistant informed him.

Ethan scowled and ended the call. "Damn it." he muttered followed by a growl at being teased by the woman he had been kissing earlier. 

Pulling out of the woman whom he had on her knees for him, he pulled the other one down and pushed his dick inside her mouth. He wasn't about to let his father's demands ruin his fun.

He continued to thrust in and out of his lover's hot mouth until he reached climax followed by a deep guttural grunt. Ethan then went to take a quick shower as he needed to head home as soon as possible.

After dressing in his custom-made suit, Ethan addressed the women lounging in his bed. "Wait here for me. I'll be back later." he winked at them before stepping out.

As Ethan left the penthouse, he was unaware that he was being followed. A sleek black car followed Ethan's sports car as they sped through the busy city streets. Ethan paid no attention to the black until it sped past him. 

As Seraphina had expected of the egoistic bastard, Ethan took that as a challenge. Annoyed, he increased the speed of his car chasing the black car as if they were in a race.

Distracted and controlled by his ego, Ethan chased the black car to a deserted area where as he rounded a corner, another car suddenly veered into his path. Ethan swerved, but it was too late. The collision was unavoidable. 

The collision pushed Ethan's car away causing it to spin out of control only to be hit again by the black car that he had been racing against. The sounds of metal striking against metal, glass shattering to pieces and that of continuous horns filled the air.

Severely injured with blood trickling down from his wounds, Ethan was still alive but trapped inside his wrecked vehicle. The drivers of both the cars that had hit Ethan's stepped out. While one of them began taking pictures of Ethan's wrecked car and body, the other one stepped closer to make sure that Ethan was alive and wasn't mortally injured.

"Is he alive?" asked the driver whom Ethan was chasing.

"He is but I am not sure if he will survive for long." the man then called his ally who was assigned to take Ethan to the hospital, "Come fast." was all he said before ending the call.

The two men then sat back in their respective cars and fled the scene. They had done their job.

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Seraphina received the pictures from the accident site. A delightful smile curved upon her lips on seeing Ethan's bloodied body. Though the smile on her face did not falter, her eyes turned red as she was reminded of her brothers being in a similar position.

The only difference is that her brothers did not deserve that but Ethan did.

Seraphina chose the best picture to take a print of and stick it to her wall. The rest were deleted permanently. The men that she had hired to execute this plan also informed her about Ethan being taken to the hospital. He was receiving medical attention and would survive.

"It's not God's grace that saved you today, Ethan. It's only because I am not done with you yet so you get to live for a little while." Seraphina poured a glass of red wine for herself.

Taking a sip, she closed her eyes to relish the taste while the headline flashed across the television screen - "Ethan Grayson Injured in Car Crash."

"It's time for Marcus to experience how it feels like when your loved one suffers. Cheers!" chuckled Seraphina as tears ran down her cheeks.

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Elijah Grayson was in his cabin when he received a frantic call from his mother about his brother's accident. His eyes darkened and his body turned stiff, "Prepare my jet," Elijah ordered his secretary. "I'm going home."