Chapter 3

The transition from the bustling terminal to the hushed luxury of the first-class cabin offered Seraphina a brief moment to breathe.

A smiling flight attendant in a crisp uniform took their carry-on bags and guided them to their oversized leather seats.

Gideon climbed into his seat. He reached over and efficiently buckled Silas's seatbelt before snapping his own into place. He didn't ask for a toy or a movie. He pulled his tablet from his backpack, tapped the screen, and immediately began scrolling through complex medical files from New York hospitals.

Silas pressed her face against the thick acrylic window.

"Look, Mommy!" she gasped as the massive plane began its ascent. She pointed a sticky finger at the thick white clouds rushing past.

Seraphina smiled weakly. She leaned over and tucked a soft cashmere blanket around Silas's legs. She sank back into her wide, plush seat. As the plane leveled out, the deep, vibrating hum of the engines seeped into her bones, dragging her exhaustion to the surface.

She closed her eyes. She just wanted to rest. But her brain betrayed her.

The darkness behind her eyelids instantly morphed into the freezing, torrential rain of that night six years ago.

She was heavily pregnant. Her family had thrown her out onto the street like garbage. The icy rain slapped her face, blinding her.

Her own sister Delila's vicious lies, orchestrated masterfully alongside Livia's manipulations, had worked flawlessly. Everyone believed Seraphina was a toxic, manipulative snake. Even her own biological parents looked at her with pure, unadulterated disgust before slamming the heavy oak door in her face, severing all ties without a single second of hesitation.

A sharp, tearing pain ripped through her abdomen.

In her nightmare, she fell to the wet pavement. She curled into a tight ball in a dark, filthy alleyway. She screamed for help, but the faceless pedestrians walked right past her, ignoring her agony.

Then, Zara's mother appeared through the rain. She dragged Seraphina to a taxi.

The dream shifted violently. The blinding, sterile lights of the operating room stabbed her eyes. The monitors screamed. The doctor's voice echoed in her head, distorted and terrifying. Quadruplets. Her blood pressure is crashing. We're losing her.

Hours of tearing, unimaginable pain followed.

Then, the silence.

She only heard two weak cries. The doctor stood over her, his face grim. I'm sorry. Two of them didn't survive.

The physical sensation of having her heart ripped out of her chest hit her all over again. In her sleep, Seraphina's breathing turned ragged. Her hands balled into tight fists, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.

The plane suddenly hit a pocket of turbulence. The cabin dropped sharply.

Seraphina gasped and shot upright, her eyes snapping open. Cold sweat coated her forehead. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.

Gideon dropped his tablet instantly. He reached across the armrest and placed his warm, small hand firmly over hers. His dark eyes held a heavy, mature worry that no six-year-old should possess.

Seraphina sucked in a deep breath of the filtered cabin air. She forced her racing heart to slow down. She squeezed Gideon's hand and forced a shaky smile to her lips. "I'm okay, baby. Just a bad dream."

Silas unbuckled her belt and leaned over. She held out a plastic cup of warm water. She rested her chin on Seraphina's knee.

"Don't be scared, Mommy," Silas said, her voice soft and sweet like melted sugar. "We protect you."

Seraphina looked at her two healthy, brilliant children. The suffocating darkness in her chest began to recede. She took the water and drank it. She swore to herself, right then and there, that she would burn the world down before she let anyone hurt them.

She reached into her tote bag and pulled out her worn, leather-bound perfume formula notebook. She needed to work. She needed the distraction. She uncapped her pen and began slashing chemical compounds across the page.

This trip to New York wasn't just about saving Zara's mother. As the mysterious founder behind Zeling, she was going to crush every single person in the fragrance industry who had ever looked down on her.

Fourteen hours later, the intercom chimed. The pilot's voice filled the cabin, announcing their descent into John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Seraphina snapped her notebook shut. She looked out the window at the sprawling, concrete grid of New York City. Her eyes hardened into cold steel.

The plane hit the tarmac with a heavy thud. It taxied to the gate. The heavy cabin doors popped open, and the chaotic, electric energy of New York flooded in.

Seraphina held Gideon's right hand and Silas's left. She walked out of the jet bridge. Her tall posture and icy, commanding aura immediately drew stares from the tired passengers around her.

Gideon's eyes darted around the crowded terminal. He gripped his mother's coat tightly, scanning the faces of strangers like a tiny, highly-trained bodyguard.

Silas, however, saw a massive, sparkling teddy bear in the window of a duty-free shop. She ripped her hand free from Seraphina's grip and bolted toward the glass.

"Silas, stop!" Seraphina called out, rushing after her. She grabbed her daughter's shoulder. "Do not run off. This airport is huge. You will get lost."

She checked her watch. Zara wasn't supposed to pick them up for another thirty minutes.

"Let's go wash up," Seraphina said.

She led them to a seating area right outside the restrooms, right next to a towering TSA security podium. A stern-faced, uniformed officer stood behind it, actively monitoring the crowds. She looked at Gideon. "I just need to wash my face and change my stained coat. It will take exactly two minutes," Seraphina instructed, her voice firm. "Watch your sister. Do not move from this spot. The officer is right here, keeping an eye on things. I will be right back."

Gideon nodded seriously, his small shoulders squaring up.

Seraphina pushed open the heavy door of the women's restroom, feeling a temporary sense of security leaving them under the direct watch of airport personnel.

Inside, she walked up to the mirror. She pulled a tube of red lipstick from her bag and applied it perfectly. She stared at her reflection. The weak, crying woman from six years ago was dead.

She smoothed down the front of her trench coat. She took a deep breath, letting the cool air fill her lungs. She pushed the restroom door open and stepped back out into the terminal, ready to face whatever this city threw at her.