The ride to the hospital was conducted in a silence so heavy it felt like a physical weight. Alexander stared out the window, his profile etched in stone, while Seraphina sat as far away from him as the leather seat would allow. The black SUV glided through the city streets like a predator moving through a forest—silent, lethal, and unyielding.
When they pulled up to the private wing of the North City Medical Center, Alexander didn't wait for the driver. He stepped out and held the door open for Seraphina.
"Remember," he murmured as she stepped onto the pavement, "my name is on the deed to this building. If you're looking for a place to hide, you've picked the wrong sanctuary."
"I'm not hiding, Alexander," she replied, pulling her jacket tighter around her. "I'm living. There's a difference.
The smell of antiseptic and lilies in the private suite felt like a suffocating shroud. Seraphina sat by the bed, her hand clasped tightly around her grandmother's frail fingers. Evelyn Lin looked like a ghost of the woman she once was—her skin translucent, her breathing hitched and shallow.
Alexander stood near the window, a dark, silent sentinel. He watched the scene with a clinical detachment, but his eyes never stayed away from Seraphina for long. He saw the way she was trembling, the way she was holding her breath every time Evelyn's monitors beeped.
"Seraphina, darling," Evelyn rasped, her voice barely a whisper. "Leave us for a moment. I need to speak to your... husband."
Seraphina hesitated, glancing back at Alexander. He gave her a sharp, almost imperceptible nod. Reluctantly, she squeezed Evelyn's hand one last time and stepped out into the hallway.
As the door clicked shut, the atmosphere in the room changed. Alexander didn't move from his spot, but he felt the weight of the old woman's gaze.
"Come closer, Mr. Thorne," Evelyn commanded, a flicker of her old strength returning to her eyes. "I don't have the breath to shout at you."
Alexander walked to the bedside, his tall frame looming over her. "You should be resting, Mrs. Lin. The doctors say—"
"The doctors say I'm dying," she interrupted with a weak, dry chuckle. "We both know I don't have much time left. Maybe days. Maybe hours. Which is why you're going to listen to me very carefully."
She reached out, her hand shaking as she grabbed the sleeve of his expensive suit. "I know why you married her. I know about the contract. I know this marriage is a facade, a 'presentation' for your family and yours."
Alexander's expression didn't change, but his jaw tightened.
"I am the only one who knows what those people—her father, that woman Lydia, and that girl Tiffany—did to her," Evelyn whispered, her eyes filling with a fierce, protective fire. "They didn't just ignore her; they tried to erase her. They will come for her when I'm gone. They will try to use her, or this baby, to crawl back into the light. They are vultures, Alexander. And she is too kind to see the talons until they are already in her heart."
Evelyn's grip on his sleeve tightened with surprising strength. "I'm imploring you. Not as a CEO, but as a man. Protect her. Protect my girl from her father. Don't let Lydia or Tiffany near her. She has no one left but you, even if you are just playing a part."
Alexander looked down at the fragile woman. For the first time, he saw the raw terror of a person who was leaving behind the only thing they loved in a world full of wolves.
"I know you think you don't 'care,'" Evelyn continued, her voice breaking. "But you're a Thorne. And Thornes don't let anyone touch what belongs to them. Swear it to me. Swear that as long as she carries your name, they will never be allowed to hurt her again."
Alexander stared into Evelyn's fading eyes. He thought of the way Seraphina had looked at the auction—the way she had stood her ground even while trembling. He thought of the "known variable" that was slowly becoming the only thing he looked for when he entered a room.
"You have my word," Alexander said, his voice a low, vibrating growl of absolute finality. "As long as I draw breath, the Lins will never set foot in her life again. I will build a wall around her that no one can climb. Your granddaughter will be the most protected woman in this city."
Evelyn let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. Her hand fell back to the bed. "Good. Then I can go."
When Alexander stepped out into the hallway, Seraphina was leaning against the wall, her eyes red-rimmed. She looked up at him, searching his face for any sign of what had been said.
"Is she... is she okay?"
Alexander didn't answer. Instead, he reached out and took her hand—not for the cameras, not for Arthur, but because he realized for the first time that she was truly alone.
"We're going home, Seraphina," he said, his voice oddly quiet. "And from this moment on, the gates of the Thorne estate are closed to your family. Permanently."
As he led her toward the elevator, Seraphina didn't know that her grandmother had just signed the only contract that truly mattered to Alexander—one written in a dying wish, not in ink.