Chapter 5 — The Gift for the Birthday Girl

By the time I got back to Pierce Manor, the house was dressed for a celebration.

White orchids filled the foyer.

Staff hurried through the halls carrying garment bags and gift boxes.

Sienna’s birthday gala was scheduled for seven.

Apparently, lies didn’t interfere with party planning.

A courier envelope waited on my bed.

Inside were the divorce papers.

My lawyer had moved fast.

I signed them at once.

No hesitation.

No shaking hand.

Just my name, written clearly for the last time as Elara Quinn Pierce.

I placed Adrian’s copy in a folder and set it on his study desk.

Then I opened the wardrobe and packed only what mattered.

A few dresses.

A coat.

Important documents.

My mother’s locket.

Nothing else felt worth carrying.

I was zipping the suitcase when shouting erupted downstairs.

A child cried.

A maid ran through the corridor.

Then Adrian’s voice thundered from below.

“Elara!”

The bedroom door flew open.

Adrian stood there, tie loose, eyes blazing. Sienna clung to his arm, tears already falling.

“Where is Leo?” he demanded.

I stared at him. “What?”

Sienna sobbed. “He was in the playroom, and now he’s gone. Nanny said she saw you near the east hall—”

I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

“You think I took your son?”

“Don’t play games with me,” Adrian snapped.

I picked up my suitcase. “Move.”

His eyes dropped to it, then to the open folder on the bed.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

Sienna made a broken sound. “So you admit it? You’re taking revenge—”

“Enough.”

My voice cut through the room so sharply that even she fell quiet.

I stepped toward them.

“I lost my baby because of your lies. I discovered your secret family because of your betrayal. And now, on your birthday, your son disappears just long enough for you to point at me again?”

Adrian grabbed my arm.

Pain shot through the side I had injured in the fall.

“Where is he?” he said through his teeth.

“Let go.”

“Answer me.”

I looked at his hand, then at his face.

“You don’t get to touch me anymore.”

Sienna began crying harder. “Adrian, please. She’s scaring me.”

That was all it took.

His control snapped.

His palm struck my face.

The sound cracked through the room.

My head turned with the force.

Heat flared across my cheek.

For one second, no one moved.

Not even Sienna.

I tasted blood.

Then I turned back slowly and looked at him.

He seemed shocked by what he had done.

Too late.

A maid came running up the stairs.

“Mr. Pierce! Master Leo has been found!”

Adrian’s grip vanished. “Where?”

“The driver took him to the children’s clinic,” she said breathlessly. “He had a fever after lunch. Nanny forgot to report it because Miss Sienna called everyone to the garden to search first.”

Silence.

A fever.

A clinic.

Another accusation built on panic and performance.

I looked at Sienna.

She looked at the floor.

Adrian’s face changed.

“Elara…”

Whatever came next did not matter.

No apology could reach this far.

“Out,” I said.

He didn’t move.

“Elara, I didn’t—”

“Take her,” I said, nodding toward Sienna. “Your son needs you. Your birthday girl needs you. Go.”

Sienna whispered, “I didn’t know—”

“Don’t lie when you’re tired,” I said flatly. “You’re not good at it.”

Then Leo’s crying floated up from downstairs.

Adrian turned instantly.

Instinct.

Priority.

Truth.

He wrapped an arm around Sienna and left with her.

He did not look back.

I stood there for a long second, then picked up my suitcase and went downstairs.

Mrs. Bell met me in the foyer. Her eyes were wet.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

I shook my head. “No. You gave me the truth.”

At the door, my phone lit up.

Three messages in a row.

From Victor:

Be at the gala by eight. Do not disgrace this family further.

From Noah:

Apologize to Sienna before the guests arrive. End this tonight.

From Adrian:

After the gala, we’ll talk privately. I’ll fix this.

I looked at each message.

Then I blocked them all.

Father.

Brother.

Husband.

Gone.

Next, I opened the secure contact attached to the anonymous warning.

Drop the gift at peak attendance. Every screen. No delays.

A reply came instantly.

Confirmed.

Headlights swept across the front steps.

A long black car rolled to a stop outside the house.

The rear door opened.

A man stepped out holding a bouquet of dark red roses.

Dorian Blackwell.

He was taller than the newspapers made him look. Sharper too. Not flashy. Not loud. The kind of man power moved around without needing to be announced.

He stopped in front of me.

His eyes landed on the mark blooming across my cheek.

Something in his expression went cold.

But when he spoke, his voice was steady.

“Ms. Quinn?”

No one had called me that in years.

“Yes.”

He held out the flowers. “Celeste asked me to bring you home.”

Home.

The word hit somewhere too deep to touch.

I lifted my chin. “I’m not running.”

A shadow of approval crossed his face. “I know.”

He took my suitcase as if it weighed nothing and opened the car door himself.

Inside lay a silk shawl, a sealed envelope, and a gold-edged invitation card.

Sienna Quinn Birthday Gala

I looked at it, then at him. “You knew.”

“I know enough.”

“And if I go there tonight?”

“Then I go with you.”

No hesitation.

No warning to calm down.

No pity.

Just certainty.

I glanced once at the bright house behind me.

At the place where I had been a wife, a daughter, a sister—and none of those roles had saved me.

Then I got into the car.

Dorian took the seat beside me. The city lights began sliding past the dark glass.

I touched the locket at my throat and looked down at the invitation.

Tonight the screens would light up.

Tonight the lies would split open.

Dorian’s voice broke the silence.

“When we arrive, stay beside me.”

I looked at him. “And then?”

His gaze held mine.

“Tonight, they learn what it costs to lose you.”

End of Chapter 5