Chapter 1

I took the fall for Seraphina Thorne on murder charges, vanishing overseas for ten years.

Those ten years, I lived in shadows, unseen, like a rat in a sewer.

On that snowy winter night before I left, Seraphina held me, promising she'd protect our family's legacy and wait for my return, ready to marry me with all the pomp and circumstance we deserved.

Over the decade, using the family's core secrets I’d entrusted to her, she transformed from a marginalized outcast to the Queen of the city’s underworld, known as “The Thorn Queen.”

The day I returned early, I clutched our only childhood photo, a corner of it faded yellow.

I stood outside the private clinic she’d personally built for me, wanting to surprise her.

She arrived, her stride powerful, still the same spirited and impressive woman I remembered.

But by her side was a delicate young man, his features a striking resemblance to my younger self.

She handed me a signed asset divestment agreement, her voice icy, a tone I’d never heard from her before.

“He's not well, he can’t handle stress. Is this money enough to buy you peace for the rest of your life?”