Seraphina POV:
"Enough!"
My father, Lord Carlisle Sinclair, slammed his hand on the table, the plates clattering loudly. He sat at the head of the table, his expression as grim as my grandmother's. He was a low-ranking "Dragon-born" with a mediocre bloodline, and the thing he cared about most in his life was the Sinclair family's noble title. He put on his best 'concerned father' face, though his eyes were cold.
He cleared his throat, and all eyes focused on him. "Seraphina," he began in a fake, disappointed tone, "I've heard about what happened today. You were too impulsive. Gideon is the Crown Prince. You must understand that a Dragonless cannot be his official wife. He was generous enough to offer you a place by his side."
I turned back around, looking at him with utter disgust. "Generous? Father, are you referring to my refusal to become the Crown Prince's plaything?"
My words made the atmosphere at the table even colder. My father's face turned the color of liver. He snapped, dropping the loving father act. "Watch your words! That is the Crown Prince! Your mother's common blood has made you insolent!"
My grandmother snorted coldly. "Just like your commoner mother. No noble decorum."
My third uncle, Julian, and his wife, Martha, kept their heads down, not daring to speak. Their branch of the family was not well-off and had little standing.
My father took a deep breath, trying to summon the authority of the head of the house. "The family has already decided. You must go and apologize to the Crown Prince and accept his arrangement. This is for the honor of the Sinclair family."
"The family's honor?" I walked slowly back toward the table, leaning forward to look straight into his eyes. "Since you despise my mother's 'common' blood so much, Father, why did you marry her?"
The table went dead silent.
I didn't let him answer. "Let me remind you. Eighteen years ago, your noble family was practically begging on the streets. You were dying of a dragon-rot infection, and you couldn't even afford the basic herbs. My mother, the heiress of the Riverstone Guild, saved your life and paid your debts. You had nothing to offer but a worthless, empty noble title. You married her because you were a starving beggar who hit the jackpot."
Carlisle's face turned the color of raw liver. "You ungrateful bitch!"
I smiled, a chilling, venomous smile. "Every single piece of bread you eat, every stone of this manor, is paid for by the 'lowly' woman you despise. If it weren't for my mother's gold, Father, your bones would have turned to dust in a pauper's grave by now."
The words were like a resounding slap across my father's and grandmother's faces. Beatrice's face turned pale as well.
My father slammed his hand on the table again. "Silence! You unfilial daughter! Since your mother's property was married into the Sinclair family, it is the family's property!"
I laughed, a cold, chilling laugh. "Is that so? I don't recall my maternal grandfather—the head of the Riverstone Guild—agreeing to gift his assets to the Sinclair family."
The name "Riverstone Guild" made everyone at the table change their expression. They knew what that name meant—a commercial network spanning the southern part of the kingdom, a fortune that could buy a country.
My father's bravado instantly deflated. His lips moved, but he couldn't form a word.
A flash of panic crossed my grandmother's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by ferocity. "Are you threatening us? Seraphina, don't forget your surname is Sinclair!"
I straightened up, looking down at them all. "I have never forgotten. But I also remember that my mother's surname is Riverstone."
"I'm finished," I said, my gaze sweeping over the shocked, angry, and fearful faces around the table. "Please, enjoy your meal."
This time, when I turned and left the dining hall, no one dared to stop me. I left a room full of dead silence behind me.
I knew this dinner was my declaration of war. They thought they could still oppress me and force me to submit as they always had. They were wrong. From now on, I set the rules of the game.
I returned to my room. Ginny, as instructed, had already placed the inventory of my mother's dowry and copies of the family's account books from over the years on my desk.
Mrs. Gable stood respectfully to the side. She was one of my mother's most loyal servants.
"Miss, everything is ready," she said.
I nodded, sat down, and began to leaf through the accounts. It was all there in black and white—how the Sinclair family had squandered my mother's fortune over the years. My eyes grew colder as I scanned the entries. They had not only used my mother's money, but had also accumulated a massive debt to the Riverstone Guild.
The numbers in those books held the power to destroy the Sinclair family entirely. I just needed to convince the one person who could authorize the killing blow: my mother.
