Chapter 4: The Lap of Desperation
The following weeks were a masterclass in swift, clinical elimination. The racing team that Seraphina’s fiancé belonged to was stripped of its license due to the "financial irregularities" Elias had uncovered. Every door Seraphina tried to open slammed shut in her face. The social elite, who had once flocked to her side, now looked through her as if she were a ghost. She was radioactive.
She tried to contact Elias, to explain, to plead. She showed up at his private hanger, dressed in her best, hoping to use the same charm that had worked a hundred times before. But Elias was not a man swayed by optics. He was in the garage, covered in oil, working on a prototype engine.
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"You think this is about the rejection," Elias said, not looking up from his work. "It’s not. It’s about the fact that you looked at something valuable and tried to break it because you didn't understand its worth. You spent your whole life admiring the paint job of the car, never realizing it’s the engine that wins the race. You’re empty, Seraphina. And I don't invest in empty assets."
She realized then that her humiliation wasn't a punishment; it was a consequence. She had bet everything on a shallow life, and when the table turned, she had nothing left to wager.
