Sara remained frozen on the floor, her limbs unresponsive. It wasn't pain that held her down—but shame, and something darker: the cold certainty that she had no right to get up.
Maids had gathered in the corridor, hovering in stunned silence, as if the air had thickened and they couldn't breathe. No one moved. No one dared to.
Until Vladimir stepped in.
He entered with the sharpness of a blade, his presence commanding instant attention. He paused only for a second to absorb the scene—Sara crumpled on the floor, Augustine standing tall with contempt etched across his face, and the echo of humiliation still heavy in the air.
"What's going on here?" Vladimir's voice sliced the silence in two, thunder-dark and deeply displeased.
Just behind him, Blue came rushing in. The moment she spotted Sara, she broke into a run and threw her arms around her instructor with such urgency, as if her touch alone could undo what had just happened.
Augustine sneered. "Why is something like this in the house with my daughter?"
At that, Jay stepped forward immediately, moving to Sara's side. Helping her up from the floor, she could barely feel her feet at this point but her hands were secured around Blue.
Sara shrank behind Jay's shoulder, grateful for the cover. The trembling in her hands wasn't stopping.
"Mind your language, Augustine!" Vladimir barked, eyes narrowing. "She is a guest in my house. More than that—she is Blue's instructor. She's here because I asked her to be here."
"Guest?" Augustine scoffed with a cold laugh. "You don't even know what she is, do you? You're keeping some washed-up call girl around my daughter?" He reached for Blue again, yanking her away from Sara like she was something that needed to be disinfected. "What kind of man are you to set this kind of example?"
He tossed Blue into Flinn's arms, not even pausing to hold her himself.
Sara froze completely.
Jay, still crouched beside her, clenched his jaw hard. His arm remained firm around her back, a silent barrier between her and Augustine's venom.
Blue reached for Sara even as she was carried away, tears welling. "Ag…"
"Augustine!" Vladimir's voice boomed so loudly it startled even the maids. Jay instinctively pulled Sara tighter, trying to muffle the impact of the sound with his own body.
Flinn looked as if he wanted to disappear.
"Boss—please—it's a misunderstanding—" Flinn tried.
"Shut up, Flinn!" Augustine snapped.
But Vladimir didn't stop. He took another step forward, standing tall, standing in front of Sara.
"I've heard enough. Inviting you here was clearly a mistake. I thought, maybe, for Blue's sake, we could be civil. I see now I was wrong."
He pointed sharply toward the doors."You're no longer welcome in my house."
Augustine's expression twisted, caught between fury and disbelief. "Father—"
"If you don't leave," Vladimir said slowly, "security will escort you out."
Augustine gave Sara one last look—a stare sharp enough to cut her open—and for a second, she felt it slice through every insecurity, every fracture inside her.
But then Jay leaned in closer, whispering, "Don't look at him."And she didn't.
Augustine turned, storming off with his coat flaring behind him. But as Flinn followed, Vladimir's voice stopped him cold.
"Leave her."The silence deepened."You can come back and talk to your daughter when you've learned how to treat people with respect."
Flinn froze. His hands tightened slightly around Blue. He looked back—at Augustine's retreating figure—then forward, at Vladimir, unmoving like a wall.
After a long beat, Flinn slowly bent down and set Blue on her feet.
She didn't hesitate. She ran back to Sara and flung her arms around her neck, clinging tightly.
Jay let go so Blue could take his place, but the moment he stepped away, it felt like a mistake. In the very next breath, Sara's eyes rolled back, her lashes fluttering once before her body went slack—heavy, lifeless. She collapsed, this time without a sound, without consciousness.
-----------------
Sofia rested her head against the chair's headrest, eyes shut, gently rocking the seat side to side as if the motion could soothe her nerves. She twitched slightly, waiting. Her secretary had been gone a while—sent to fetch the only thing that mattered today: a signed check.
She'd made yet another request to Augustine—on behalf of her mother. The same humiliating cycle, again. It made her sick to her stomach. Every time she had to extend her hand like this, she felt less like a wife and more like a parasite clinging to the Core Family.
Her marriage to Augustine had never been about love. It was a transaction—a carefully executed money-milking scheme orchestrated by her parents. And for six long years, they'd been siphoning funds through her, feeding their own greed while turning her into a leech in her own home.
Knock, knock.
The secretary returned, holding a crisp envelope.
Sofia sat up instantly, eyes snapping open. "What did he say?"
"Nothing, as usual. He just signed it and passed it on," the secretary replied, holding out the check.
Sofia took it, staring at the paper with a weary kind of resentment. "Send it to my mother. And make sure to tell her this is the last payment. The Core Family won't be entertaining any more future transactions with them."
She knew that wasn't true. Deep down, she knew she'd cave again—just like always. But she still said it. Maybe if she said it enough, she could one day believe it.
The secretary nodded. "Understood."
"And Blue?" Sofia asked, her voice softening—just slightly.
"There's not much to report. Master Vladmir has asked that she visit his mansion regularly. She's started private swimming lessons there. Aside from that, things are normal."
"Swimming lessons?" Sofia's back stiffened. Her fingers tensed against the edge of the table.
"Yes, Miss Blue requested them herself, from what I was told."
The secretary's words trailed off, but Sofia was already drifting into thought. The news clearly didn't sit well with her—her expression faltered, the usual calm on her face cracking just a little.
"Alright. You can go," she said quietly. "I'll find out the rest on my own."
"Very well," the secretary replied, before turning to leave.
"Why out of the blue?" Sofia muttered to herself her gaze a bit distracted.