Tangled in His Obsession (Seraphina)

Chapter 484

Before her tenth birthday, Seraphina's life was a picture of stability and contentment.

Her father, Carney, was a struggling artist whose paintings barely paid the bills for her and her mother, Magdalen. They sometimes had to make do with the simplest of meals, but Carney and Magdalen shared a bond so loving that Seraphina, their only child, grew up without knowing the slightest hint of sorrow.

Everything changed when Carney passed away.

Seraphina could still vividly recall the winter of her tenth year, when illness had whittled her father down to bones, and he spent his days in a hospital bed, fighting a losing battle.

Magdalen, once a woman whose hands had never been marred by household chores, transformed overnight into the epitome of a devoted wife and mother. She was a constant presence at Carney's bedside, her tears shed in silence, her heartache cloaked in stoic resolve.

Despite her efforts, Carney didn't make it through the winter.

He departed this world just before New Year's Eve, leaving them in the cold sterility of the hospital room. After handling Carney's funeral all by herself, Magdalen set out to find work.

life had left her with few marketable skills beyond her beauty, and decent job prospects were bleak. Still, she persisted, her breakdowns reserved for the darkest hours of the night when she would clutch Seraphina and cry until there were no

wept - they had both lost the man they

And no matter how hard she tried, Magdalen couldn't support

Seraphina back to their hometown of Sunburst City and left her with the Reynold family, before she herself vanished to Starhaven, not to return for many

embrace. "Someone must have lied to her, made her believe I was the child of Dad and Adelina. That's

told Andrea that he had seen her once, many years prior, when he went to Summitville to honor the memory

having visited a grave, she was full of life, her laughter and playful tugs at her father's

she bore an uncanny resemblance to the girl from his memories. When he reached the grave he intended to visit, he noticed the fresh flowers and offerings. Turning back, Carney and Seraphina were already gone. Back in Sunburst City, Simon had someone investigate Seraphina's origins. The conclusion he was given stated that Seraphina was indeed Adelina's daughter, but Carney was her father. Clearly, someone had tampered with the

the records, then she knew the truth and harbored a deep-seated hatred. For a man like Simon, the notion that his beloved bore another man's child would be a humiliation too great to share. And for Helena, who already despised Andrea, adding Seraphina to the mix would be an

Simon's watchful eye, Helena likely saw an opportunity to

Helena fed a fabricated "truth" to Magdalen, perhaps intending to take Seraphina for herself and exact her vengeance. But

Reynolds family became Seraphina's sanctuary. Her identity as one of their

that after seeing me, he was struck by how much I resembled Adelina, his lost love. So he dug into my background. Clearly, what he found out about where I came from was both shocking and infuriating to him. But because I reminded him so

finally speaking. "When did he