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.

Still, she persisted, her breakdowns reserved for the darkest hours of the night when she would clutch Seraphina and

mother wept - they had both lost the

Carney's departure, their world had collapsed. And no matter how hard she tried, Magdalen couldn't support it

and left

must have lied to her, made her believe I was the child of Dad and Adelina. That's why she broke down, why she resented

truth were Simon and those close to him. Seraphina didn't remember meeting Simon as a child, but he had told Andrea that he had seen her once, many years prior, when he went to Summitville to honor the memory of a woman he

the cemetery. Despite just having visited a grave, she was full of life, her laughter and playful

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

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

Simon's watchful eye, Helena likely saw an

Helena fed a fabricated "truth" to Magdalen, perhaps intending to take Seraphina for herself and exact her vengeance. But she hadn't accounted

Reynolds family became Seraphina's sanctuary. Her identity as

shocking and infuriating to him. But because I

silence before finally speaking. "When did he see