Chapter 8

A service dog tag lay inside the case beside several military medals. My blood ran cold the moment I recognized them. They belonged to my father. His military service, his achievements, his entire life were represented by those medals and that dog tag. They were everything he had earned before PTSD slowly took away the life he once had.

I couldn't breathe.

Vesper leaned closer to my ear, her sweet smile never leaving her face. “Recognize them?”

I slowly turned toward her. “What did you do?”

She gave a small, innocent shrug, as if she had no idea why I was upset. “Your father left behind some very interesting things. And now they’re being auctioned off.”

My hands started shaking.

“Vesper...”

She tilted her head and widened her eyes. “I thought you’d be happy. They’re just old medals, right?”

I stared at her.

Those weren't just medals. They were my father’s entire life.

The auctioneer raised his voice as the guests began preparing their bids. “The starting bid is one hundred thousand euros.”

The room immediately filled with voices as bidding cards went up. I barely heard any of them. All I could see was my father’s name engraved on the dog tag.

Then Vesper suddenly slipped her hand into Silas’s.

“Silas, I want those.”

She looked up at him with a sweet smile. “I’d like to keep them somewhere safe. Maybe I can donate them later in memory of Riley.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

She was using Riley’s name now too.

Silas smiled faintly and pinched her cheek. “If that’s what you want.”

He raised his bidding card.

“Two hundred thousand.”

My blood boiled. I grabbed Vesper’s wrist.

“Vesper.”

She turned toward me with wide, innocent eyes. “Yes?”

I tightened my grip.

“How dare you?”

Vesper looked at me with those innocent eyes, but her words cut straight through me. “If you hadn't tried so hard to protect your father's reputation, Riley wouldn't have died.”

I froze.

She smiled softly, almost sympathetically, as if she were saying something meant to comfort me. “I'm only trying to do something good for him now. Those medals and his service dog tag deserve to be honored. I thought buying them and keeping them would be a nice way to remember him, and maybe I could even dedicate them to Riley.”

I wanted to tear that smile off her face.

“You don't get to talk about my father.”

I raised my hand, but before I could touch her, something slammed into me. I hit the steps hard, pain shooting through my back as the entire room erupted in shocked gasps.

Vesper immediately stumbled into Silas's arms, looking terrified as tears filled her eyes. “S-Silas, I didn't do anything. I just wanted to talk to Raven. If she wanted the medals, she could've told me. Why did she try to hit me?”

Silas looked at me, his face turning cold. “Raven, what the hell happened to you?”

I stared at him in disbelief. “What happened to me?”

His voice hardened. “You're actually attacking Vesper in front of everyone now?”

The people around us began whispering, their voices growing louder as they watched me from a safe distance.

“Isn't that Raven? The neurologist who used to work with toxins and nerve agents?”

“She's the one who lost her daughter, right?”

“She looks completely unstable.”

“Imagine being married to Don Thorne and acting like this in public.”

Every word hit me, but I kept my eyes on Silas. He didn't look worried about me. He looked embarrassed.

“Get her out of here,” he ordered before turning his cold gaze back to me. “Raven, leave before you make an even bigger scene.”

I clenched my fists. “I don't care what they think.”

My eyes moved toward the display on the stage, where my father's service medals and dog tag were still being held.

I looked back at Silas. “Do you know what those are?”

Silas barely glanced at the display. “Whatever they are, Vesper wants them.”

His voice was cold and final. “So I'll get them for her.”

My chest tightened. “Silas!”

He raised his bidding card without hesitation. “I'll pay whatever it takes.”

The auctioneer announced another bid, but I stepped toward Silas instead. “Silas, that's my father's!”

He ignored me. “Two hundred thousand.”

I swallowed hard. “Please.”

He finally looked at me, and there wasn't even a trace of the man I'd married in his eyes. “You don't deserve them.”

Those words destroyed me.

I couldn't breathe. My knees gave out, and I dropped to the floor in front of him. Everyone was staring, but I didn't care anymore.

“Please give them to me. I'll pay you back. I'll give you anything. Just don't give them to her.”

Silas stared down at me, and for a second, I thought I saw surprise in his eyes. Then it disappeared.

He walked toward the stage.

The auctioneer handed him the medals and dog tag. Silas turned around and walked straight toward me, and my eyes immediately fell on the things in his hand.

My father's name was right there.

Tears filled my eyes.

Then Silas walked right past me.

He stopped in front of Vesper and placed the medals and dog tag into her hands.

Vesper looked surprised, almost touched. “Silas...”

He smiled at her. “It's yours.”

My heart broke.

I sat there on the floor, staring at them. My father's last possessions. My family's memories. Everything that belonged to the people I'd lost was being handed to the woman Silas had chosen over us.

I finally understood.

Love really was that simple. If someone loved you, you knew. And if they didn't, you knew even faster.

Silas looked at me. “Take her away.”

Two soldiers immediately grabbed my arms.

“Wait!”

I struggled against them. “Silas!”

They dragged me out of the banquet hall while everyone watched. I eventually stopped fighting because I was too tired to care.

...

When I finally returned to my bedroom, I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at nothing. I didn't know how long I stayed there before the door was suddenly kicked open.

Silas walked inside, his expression dark.

“Raven.”

I looked up. “What now?”

He marched toward me and grabbed my wrist. “How dare you?”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Vesper was kidnapped.”

My heart skipped. “What?”