Chapter 2
The closed door shut out the lights, the laughter, and all the hurt and tolerance she'd endured for three years.
Inside, Vivian settled back onto the sofa, looking pleased as she picked up her coffee cup.
"This should've happened long ago. A country girl like her doesn't even deserve to set foot in the Locke family," she scoffed.
Mia leaned into Damian, her voice soft and sweet. "Damian, you've already been more than fair to her."
Damian just gave a noncommittal grunt, his face completely unreadable.
He picked up his phone, checked the stocks on the screen, and something crossed his mind.
"By the way, accompany me to the business dinner next week," Damian said.
Mia's eyes sparkled. "Sure!"
No one noticed that the rain outside was pouring even harder.
No one was aware that Sera had lingered at the end of the street for a long time after walking out of the gate.
She stood alone in the pouring rain, drenched from head to toe, as water streamed down her hair.
Then, she fished an old phone out of her pocket.
This was not the one the Lockes had given her.
It had a black body and no brand logo. As soon as the screen lit up, seventeen missed calls were displayed on it.
Every single one was from the same contact, Secretary-General Victor Kane.
She called back.
The moment the call connected, Victor answered with a voice so respectful it bordered on reverence.
"Master, you finally answered," Victor said, relief flooding his voice.
Sera was silent for a few seconds.
"Get ready to take me home," she said, her voice hoarse from the rain.
"Yes, Master," Victor replied. He sounded like a huge weight had finally been lifted off his shoulders.
"The car's been parked at the end of the street for three years, just waiting for you," Victor said.
Sera rarely bothered to recall what happened three years ago. But the Locke family never missed a chance to bring it up.
On her very first day in the Locke household, Vivian made sure to announce it in front of all the servants.
"This daughter-in-law is only here because Damian owed her his life. She wasn't our choice. Just remember that," Vivian had said.
In other words, Sera never really belonged.
The servants were experts at picking up on cues, and from that day forward, Sera ranked even lower than the family's pampered Persian cat.
Vivian never liked anything Sera cooked. She always said it didn't suit her taste.
No matter how hard Sera cleaned, Vivian always found fault, saying the rooms weren't spotless enough.
And when Sera did the laundry, Vivian would nitpick, claiming she'd messed up the collar on Damian's shirt while ironing.
Sera never defended herself. She was like a wallflower, just existing in their shadow.
She had no voice and no temper. She was barely even there.
Damian rarely ever showed up at home.
When he did, he'd just stay locked away in his study. If he passed through the living room, he'd glance at her like she was nothing but furniture.
They were married for three years, but never had a single picture together.
Sera didn't care about any of it.
She used to care, but not anymore.
Her heart was set on something far, far away. It was so far out of reach that the Locke family could never even begin to imagine it.
For three years, the only thing she ever did that was out of the ordinary was leaving the house every Wednesday afternoon.
Sera would tell Walter that she was heading to the market.
Walter didn't think much of it and just reminded her to be back in time to make dinner.
But no one knew that every Wednesday afternoon, she'd slip into a nondescript old office building on the east side of the city.
She'd take the elevator up to the seventeenth floor and let herself in through a coded door.
Behind that door was a lavish office that seemed completely out of place in such a rundown building.
Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a breathtaking view of Stratford City's skyline, while a walnut desk was piled high with documents from all over the world.
On the desk, a nameplate read, [Noctis Group, CEO]
Noctic Group was a powerhouse that most people have never even heard of.
It did not do ads or viral posts, and never showed up on any business rankings.
Yet, it owned thirty percent of the world's rare mineral extraction rights and ran the logistics networks for three of the biggest ports in Aeris.
It was also investing money into infrastructure projects in six different countries.
At the helm of it all, just one person was calling the shots: Sera Jenkins.
Nobody out there even knew her real name. To them, she was known by the code name: Nyx.
Word on the street was that Nyx never appeared in public, never mingled, and never showed up at any public event.
Every order went out through Victor, her secretary-general.
Some say that Nyx was actually a seventy-year-old man, while others whispered that Nyx was a retired government official from overseas.
Some even believed Nyx was nothing but a myth, a name with no real person behind it.
No one would ever link that legendary name to the Locke family's quiet little housewife, the one who spent her days doing laundry and cooking.
Sera made sure no one would ever put the pieces together.
Three years ago, she was seriously wounded and had been running for her life in the outskirts of Stratford City when Damian found her.