Tangled in His Obsession (Seraphina)

The two sisters stood before Adelina's grave, their eyes reddened with emotion. It wasn't until they left that they gradually regained their composure.

"Let's grab a bite to eat," Andrea suggested. "We've got to head back to Sunburst City this afternoon." At the mention of food, Seraphina suddenly turned to her with an idea. "I'll take you to this amazing place | know." Seraphina wasn't usually one for fussing over food, so Andrea couldn't help but ask, "How amazing are we talking?" "Out of this world," Seraphina replied with a smile. "Especially their roast duck. Might just be the best in all of Summitville." With that, Seraphina gave the driver an address.

Andrea wasn't familiar with Summitville; she had no clue where they were headed. But as the car pulled up to a gated single-family hcomplete with a security guard, she was taken aback.

Further on, they approached a quaint two-story house where Herman stood under the eaves with his arms crossed, gazing pensively at the approaching vehicle.

"What is this place?" Andrea couldn't help but ask.

"It's his grandfather's house," Seraphina replied.

Hearing this, Andrea fell silent. The sisters got out of the car, one on either side, and Herman, who had expected only Seraphina, looked surprised to see Andrea.

"What's the matter?" Seraphina teased, taking Andrea's hand as they walked up to him. "That look on your face... are you not happy to see us?" Herman glanced at Andrea and then back at Seraphina, clenching his jaw before saying tersely, "We'll talk later." Just then, Ross emerged from the house, "Sera, darling, you made it?" "Grandma Ross, hello," Seraphina greeted her warmly, taking Ross' hand. "I've been craving the chef's roast duck here, so | decided to invite myself over." "Well, the more the merrier," Ross chuckled, then turned to Andrea. "And who's this?" "This is my sister, Andrea," Seraphina quickly introduced. "Andrea, this is Herman's grandmother." The brief introduction left Andrea a bit unsure of how to respond, so she just nodded and said softly, "Pleased to meet you." "If you're Sera's sister, just callRoss like Herman and Sera do," Ross replied with a smile.

Andrea managed a slight smile but didn't voice the term of endearment.

Herman gave her another look before heading inside the house.

Once inside, Ross sat down with Seraphina and Andrea in the living room for a chat. Herman went upstairs to rest for a bit. When he cback down and saw Ross had gone to the kitchen and left Seraphina and Andrea alone, he pulled Seraphina outside into the backyard.

They stopped under an elm tree, where Herman's face was a shade of stormy blue. "Why didn't you tellabout Garrison beforehand?" he demanded.

Seraphina exhaled slowly, "And what good would that have done? Given your status, you wouldn't have been able to get anything out of him." "You knew Simon was going to make a move on him!" Herman accused, teeth clenched.

"So what?" Seraphina retorted. "Even if | had known, it wouldn't have been possible to protect him." "Or is it that you simply didn't want to?" Herman challenged. "He was the one who poisoned Carney directly. You must have wanted him dead, right?" "Yes, | did want him dead," Seraphina admitted frankly. "But his choices led him down this path. What happened is his own doing, his karma." Herman's gaze becheavy as he stared at her. "Do you realize how dangerous that kind of thinking is?" Seraphina took a deep breath and then said, "Don't worry, | believe in the law. An eye for an eye isn't the solution, but sometimes, it's a lead. One day, when the guilty are called to account, everything they've done will serve as evidence against them!" Herman's expression softened slightly, "Simon?" "Aren't you also set on taking down that big fish?" Seraphina pressed. "With Garrison alive, you had nothing to go on. But now that he's dead, that's a new clue. If Simon and his people are this bold, | believe there'll ca day when they're brought to justice." Herman kept his eyes on her. "But he's your—" "That's forto worry about, not you," Seraphina cut him off. "Leave the investigation of Garrison's car accident to the Summitville police." Herman turned away, lost in thought, then looked back at her sternly. "But you have to promise me, from now on, you'll keepin the loop. You absolutely cannot step over the line!" Seraphina gave him an 'OK' gesture, then added, "Can we go inside now? It's freezing out here!" She hurried back into the house.

Back inside, Andrea was seated at the dining table, chatting with Ross and helping out with cooking. Herman followed Seraphina inside and paused at the sight.

"Wow, Andrea, you know how to cook?" Seraphina said as she joined them at the table. "You've never mentioned this before." "I don't," Andrea admitted. "I just learned from Neil's wife here." Seraphina smiled at her use of "Neil's wife" to refer to Ross.

"You've got a real knack for it," Ross complimented. "It's rare to see young women willing to step into the kitchen these days. It's a treat." "Absolutely," Seraphina enthusiastically agreed. "Andrea's good at cooking, you'll have to try her cooking sometand see if she's capable of snagging a good catch." Andrea nudged Seraphina with her elbow, unable to suppress a snicker.

The women were huddled together in the dining room, their laughter and chatter floating through the air.

Meanwhile, Herman was marooned on the living room couch, an island unto himself. The threads of their conversation reached him, stirring an undercurrent of restlessness within.

He couldn't help but lift his gaze towards them, catching sight of Andrea quietly focused on chopping vegetables.

Her clean, fair complexion contrasted with a few stray locks of hair that fell beside her ears, partially concealing the blush of her ear tips.

Herman found himself watching her, drawn in for longer than he'd intended.

Until she sensed something, her intuition prompting her to glance his way.

Herman quickly averted his eyes, pretending to be interested in something off to the side, but his heart only grew more agitated.

As noon approached, Neil arrived hto find guests mingling about. He immediately brought the house to life, bustling about to get lunch on the table.

During the meal, Ross brought up the unfortunate incident that had befallen Garrison. Neil sighed softly and remarked, "I'll drop by this afternoon. The poor man, to have such misfortune fall upon him out of the blue—" Seraphina looked up and found Herman's eyes on her. She gave him a brief glance before turning to Neil.

"Grandpa, I'll cwith you. Dr. Garrison was my father’s doctor, after all. It's only right that | pay my respects." Neil nodded in agreement, "Alright."