CHAPTER 139: A LONG GAME

At the president’s office,

The hallway outside buzzed with low murmurs. Lobbyists, party allies, and officials lined the corridor despite having appointments.

In a perfectly tailored suit, Seraphina Astor walked on her heels towards her father’s office. Whether they were political members or people serving her father, they respectfully, with a hint of fear, greeted her.

She flashed them a polite smile and even spared a few words as if she cared about them. But in reality, it was all a show for a long game.

When her eyes caught a particular man, she paused. "Senator Greene, how’s your grandson’s health now?" she asked with a warm smile, briefly clasping the elderly man’s hand.

The senator’s eyes softened. "He’s recovering well, thanks to you, Mrs. Lancaster. Bringing that surgeon from overseas... my daughter still gets emotional thinking about it."

Sera tilted her head, feigning modesty. "I just did what anybody would have done. Your grandson is recovering, that’s all we need."

"Not really," he added with quiet gratitude. "You’ve done something nobody would have thought of. We won’t forget it."

She just smiled and walked away while others exclaimed behind her.

....

Inside, the office was a fortress of mahogany and steel. It was imposing and quiet enough to unsettle.

A man in his late fifties lifted his gaze from a file for a moment. President Lucien Astor had eyes sharp as cut glass and a voice that rarely needed to rise to command a room.

"Sera..." Lucien said, simultaneously signaling his secretary to leave with the other officers in the room.

Once the door closed, he lifted his head and faced his daughter, who was sitting graciously in the chair.

If he had ever seen a person who dedicated their youth to a political future, it was his daughter.

He had once intended to use his daughter as a stepping stone by marrying her into an affluent family. But somewhere along the way, she became the architect of her own rise.

She had excelled in high school, in academics, athletics, extracurriculars, and behavior. She was a model teenager.

Then she got into an Ivy League university and studied political science while serving as president of the student council.

At the age of twenty-two, she joined the military infantry. That had helped Lucien in his political career by showing that his whole family was serving the people.

After maintaining a good record for four years, Sera returned to Velmora and joined a prestigious law school.

At thirty, she earned another degree, and at thirty-one, she passed the bar.

Now she helps underprivileged people with their court cases and has become an activist to help the people.

However, hardly anyone knew that the activists around her were paid to serve her while being active in their campaigns.

All the while, her eyes were open to find herself a man who could support her financially. Not just a random person who worked nine to five, but someone with old money to improve her presence in wealthy circles.

She approached Nicholas, offered to help him in business through her father, and they got married within just a few months.

Her goal was simple. To create a perfect image to run for the presidency, right after she turned thirty-five.

She was thirty-four now, and Lucien had two more years in service.

Watching her maneuver with such precision, he was impressed, perhaps even a little wary. "What brought you here?" Lucien asked his daughter. Because they hardly meet after she was married and keeps herself busy with her campaigns.

Sera sighed first. She knew the risks, though she had promised Nicholas. "I want Alaric Lancaster out of the picture."

Lucien didn’t bother asking why. He wanted clarity. "You want to have him killed?"

"No. Too risky." After all, he was a Lancaster and self-made. Underestimating him was the last thing she would do. "His presence in business affects Nicholas. And I’m not ready to share Lancaster’s wealth and power with him."

Lucien became thoughtful. After all, Alaric was also a De’Conti. Messing with him wouldn’t just trigger the Lancasters, the De’Contis would appear too. Even the tiniest mistake from their side could cost them dearly.

Despite working for more than two decades, Nicholas had never gained a name or fame because Edward was right above him. Whereas it was different for Alaric.

"Isabella de’Conti is smarter than you think," Lucien expressed, realizing how smoothly Isabella had let Alaric shine while she was supporting Nicholas in whatever he wanted.

In reality, she was quietly helping Alaric build his empire, away from the shadows of Lancasters.

Sera was confused for a moment. According to her, Isabella was scared of losing her stance with the Lancasters. Hence, she loved Nicholas and Giselle more than her own son.

"If Alaric had joined Lancaster Globals, he wouldn’t have gotten the chance to shine," Lucien clarified for his daughter, who had missed this crucial point by living with the Lancaster family.

"Ruin his company. So much so that he should go into debt. Bring him to the Lancasters. Make him join the company as someone insignificant. And suppress him further." That way, Nicholas, who was doing well, would be recognized.

That was it.

She wanted to make sure that ruining Alaric wouldn’t affect her and her father’s careers in any way.

She quickly briefed Nicholas’s plan and added her changes to it. "Nicholas wants to release it before Alaric thinks of launching. But I would like it to be released just a day before Alaric’s second product launch, maybe on the same day."

Lucien’s lips curled into a sinister smile at his daughter’s scheme. "Perfect."

He wasn’t ethical. He never had been. Their family didn’t deal in ethics, only outcomes.

Sera continued, "Then a rumor about Vantex could be stolen."

Just a rumor to make the clients of Vantex return the product and demand their money back. It would be enough to drown not just NexGuard but also Alaric.

Then she planned to manipulate Isabella and Edward to bring Alaric back home and send him to Lancaster Globals like a loser.

And once Alaric was in the house, close enough, she would make sure his every move was hers to control.

"The closer he is, the easier it’ll be to control him," Sear smirked.