Chapter Six

Seraphina

 

“Where are you, sweetheart? Are you all right?”

Seraphina ran her fingers across her laptop screen, tracing the outline of her father’s face as she spoke to him on a video call. Her heart ached to see the worry lines on his forehead. With shoulders sagging, he looked unusually tired as he sat in his plush leather chair. “I’m fine, Daddy. I’m at Uncle Larry’s resort. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I went.”

“I know you’re a grown adult, Sera, and you don’t have to answer to us anymore, but your mother’s been worried sick.” He paused as he ran a hand down his face. “I know the news of my health wasn’t easy to hear. But running away isn’t the answer.”

Sniffling, she smoothed out her embroidered shift dress and tucked her legs under her. After she’d left Gabriel’s villa yesterday, she escaped to the private Hawaiian island of one of her father’s old friends. She snagged her favorite presidential suite on the top floor and spent the evening trying to make sense of her current situation.

Gabriel’s accusations had angered her, but more than that, they had hurt. She hated that he had called her out for being selfish and spoiled. He was right on both accounts, but he had left out one name that she deserved the most: coward. It was as her father said, she’d run away. She hadn’t wanted to deal with the pressures of taking over the family business. Moreover, she didn’t want to dwell on her father’s diagnosis, on what it would mean to lose him. Instead, she’d escaped to a place she hoped would take her mind off her troubles … but ended up face-to-face with the one man who had a knack for pointing out her faults.

She may have argued with Gabriel like a kid yesterday, but it was time to grow up. And time to face the facts. There were some things that money couldn’t fix. Sure, wealth made life easier, but it wasn’t a magic cure-all. It was up to her to make some changes, starting with her attitude. She could either pretend her problems didn’t exist, or she could do something about them.

Now as she sat in the suite’s open-air lanai with a cup of her favorite coffee and the warm, salty breeze blowing over her bare legs, she felt ready to face her responsibilities. That’s why she’d called her father first thing in the morning to make amends.

“I’m done avoiding reality, Daddy,” she replied confidently. “I’m coming home tomorrow, and I’ll be ready to start the transition at work on Monday.”

His face brightened. “I’m glad to hear that. There’s a lot we’ll need to discuss. Not only regarding the company, but our family as well. I’d like us to spend some time together. There are plenty of things I’ve put off for the sake of work that I’d like to get around to doing. I hope it’s not too late to start a bucket list.”

“Of course not, Daddy. It’s never too late.” She bit her lip to keep from crying. Her father might look strong on the outside, but she knew his body was failing him. “We’ll make the most of the time we have, however much or—” She choked on her last words and turned away from the camera.

“Seraphina, sweetheart, I’m going to do all I can to stick around for as long as possible. You’re not getting rid of your old man that easily.”

The playfulness in her father’s tone gave her the courage to meet his gaze. “I’ll hold you to your word, Daddy.”

He looked away from the camera for a moment as someone called out to him in his home office. When he turned back, he had a hopeful smile on his face. “Speaking of sticking around, there’s a gentleman here—a scientist—who says he can help with that. He has some information about a new treatment for leukemia that the company he works for has been developing. Something to do with genetically engineering my own cells to fight the cancer.”

“What?” Her eyes widened at the news. “That’s amazing! Does he think it’ll work for you? What do we need to do to get you started on it?”

Her father chuckled. “One step at a time, sweetheart. I only learned about it a few hours ago when his employer, Mr. Brooks, called. It seems you played a part in leading him to me.”

Mr. Brooks? Seraphina’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of that name. It couldn’t be. “Who are you talking about?”

“Gabriel Brooks. He said you were classmates at Eden Prep. I’m surprised you never brought him around. He sounds like a fine young man.”

Seraphina shook her head in wonder. The fine young man her father was referring to had just chewed her out the day before. What was Gabe up to? Why was he suddenly being nice to her and her family? What did he have to gain from this? “We weren’t exactly friends before, not that we are now. I just happened to bump into him here on the island and one thing led to another … Did you say he has his own company?”

“Yes, one of the leading biotech firms in the Bay Area. They specialize in cancer research. His father passed away a few years ago from pancreatic cancer.” Her father furrowed his brows. “I thought you knew all this?”

“No, I didn’t. We didn’t have much time to talk yesterday.” She winced, knowing that part wasn’t true. She had been too focused on fighting Gabe to catch up on the past. She had no idea he’d lost his father. But even as she started feeling bad for him, her anger flared again. For someone who had walked in her shoes not long ago, he should’ve been more understanding.

“You must trust him though,” her father remarked, “to have divulged my health condition to him.”

“I didn’t mean to say so much, Daddy. It just slipped out—”

“It’s all right, Sera,” he reassured her. “I’m glad you did. This is the first piece of good news our family has gotten since my diagnosis. Mr. Brooks seems quite certain that I’m a perfect candidate for this procedure.”

The optimism in her father’s voice made her heart ache. Sera wanted this to be true as much as he did, but a part of her couldn’t help but be suspicious. The Gabriel Brooks she knew only cared about himself. He’d do anything to win. Was this another scheme to get the upper hand? She reined in her doubt though and forced out a smile for her father’s sake. “That’s great, Daddy. I sure hope so.”

Seraphina ended the call a few minutes later with one plan in mind. Hope was one thing she wouldn’t take a gamble on when it came to her father’s health and happiness. It was time to pay Gabriel a visit and find out what he was up to.