Catherine was thrilled that her precious daughter loved the room she'd so carefully decorated and the clothes she'd picked out.
It was like they were on the same wavelength.
Catherine held up outfits from the closet against Serena, saying, "Look, every single piece from YB looks like it was custom-made just for you!"
Catherine continued, "More will be arriving over the next couple of days. Just tell me what styles you like!"
Serena was taken aback.
More?
Wouldn't that empty out YB's entire stock?
Serena quickly said, "Thank you, Mom, but that's enough. I can't possibly wear all this."
"What do you mean you can't?" Catherine cupped Serena's face, admiring it from every angle. "My beautiful daughter is gorgeous, a natural model. You should be dressed beautifully, changing ten times a day if you want!"
Serena felt the warmth on her cheeks and saw the love filling the face so close to hers.
Her expression softened, and a small smile touched her lips.
Watching from the doorway, Isabella saw the walls lined with luxury goods and Catherine pulling Serena along, her face full of happiness and contentment as she showed them off.
The scene of mother-daughter affection, the warm and intimate atmosphere, was like a knife to her eyes.
Jealousy spread wildly through her.
Just then, Serena seemed to notice her gaze. She glanced over coolly before looking away, continuing her conversation with Catherine.
That nonchalant attitude, as if she deserved all of this, made Isabella feel like Serena was flaunting it all in her face.
A blatant display of superiority.
Catherine stayed in Serena's room, talking with her for a long time.
She wished she could make up for all twenty years they had lost.
But then she remembered that her daughter had been at the Starlight Royal Medical Center for a two-hour surgery on her way back.
She suppressed her excitement and told Serena to get some rest.
After all, her daughter was back by her side now; there was no need to rush.
After Catherine left reluctantly.
Serena stood up, grabbed her canvas bag, and tossed it onto the desk.
She sat down lazily in the pink ergonomic chair, unzipped the bag, and took out a
thin, compact laptop.
She powered it on.
Her long, slender fingers tapped a few
logoes on the black keynet
logging into the Gray Zone's internal hetwork
An animation of a bizarrely shaped door slowly opening appeared on the screen, followed by a line of bold, red text that seemed to bleed across the screen as it emerged from the doorway-
[Welcome back, 'Demon'.]
By the time the words were fully visible, the bloodstain effect had covered the entire
screen.
Serena was speechless.
She didn't have to guess.
This had to be Raven's handiwork.
Raven: [Holy crap! Is that our living Demon? I can't believe I'm seeing you in my lifetime!]
Reaper: [When Demon went back to
Elyndor, didn't you say you were worried about scaring your family and would be staying away from Gray Zone business for a while?]
Butcher: [Aaaah! Boss! Why are you back? Did you miss us?]
***
As soon as Serena logged into the network, the group chat named [Today's Goal: Survive the Day] erupted.
Serena stared at the familiar codenames scrolling across the screen, feeling a bit dazed.
The last time she'd seen them was four years ago.
The day the Wynns brought her home.
She had been so happy.
How could she not be, finally returning to her parents?
To prevent her identity in the Gray Zone from frightening the Wynns or getting them involved.
She had resolutely cut off all contact, saying only that she "wanted to experience a normal life."
Thinking back on her four-year-old self, she realized how incredibly foolish she'd been.
She couldn't understand why she had been so fixated on so-called family ties back then.