All eyes converged on Seraphina. The combined weight of Barrett’s testimony and the Mayor’s evidence fell upon the group like a gavel.

Mark, who had so confidently championed them moments before, felt the sting of public humiliation. "I must have been blind!" he spat, forcing the words through gritted teeth as he retreated into the crowd.

Julian and Dominic remained paralyzed by a heavy, suffocating silence. Only Caleb found the nerve to glare back, though his defiance rang hollow.

Seraphina’s fists were white-knuckled. She stared at Evelyn, a metallic tang of blood rising in her throat. She couldn't fathom it—why was Adrian refusing to protect his own blood? Why side with this girl, a mere discarded fiancé, over his own cousin?

Evelyn regarded her with a chilling apathy, her hooded eyes lifting slowly. "Seraphina," she said, her voice like a low winter wind. "Since you’ve stolen my food, don't you think an apology is in order?"

Julian flinched. Fearing the strain on Seraphina’s fragile health, he stepped forward. "Evelyn, enough. Have a little mercy."

At the sight of the mocking curve on Evelyn’s lips, Seraphina felt her chest seize. The world tilted, turning to a bruised purple-black, and she collapsed.

"Seraphina!" Julian let out a strangled cry, catching her before she hit the dirt. He fumbled for her emergency medicine, forcing the pills into her mouth with trembling hands.

Pale and breathless, she slumped against him like a broken doll. Julian turned a murderous glare toward Evelyn. "Must you push her until she’s dead?"

The villagers, who had been whispering and pointing, suddenly fell quiet. The threat of a tragedy chilled their blood; no one wanted the weight of a death on their conscience during the harvest.

"Get back to work!" Barrett’s roar shattered the tension. "What are you all staring at? If you’ve got time to loiter, you’ve got time to reap!"

He watched the crowd scatter, but his mind was already turning. He’d make a note of this—a black mark against Seraphina’s group to be settled once the wheat was in the silos.

Seraphina leaned into Julian’s embrace, the picture of frailty. But beneath her lowered lashes, her gaze was fixed on Evelyn with a terrifying certainty. She was betting everything on her illness. Even if Evelyn was "mad" enough to demand an apology from a dying woman, Julian wouldn't allow it. Dominic wouldn't allow it. Even Barrett wouldn't risk the liability of a corpse in his fields.

"She’s sick," Evelyn noted, her tone conversational but sharp as a razor. "But the rest of you aren't. Since she is the woman you all cherish so dearly, surely you’ll take responsibility for her sins?"

"Evelyn, this isn't the time," Julian pleaded, trying to de-escalate. "After the harvest, we can settle—"

Evelyn moved before he could finish. Just as Julian thought she might be softening, she stepped into his space and swung.

Crack.

The first slap was delivered with every ounce of her strength. Before the shock could register, she pivoted and caught the other side of his face with the back of her hand.

Julian’s ears rang with a deafening hum. His face went from white to a searing, throbbing red. He stared at her, his mind reeling. She hit me?

"She’s 'sick,' and she uses that sickness like a shield to avoid an apology," Evelyn said, her voice dripping with disdain. "You offered the apology in her place, Julian. Now, you’ll take the payment."

Before he could utter a word of protest, she swung a third time.

Snap.

The force split his lip. A dull ache radiated from deep within his ear. As Evelyn raised her hand for a fourth strike, Seraphina suddenly found her strength. She reached out from Julian’s arms and caught Evelyn’s wrist.

The victory lasted only a heartbeat. Before Seraphina could gloat, Evelyn’s free hand lashed out, catching her squarely across the cheek.

Seraphina tumbled back into Julian’s lap.

"Oops. My hand slipped," Evelyn remarked coolly. "Let’s just consider that an apology from both of you."

She had no intention of letting either of them go. This was a game, and she was only just beginning to play.

As Evelyn approached Dominic, he felt his chest tighten. He knew they were in the wrong. He knew an apology was the only way out. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Evelyn’s palm met his face with a sharp report. "I don’t accept," she replied flatly.

Then came Caleb. He backed away, his hands curling into fists. "I'm not apologizing. For all we know, that meat was—"

Evelyn didn't wait for the lie. She silenced him with a strike that sent his head snapping to the side.

"Evelyn!" Caleb roared, his face contorted with rage. He looked ready to strike back, his muscles coiled to leap.

Suddenly, the tall, imposing silhouette of Adrian stepped between them, shielding Evelyn. He looked past Caleb toward Barrett. "Those involved in the theft are to be stripped of all village benefits for one year," Adrian commanded. "That includes any permits for the ginseng farm. They are disqualified from everything."

Julian’s head snapped up. To lose their standing before the harvest competition was even over—it was a death sentence for their ambitions.

"We didn't steal it!" Caleb blurted out.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed into hard, unforgiving lines. "It was Evelyn’s meat. You didn't just take it; you tried to rewrite reality in front of this whole village. You slandered her. You played the victim while acting as the thief."

Julian felt the word thief burn through him like acid. "Cousin... I didn't steal it," he stammered, his voice thick with shame. "I just didn't want a scene..."

"You abandoned the straight path for the gutter," Adrian interrupted, his voice heavy with disappointment. "As a friend, you failed to stop them. As a man, you conspired to bury the truth for your own selfish convenience. To think a man so devoid of integrity, so lacking in basic justice, is my own kin... you have shamed my name."

Julian’s face turned a violent shade of crimson. His chest felt as though it might explode from the pressure of his held breath; his fingers trembled uncontrollably.

Seraphina gnashed her teeth, wanting to scream that she hadn't just kept the meat for herself, but Adrian didn't give her the chance. He turned on his heel, guiding Evelyn away toward the dining area.

Watching their retreating figures, Seraphina’s eyes burned with a manic, jealous light. A poisonous realization began to take root in her mind. The way Adrian stood over her... the way he moved for her... something was wrong.

They knew each other before this, she realized, her heart racing. He must have arranged for her to come to Qingfeng Town. Why else would the timing be so perfect? She watched Evelyn walk beside the Mayor, her mind spinning dark fantasies. Evelyn was a creature of the gutter, she told herself. She was likely using that body of hers to bind Adrian to her will.

Seraphina bit her tongue until it bled, the iron taste the only thing keeping her from screaming in pure, unadulterated envy.