Soon after, a project under Cassius's management was investigated for cutting corners and a suspected leak of corporate assets.
Just as Jude was preparing to strike, the authorities arrested the handful of loyal subordinates he had left.
His power base within the company was completely annihilated.

He returned home, a broken man, only to find Seraphina preening.
"Darling, did Cassius's project run into trouble?"
she asked, a smug look on her face.
Jude looked at her, confused.
"How did you know?"
She admired her freshly manicured nails.

"I hired someone to leak his documents. And I had someone swap out the materials on his construction site. And I also—"
Before she could finish, a wave of nausea and rage washed over Jude. He realized with dawning horror that if this came out, it wouldn't just be Cassius who suffered—it would be the entire Mantel empire.
And when Grandpa Orson found out it was Seraphina's doing, he would be ruined along with her.
His expression hardened into something cruel.

He grabbed her by the hair, dragged her to the car, and sped to the old family estate.
Kneeling before Grandpa Orson, Jude tearfully confessed Seraphina's
"foolish"
actions.
It was only then that Seraphina understood the magnitude of her mistake. She clung to Jude's leg, sobbing, begging for forgiveness.
"I was only trying to help you! You were so miserable, I just wanted to do something! I never thought this would happen!"
The old man slammed his hand on the table, his head pounding.
"Enough! The priority now is to fix this!"
He gave Jude a long, disappointed look and sighed.
"Jude, you have failed me in every possible way."
Cassius and I were summoned as well.
In the tense silence of the study, Grandpa Orson recounted the entire sordid tale.
My father, who was also present, looked as if he was about to have a stroke. He pointed a trembling finger at Seraphina.
"How could you be so stupid? Why must you always compete with your sister? Can't you just live your life?"
Seraphina, her eyes swollen from crying, wiped her tears and screamed back at him,
"We're both your children! Why does she get the best of everything? Why does she get to run the business while I'm treated like a decorative vase?"
My father's anger boiled over.
"Didn't I buy you a copy of everything I ever bought your sister? Some things were gifts from Sloane's mother! You can't expect her mother to buy gifts for you too!"
He took a breath, trying to control his temper.
"You barely graduated high school! I had to pay a fortune to get you into a college abroad just for the diploma! Do you really think you could manage a company? You'd bankrupt it in a month! That's why I don't give you the business!"
Seraphina was momentarily silenced, but then she remembered another grievance.
"Then why did you only give me five percent of the company shares? You gave the other thirty-five percent to Sloane!"
she wailed.
"Is that fair to my mother? She died in childbirth for you, and this is how you treat her daughter?"
My father rubbed his temples, his expression one of utter defeat.
"Of those shares, Sloane only received five percent from me. The majority shareholder of the company is Sloane's mother. I only own twelve percent myself. I kept two percent, and gave the remaining ten to be split equally between you and Sloane."
He paused, then delivered the final, devastating blow.
"And I have to tell you the truth. You are not my biological daughter. I found you, abandoned, and took you in. If you don't believe me, we can review the adoption records. I have done more than enough for you. I never imagined you would turn out like this."
The revelation that she wasn't even his real daughter struck Seraphina dumb.
Jude, who had been hoping to use the Vance family as a lifeline, saw his last hope evaporate.