Sweet Little Serena (Original)

Chapter 101

 Valentine had escaped.

He and the team went into the portal, but he never came out.

Duncan, a Shadowhunter from the team that hadn't come out either, had also vanished, being the one to hijack the portal.

And as a result of his escape, the Inquisitor was sending an envoy, one she had assured them would not take over, but monitor them. Surprisingly the Clave didn't blame them for Valentine's escape. He was a notorious criminal, and it was bound to happen sooner or later despite their absurd amount of security precautions.

But what they didn't expect was Robert to be the Clave's envoy.

The couple sat in their office as Robert stood.

"I never imagined it would be you," Serena said darkly said she sat at her desk in the Head of the Institute's office, a desk whose twin sat next to her, Alec sitting behind that desk.

"You're both my children. I felt it was my responsibility to deliver your orders personally," Robert began and Serena sat back in her chair as Alec leaned forward on his desk.

"Inquisitor Herondale has already informed you that you'll keep your positions, and though Valentine escaping was a lapse in leadership, it was bound to happen eventually. Tracking him down is our top priority and we think that he may still be here in New York"

"That's it?" Alec asked.

"For now. But make no mistake, you'll be on a tight leash. Don't give the Inquisitor an excuse to give Aldertree his old job back," Robert cautioned and Serena scoffed.

"Like that will happen," she muttered under her breath before looking to Robert. "Thanks for the help, but, this doesn't make up for what you did to Mom, Robert."

Robert sat down, hands clasped in front of him as he sighed.

"Alec, Serena, your mother and I have always had a complicated relationship -"

"It's not complicated," Alec interrupted, annoyed. "You cheated on her. There's a reason she returned to Idris as soon as you got here."

"I made a mistake," Robert continued.

"You've made the same mistake several times, from what we've heard," Serena remarked as she moved to sit on the armrest of Alec's chair, his hand moving to her waist to help her keep her balance.

"I never meant to hurt you. But I fell in love. You both can understand that, so few Shadowhunters marry for love and -"

"You married Mom for love," Serena cut him off.

"And we're not the ones, nor will we ever be the ones, who had an affair. Unlike you, we actually take our wedding vows seriously," Alec continued.

Robert looked at the floor, ashamed.

"We can argue all about family drama once we find Valentine. Until then, we have an Institute to run," Alec dismissed.

"Kids..."

"You can go. We're done here" Serena supported as her hand went around Alec's shoulders.

And Robert left.