CEO’s Regret After I Divorced (Serena and Ryan) novel Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Chapter 105 Desperate Measures

Sophie’s POV

I watched from across the street as Serena finally left the Blackwood mansion. Perfect timing. The storm of controversy around Holly’s death was settling, but I hadn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot.

With trembling hands, I applied more concealer to the marks on my neck. The bruises from Kane’s "lesson" last night were still fresh, still burning. But I couldn’t show weakness now.

"You failed me again," Kane growled, shoving me against the wall of his penthouse. His fingers dug into my throat while his other hand tore at my silk blouse, buttons flying across the marble floor. "Every time you promise results, you deliver nothing."

I begged, pleaded as he bound my wrists to the bedpost with his expensive tie. "Kane, please... I’m trying..."

"Not hard enough." His eyes went cold as ice as he took out the leather riding crop from his drawer. "Perhaps you need motivation to succeed where that pathetic girl Holly failed."

The first lash across my bare back made me scream. By the fifth, I was sobbing uncontrollably, my mascara running down my cheeks. He didn’t stop until my skin was striped with angry red welts, some breaking open and bleeding onto the Egyptian cotton sheets.

"Look at you," he hissed, grabbing my face and forcing me to look in the mirror across from the bed. "See what happens when you disappoint daddy?"

I whimpered as he tore away my lace panties, spreading my legs with brutal efficiency. His fingers roughly probed between my thighs, not caring if I was ready.

"Please," I gasped, "I’m still hurt from last time—"

"Shut up," he snapped, slapping my ass hard enough to leave a handprint. "You think I care? Your comfort isn’t my concern."

He mounted me from behind, forcing himself inside me with brutal thrusts that made me cry out in pain rather than pleasure. Each movement sent fire racing through my welted back as it rubbed against his chest.

"Remember," he whispered in my ear, his breath hot and reeking of expensive bourbon, "I own you. I made you. I can unmake you just as easily."

As he pounded into me mercilessly, one hand wrapped in my hair pulling my head back at a painful angle, I realized how far I’d fallen. There had been a time when I was Sophie Hart, the girl Ryan Blackwood couldn’t live without. Now I was just a tool, a weapon wielded by a monster.

"Say it," he demanded, his rhythm becoming more erratic. "Say who you belong to."

"You," I choked out, tears streaming down my face. "I belong to you, Kane."

He came with a grunt, not caring about my pleasure or satisfaction, then pulled out roughly and slapped my ass again.

"Clean yourself up," he ordered, zipping his pants. "You’re disgusting."

But I had no choice. Kane held too much over me - the truth about my faked death, the money I’d embezzled, the fake identities I’d used. If I failed him again, he wouldn’t just beat me. He’d destroy me completely.

When he’d finally finished using my body, rolling off with disgust rather than satisfaction, he delivered his ultimatum: "This is your last chance, Sophie. Break them apart or I’ll make sure you disappear for real this time. And not in the way you planned before."

I changed into fresh clothes, wincing as the fabric brushed against my wounds. There was no time to properly clean or bandage them. My body ached, but I had a job to do—a life to save. Mine.

Now, looking at the Blackwood mansion, I straightened my posture despite the searing pain from my back. My wounds hadn’t been treated - Kane had made it clear they were to remind me of the consequences of failure. Every movement was agony, but that would work in my favor today.

Ryan’s car pulled into the driveway just as Serena’s was leaving. I watched his expression change through the windshield - confusion, then disappointment. Perfect.

I waited until Serena’s car disappeared around the corner before making my move. My driver pulled up to the mansion gates, and I put on my most vulnerable expression.

"Ryan!" I called out, tears already flowing as I stumbled toward him. "Please help me..."

Ryan turned, his eyes widening in shock. "Sophie? What are you doing here?"

I collapsed dramatically at his feet, letting my coat fall open just enough to reveal the edge of a particularly nasty bruise on my collarbone.

"He’s going to kill me," I sobbed. "I didn’t know where else to go..."

Ryan’s face hardened as he took in my battered appearance. Despite everything, he was still a man who couldn’t ignore a woman in distress. "Who did this to you?"

"It’s urgent. My ex-husband... he’s found me again."I whispered. "He’s been... hurting me for months. When I tried to leave him, he threatened to..."

I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress the irritation. Not quite what I wanted—but close enough.

As I sat in the backseat of his car, watching the city blur past, I let my expression fall back into shadow. This wasn’t his house, but it was his protection. His attention. His guilt. That was all I needed to start.

Kane would be satisfied. Phase one was complete. I was back in Ryan’s orbit, with the perfect excuse to stay close. Now I just had to make myself indispensable—and Serena, expendable.

That night, in the minimalist apartment Ryan had provided—cold, sleek, and impersonal—I stood by the window and stared at the skyline. My phone buzzed.

A message from Kane:

“In position?”

I replied:

“Yes. Not at his place, but under his protection. Will proceed.”

His response came almost immediately:

“Don’t get comfortable. You know what happens if this fails.”

I swallowed hard, the sting in my back a cruel echo of the threat behind his words. I turned off the phone and climbed into the bed, the sheets too clean, too sterile.

I lay awake for a long time, listening to the silence, letting the pain and fear sharpen my focus.

Tomorrow, I would begin. Ryan thought he was saving me—but he’d learn soon enough that I wasn’t the one who needed saving.

He was.

And this time, I wouldn’t fail.