CEO’s Regret After I Divorced (Serena and Ryan) novel Chapter 374

Chapter 374: Chapter 374 I’m NOT your Serena

Ryan’s POV

I could feel something was catastrophically wrong the second Simon walked into my office. His face carried that particular shade of dread reserved for delivering news that would shatter my day—or my world.

"Mr. Blackwood," Simon said, his voice stretched thin with urgency, "we’ve located Claire’s apartment. She’s the former Elegant Realm employee who stole those design sketches. This morning she..." He swallowed hard, clearly dreading my reaction. "She physically attacked Mrs. Lancaster at the studio."

The world tilted off its axis.

Serena.

My heart didn’t just stop—it felt like someone had reached into my chest and crushed it. I shot to my feet so violently that my chair crashed backward. "What did you just say?"

"Mrs. Lancaster wasn’t injured. Security intervened quickly, and Claire was arrested," Simon continued, but I could barely process his words through the red haze clouding my vision. "But there’s more, sir. Claire publicly confessed to starting the fire at Fashion Week."

I blinked, my racing thoughts grinding to a halt. "Claire? That’s impossible."

Think, Ryan. Think.

My mind raced through everything I knew about that night—every detail I’d memorized, every lead I’d followed. A dull ache started behind my temples as the pieces refused to align. Claire might have lit the match, but she wasn’t the mastermind. Someone else—someone with real power—had orchestrated Serena’s attempted murder.

And that someone was still out there.

"Take me to Elegant Realm," I ordered, already striding toward the door. "Now."

Ryan’s Internal Storm:

Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes to get to her, and every second felt like an eternity stretched on a rack. My fingers drummed against my knee in a staccato rhythm that matched my thundering pulse.

She could have been killed. Again.

The thought clawed at me like a living thing. Here was the woman I’d spent three years searching for, the woman I’d never stopped loving despite her complete rejection of our shared past—and she’d almost been taken from me twice now.

What kind of man am I if I can’t even protect her?

All my resources, all my connections, all the power I’d accumulated—and she was still vulnerable. Still in danger. Still pushing me away every time I tried to help.

The irony was vicious. Serena had lost every memory of our marriage, our fights, our passion—but somehow she’d retained that devastating ability to cut me down with a single glance.

When we finally arrived, I didn’t wait for Simon. I pushed through the glass doors like a man possessed, ignoring the whispers that erupted in my wake:

"Mr. Blackwood rushed here as soon as Mrs. Lancaster was attacked..."

"Didn’t he rescue her from the fire too?"

"But she’s married to Mr. Lancaster now..."

"Do you think he’s trying to steal her back?"

Let them talk. Their gossip meant nothing compared to seeing her safe.

She was curled on her office sofa, pencil hovering over a sketchbook, but her usual fierce concentration was absent. When she noticed me, those familiar brows drew together—the same expression she’d worn when we’d argue about her working too late, about taking risks, about her stubborn independence.

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