HIS REGRET (Ex-Husband wants Me Back) novel Chapter 406

Chapter 406

“A drone?” Riana lifted her face, instinctively stepping back.

The buzzing grew louder, erratic. A small black object spun wildly, clearly out of control, diving low with unstable movements. And-

“Mom!” Althea shouted.

Everything happened in seconds. Eli shoved Riana hard. “Watch out!”

Riana stumbled backward and fell onto the damp ground-safe. But Eli lost her balance. The drone swooped down, striking the side of Eli’s head before crashing to the ground with a sharp, hollow sound.

“ELI!” Selena screamed.

The girl dropped to her knees, one foot slipping toward the edge of the sloped path. A thin line of blood ran from her temple.

Althea reached her first, crouching down. “Eli? Are you okay? Don’t move.”

“I-I’m fine,” Eli tried to smile, though her voice trembled.

Riana crawled closer, her face drained of color. “Oh my God-”

Selena collapsed beside them, her sobs breaking free. “See? Do you see what happened? We’re not even safe here!”

She kept ranting, words spilling out without sense, but Althea and Riana barely registered them. Althea pressed her handkerchief firmly against Eli’s temple. “Mom, please call Erick. We need to go to the hospital now,” she said without looking up.

“Alright. Check if there are any other injuries, Althea. That cut on her temple looks serious.”

“Look at this! What if Eli hadn’t been here? You would’ve been the one in danger!” Selena’s voice rose sharply.” And yet you still won’t acknowledge her as part of the family? When Eli cares so much about you, Mrs. Riana! All this pressure-everything!”

“Enough.” Althea finally looked up at her, her gaze cutting sharp for the first time. “I know your daughter saved my mother. But what did you do for your daughter? All you did was scream. The one who should’ve rushed to help her first wasn’t me-it was you. What were you doing, huh?”

Riana held Eli’s hand, her voice trembling. “Thank you, dear…”

Eli nodded weakly. “I just… reacted without thinking. I was scared something might happen to Grandma.”

The drone that had struck Eli lay in the open field not far from where it happened. The harsh sound of impact and a thin curl of smoke were clear signs that it had lost control. But the question lingered-who had been operating it? And why here, of all places?

Selena sobbed quietly. “I just… panicked.”

Althea rose slowly to her feet. “Your panic isn’t a solution,” she said coolly. “Can you take care of Eli after this? I’ll only stay until I’m sure she gets the best medical treatment-as my thanks for saving my mother.”

Selena looked at Althea with thinly veiled displeasure. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Riana-gentle and attentive –helped Eli stand, repeatedly asking how she felt. Eli looked shaken, her body still trembling with

fear.

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Chapter 406

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“Yes… thank you,” Selena said softly.

She hid the satisfied smile that tugged at her lips. Her plan had worked-she had created a moment where Eli could grow closer to Riana. Althea, she would deal with soon enough. She wouldn’t forget a single word Althea had said-every one of them had fueled her resentment.

Damn it. The way Althea spoke, as if everything she had would forever keep her standing above everyone else.

Not for long.

Very soon, Althea’s position would be pushed aside. Selena made sure of that.

“Ma’am! Oh my God!”

The sound of Erick’s voice-followed by several security guards-made Selena instantly put on a sorrowful mask. She acted as though she were overwhelmed by pain and worry, moving closer to Eli and pouring out her concern.

The drone lay sprawled on the wet ground, its propellers bent, one side still releasing a faint trail of smoke. Its indicator light blinked weakly, as if it were still transmitting a signal.

Too strange to be a simple accident.

Was someone responsible for all of this?

Althea glanced at it briefly—just long enough to lodge one thought firmly in her mind. This place shouldn’t have been accessible to drones at all… unless-

Behind her, Riana was still holding Eli’s hand. She hadn’t let go, not even when the guards came rushing in. There was a faint tremor in her grip—whether from the cold or the lingering fear, it was hard to tell.

“Thank you, dear,” Riana said again, her voice even softer than before.

Althea turned.

The sight tightened her chest and soothed it at the same time—a wounded child and a grandmother who had just been saved, standing at the same fragile point.

For a brief moment, Althea asked herself whether this incident would be remembered as an accident…

Or as the beginning of something far more deliberate.

She took a slow, steady breath. Her gaze returned to the damaged drone, then shifted to Riana-and finally to Selena, standing a short distance away with a sorrowful expression that looked carefully constructed.

If this truly was only the beginning, Althea knew one thing for certain:

She would not lose anyone.

And this time, she would not wait to be attacked first.

“Erick,” Althea called, making the man turn toward her.

“Yes, ma’am?” Erick stepped closer.

“You’ve been monitoring the area since the beginning, haven’t you?”

Erick nodded in confirmation.

“What did you find about the drone?”

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