The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 430

Chapter 339 A First Approach, Part 1

Chapter 339: A First Approach, Part 1.

Vanessa

There’s nothing… Nothing new, nothing clear.

I’ve spent hours… days… checking the same things over and over. News, websites, social media, comments, anything that might give me à clue, a sign, a different detail.

But no… Everything says the same thing.

1 clutch my phone in my hands.

“Say something more…” I murmur.

But there’s nothing more, and that… That’s what’s driving me crazy. Because not knowing… is

worse than any answer.

I get up from the sofa and start pacing the apartment, back and forth.

Aimlessly, relentlessly.

My mind races.

“What if she’s already spoken?”

“What if she said something?”

“What if someone suspects something?”

I stop dead in my tracks… No, there’s nothing. The police haven’t said anything, nor have the news

outlets.

Everything remains… clean, controlled, perfect. As it should be, but then….

Why aren’t they saying more?

I press my lips together.

“Because they don’t know…”

I answer myself.

It has to be that, it has to be. But another thought creeps in… More dangerous.

“What if she’s worse than they’re saying?”

My chest tightens.

“What if… she died?”

O

Chapter 339 A First Approach, Part 1

Silence.

I stay still, thinking, feeling. And I don’t know what’s worse.

Not knowing if she’s alive… Or not knowing how she is.

I close my eyes for a second, and when I open them… I know.

I can’t go on like this; I need to see it, I need to know with my own eyes.

No filters, no headlines, no interpretations.

Decisively, I go to the room, open the closet. I look for something neutral, nothing flashy, nothing

that will give me away.

I grab a cap, sunglasses, and pull my hair back.

I look at myself in the mirror, different, discreet… Enough.

“No one will notice…” I murmur.

I grab my bag and leave.

The journey feels endless, every traffic light, every car, every second.

Everything is slower than it should be.

My leg moves on its own, restless, impatient. When I finally arrive at the hospital, I park a little far

away.

I don’t want to be registered, not directly. I walk toward the entrance, my pulse quickening.

Not from fear, not exactly. It’s something else. It’s… anticipation.

I walk through the doors, the hospital smell hits me immediately. That clean air… cold… impersonal.

I adjust my glasses, lower my head slightly, walk toward reception, each step measured, each movement controlled.

“Good afternoon,” the receptionist says.

I nod slightly.

“I’m looking for information about a patient…”

My voice sounds normal, rehearsed.

“Clara Sinclair.

Chapter 339. A First Approach, Part 1

The woman checks the system.

“I’m sorry, the information is confidential. Only immediate family members…”

I knew it, it was obvious.

I nod.

“I understand…”

I won’t insist, I can’t. It would be suspicious.

I stand there for a few more seconds, thinking about what to do. How to get closer, how to see

something.

Anything, and then…

“Vanessa?”

My body freezes, that name… Said like that, so clearly, so directly.

I close my eyes for a second.

No, it can’t be.

I swallow and turn slowly. And there he is, Ethan in front of me, looking at me… Confused,

surprised.

My heart races, but I don’t let it show. I can’t.

I slowly take off my glasses.

“Ethan…”

My voice comes out lower than I expected, for a second… I don’t know what to say.

I wasn’t prepared for this, not like this. But I react, I have to.

“I saw the news…”

I lower my gaze slightly, as if it affected me.

“I saw that your… that Clara…”

I swallow.

“She was in an accident and I…”

I look up, straight into his eyes.

“I just wanted to know how you were…

Chapter 339 A First Approach, Part 1

I pause, choosing my words carefully.

“You must be worried…”

My voice softens.

“I just… I just hope she’s okay.”

He watches me silently, analyzing. He always has, and for a second… I feel like he’s seeing too

much.

But then… He nods.

“Thank you for coming.”

His voice sounds tired, more so than I’ve ever heard it.

“But I don’t think…” He pauses, searching for the words. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be

here.”

My chest tightens, I open my eyes slightly.

“Why?”

The question comes out on its own, automatically.

“Why shouldn’t I be here?”

For a second… I think about it. Does he know something? Does he suspect? Has he…?

But no, his expression isn’t like that, it’s something else.

He sighs.

“I don’t want any misunderstandings…”

I study his posture, the way he speaks. And I understand.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify