Serena’s POV
When we arrived, Sophie’s normally pristine apartnt looked like a hurricane had torn through it. Furniture was overturned, drawers pulled out and emptied onto the floor. Designer clothes were strewn everywhere, and there was a small splatter of blood on the cream carpet.
Sophie herself sat huddled on her couch, mascara streaking down her cheeks, her lip split and swollen. She looked up when we entered, and I couldn’t miss how her eyes brightened at the sight of Ryan.
I stared at Sophie’s pathetic form huddled on the couch, feeling absolutely zero sympathy wash over . The mascara streaking down her cheeks, her supposedly split lip—all of it looked more like theater than trauma.
Honestly, whatever trouble she’d found herself in, she probably deserved ev ery bit of it.
"Oh Ryan," she cried, leaping up and throwing herself into his arms. "I was so scared! He said he’d kill !"
Ryan awkwardly patted her back, his eyes finding mine over her shoulder. I crossed my arms, trying to ignore the possessive anger flaring in my chest.
"Sophie, tell us exactly what happened," Ryan said firmly, disentangling himself from her grip.
She sniffled dramatically, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. "It was Derek. He ca in the middle of the night. He—he said I left him to die, that I owed him. He took everything valuable, said he’d be back for more."
Her voice cracked. "He said he’d carve up my face next ti."
"Did he ntion anything else?" Ryan pressed. "Anything about his plans, where he’s staying?"
Sophie shook her head, then winced as if the movent hurt. "No, just that he needed money. "Sophie shook her head, wincing like it hurt. "No, just that he needed money." She paused before adding, "But I bet he’ll show up again in a few days."
"How would you know that?" I asked sharply.
She hesitated, clearly caught off-guard by my question, before finally explaining how Derek had been here before—sothing she’d conveniently failed to ntion earlier.
"It’s only been a few days since his last visit. He must be gambling again. That’s why he keeps coming back for money."
Her guess actually made sense, and Ryan imdiately seized on it.
"Send so n to check all the local casinos," he instructed soone on his team. "Don’t miss anything."
I’d seen enough of this performance. "We’ve seen what we ca to see. Let’s go," I said to Ryan, not even bothering to acknowledge Sophie directly.
Ryan was about to follow when Sophie grabbed his arm, her fingers digging in desperately. "Ryan, please don’t leave alone here. I’m terrified! What if Derek cos back? He threatened to cut up my face!"
God, I couldn’t stomach watching another second of this. I headed straight for the stairs, the bodyguard following close behind . Let Ryan extract himself from her clutches on his own.
Downstairs in the car, I drumd my fingers impatiently against my thigh.
When Ryan finally slid in beside five minutes later, I couldn’t help the sarcastic comnt that slipped out.
"Decided not to stay and comfort your precious Sophie after all?"
Ryan’s mouth twitched in irritation. "Serena, I only ca here to find out Derek’s whereabouts. He’s dangerous. If we don’t find him quickly, your safety could be at risk."
I glared at him. "You make it sound so noble. Tell , did you or did you not just comfort Sophie up there?"
Ryan looked exasperated. "Serena..."
"Look, Derek is Sophie’s ex-husband. She knows exactly what kind of man he is. This probably isn’t the first ti he’s hit her," I said, unable to hold back. "She made her own bad choices in n, and now she wants you to clean up her ss."
I huffed, turning away to look out the window.
Night had fallen, and exhaustion was creeping in.
Back at Ryan’s mansion, I headed straight for the guest room before he could attempt to smooth things over.
I closed the door firmly, ignoring his knocking, and went straight to the bathroom to shower.
When I erged, the hallway was silent. Good.
I changed into pajamas and checked ssages on my phone. The studio was running smoothly—nothing to worry about there. Maya had sent so follow-up information about upcoming orders, just keeping in the loop.
"How’s life at the Blackwood mansion? No fighting, I hope?" her ssage read.
Leave it to my best friend to predict trouble. I felt a surge of irritation and texted back simply: "No."
I wasn’t sure if I was lying to her or to myself.
I put down my phone and prepared for bed when soone knocked at my door again.
"Stop knocking! I’m trying to sleep!" I called out in frustration.
The knocking stopped. "Miss, I’ve brought your warm milk," ca the voice of one of the household staff.
I exhaled slowly. I’d forgotten about my nightly glass of warm milk that helped sleep.
I opened the door, reaching for the tray. "Thank you."
As I took the glass, Ryan suddenly appeared, blocking the doorway as the staff mber discreetly retreated.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
"Serena, are you going to bed? I can’t sleep," Ryan said, smoothly sliding into the room and closing the door behind him.
With the milk in my hand, I didn’t have the energy to push him out. "What do you want?"
"Don’t be angry. I barely spoke to her," he said, moving closer.
"That’s not the point. Now get out, I need to rest."
Ryan didn’t move, his eyes falling to the milk in my hands. "At least finish your milk first. I’ll take the glass back."
I studied him suspiciously, but decided not to overthink it. I drank the milk and handed him the empty glass. "There. Now you can leave."
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