Ryan’s POV
I snapped my head toward Ivy, my patience wearing impossibly thin. "Where is Kane?" I demanded, gripping her arm tighter.
"What do you an, Kane? I’ve... I’ve been sleeping upstairs the whole ti..." Ivy stamred, her eyes wide with fear.
I tightened my grip on her arm. She had been staying at the mansion for months now, under Grandmother’s special care due to her supposed "pregnancy."
The irony wasn’t lost on —she’d actually gained weight from all the pampering.
"Where the hell is Kane?" I demanded, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "If you tell now, I’ll forget about your involvent. Truth is, Kane’s now a wanted man. He’s finished."
Ivy’s eyes widened like she’d been struck by lightning. Then, surprisingly, her expression shifted to excitent.
"Really? That’s wonderful! I won’t have to live under his thumb anymore!"
She seed to realize her mistake imdiately after the words left her mouth, but I’d already gotten what I needed. I released her arm, stepping back.
Maybe this woman had no reason to hide Kane—despite being forr lovers, he’d beco her constant threat.
Grandmother’s sharp eyes flickered between us, decades of cunning visible in her gaze.
"What did you say? You’ve been sleeping with Kane too?"
I almost laughed. Of course she didn’t know. My uncle’s womanizing habits were legendary, but he never paraded his conquests before his mother.
"Grandmother," I said, deliberately softening my tone while keeping my eyes hard, "you don’t know the half of it. Ivy isn’t pregnant at all. The family doctor was bought by your precious son. This entire charade was Kane’s sche."
I stepped closer to my grandmother, watching her face carefully.
"If you don’t believe , you can ask her yourself. Kane has endangered the entire Blackwood Enterprise and tried to use his lover to drive a wedge between and Serena."
The ntion of Serena’s na sent a familiar ache through my chest, but I pushed it aside. "Is this really the son you want to help escape justice?"
Grandmother’s body trembled slightly, disbelief washing over her face. The realization that her favorite son had manipulated even her must have been devastating.
I waited for several long monts, but she remained silent, her eyes distant. There was nothing more to be gained here.
I nodded to the officers and left, my footsteps echoing through the marble hallway as I exited my childhood ho.
Later that night, Simon called with updates. Ivy had been caught trying to flee with valuables and jewelry.
Grandmother had her severely beaten before throwing her out onto the street. anwhile, Kane had disappeared—obviously with Grandmother’s help.
"Should we look for him, sir?" Simon asked.
"No," I replied, staring out at the city lights from my penthouse window. "He won’t get far. I’ve already alerted border security and frozen all his known accounts."
I disconnected the call, pouring myself two fingers of whiskey.
The amber liquid caught the light as I swirled it in the crystal tumbler. I should have been satisfied, but sothing felt hollow about this victory.
By morning, my contacts confird Kane had escaped the city. Grandmother had obviously orchestrated it, using connections I hadn’t anticipated. The old woman had more resources than I’d given her credit for.
As for Ivy, my n reported she’d sohow made it back to her old apartnt—the one I had arranged for her.
My jaw clenched involuntarily.
God, what a fool I’d been.Every ti I thought about how easily I’d believed Ivy’s act, rage burned through .
If not for her manipulations, Serena and I might still be together, building the life we were ant to have.
The thought of what I’d done—how I’d treated Serena based on Ivy’s lies—made my stomach turn.
I’d driven away the only woman who truly mattered to , all because I was too blind, too stubborn to see through a simple deception.
"Simon," I barked into the phone. "Get her out of that apartnt. I don’t care how you do it. Use whatever thods necessary."
"Sir?" Simon sounded hesitant. "What about her belongings?"
"I don’t give a damn about her things," I snapped, pacing across my office. "She can take whatever she can carry in one suitcase. The rest stays. I want her gone by this afternoon."
"Understood, sir."
I hung up and walked to the window, pressing my forehead against the cool glass. With Kane on the run and Ivy about to be holess, I’d eliminated the imdiate threats. The board was firmly behind . Blackwood Enterprises was secure.
But none of it mattered without Serena.
I pulled out my phone, scrolling to her na for what felt like the thousandth ti. My finger hovered over the call button before I locked the screen and slipped it back into my pocket. No, a phone call wouldn’t be enough. After everything that had happened, I needed to see her face to face.
It was ti to start fighting for my wife. For real this ti.
I grabbed my keys and headed for the elevator. The ti for plots and business maneuvers was over. Now ca the hardest battle of all—winning back the woman I loved.
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