Chapter 244

Chapter 244
Lucien Feng was sitting in the conference room of the Feng Group, surrounded by board members and foreign investors, mid presentation when his phone vibrated three times in rapid succession.

The emergency vibration.

He froze.

Every instinct sharpened.

He glanced at the caller ID: Hospital.

His pulse slammed painfully against his ribs.

“Excuse me,” he said abruptly, already rising from his chair.

“Mr. Feng the presentation...” one executive stammered.

Lucien didn’t hear him. He was already answering the call as he strode out.

“What happened?” His voice was dangerously low.

“Mr. Feng, it’s Mrs. Lin… there was a collapse… Miss Serena is hysterical, she’s at the hospital...”

Lucien didn’t wait for the rest.

He hung up.

Marched straight to the elevator.

His jaw clenched so tightly his teeth ached.

His assistant sprinted after him. “Sir! The investors...”

“Cancel everything,” Lucien growled, stepping into the elevator. “If anyone asks, tell them my wife needs me. That’s all they need to know.”

The doors slid shut.

And Lucien’s mask shattered.

His breathing turned rough. His fists tightened until his knuckles went bone white.

Serena.

His Serena.

Breaking down alone.

Because of what?

Because of who?

What happened?

He stabbed at his phone to call her. Straight to voicemail.

“Damn it, Serena, pick up!”

He hit redial. Again and again.

No answer.

His heart hammered with raw fear. Not in years, not since Meilin, had he felt this bone deep panic.

The car was already waiting outside when he burst from the elevator.

“Hospital,” he commanded.

The driver stepped on the gas so hard the tires screeched.

Lucien gripped the back of the headrest, leaning forward, breath shaking.

“Faster,” he snarled. “I said faster.”

His mind spiraled.

Serena terrified.

Serena hurting.

And then...

Something worse flashed through his mind. This wasn’t random.

This felt targeted.

His jaw hardened.

If someone touched her…

If someone hurt her mother…

If someone orchestrated this...

He would burn them alive.

Lucien’s car screeched into the hospital driveway so violently that the security guards jumped back.

He didn’t even wait for the driver to fully stop, the moment the tires hissed against the pavement, he flung the door open and stormed inside, his coat whipping behind him like a dark omen.

He had left a boardroom full of executives mid sentence, eyes widening in shock as he stood up abruptly and said only one thing. “Cancel everything.”

His voice had dropped into that deep, deadly calm that always preceded war.

He didn’t care.

Someone had touched Serena’s life, someone had dared hurt her mother.

That was enough for him to bring down a city.

As he strode through the hospital halls, people instinctively moved aside. His presence crackled like thunder, barely leashed violence pulsing beneath his skin.

His eyes, usually cool and calculating, were burning. Not with anger alone.

With fear. Genuine, soul deep fear.

He had never run like that. Never felt his heart slam this hard against his ribcage.

Not even during corporate wars.

Not even during assassination attempts.

When he reached the corridor outside Mrs. Lin’s emergency ward, he saw Serena.

She was standing stiffly.

Too stiff.

Like her body was holding itself together by sheer force of will.

Her arms were folded around herself, not crying, not speaking, just staring at the floor with wide, glassy eyes. The kind of silent shock that sliced deeper than any scream.

Lucien stopped breathing for a second.

His entire being stilled.

Because Serena wasn’t crying.

And when she didn’t cry… it meant she was breaking.

He strode forward so fast the nurses startled, and Serena lifted her head sharply at the familiar footsteps.

“Lucien…”

Her voice cracked on his name.

That was all he needed.

He reached her in two long steps and immediately pulled her into his arms. No hesitation. No restraint. Just raw instinct, possessive, desperate, terrified instinct.

Serena collapsed into him like her strength finally gave out.

Lucien held her so tightly he was practically lifting her off the ground, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other gripping her waist like he was afraid she’d disappear if he let go.

He inhaled her, grounding himself against her trembling body.

“Serena…” he whispered against her hair, voice hoarse. “Sweetheart, look at me. Are you hurt? Did anything happen to you?”

She shook her head weakly, her fingers twisting into his shirt.

“I.. I’m fine… but my mom, she just fell. The doctor said... he said there could be complications and she might... she might...”

Her breath shuddered. Her nails dug into his chest.

Lucien’s jaw clenched so tight a vein pulsed down the side of his neck.

“Shh, shh… I’m here.” His voice dropped to that deep, soothing tone he only ever used with her. “I’ve got you. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

He kissed the top of her head, then her temple, then pulled her face up gently with both hands.

Her eyes looked empty. That scared him more than anything else.

“Serena.” His thumb brushed her cheek. “I promise you, nothing is going to happen to your mother. I won’t let it. Do you hear me?”

Her lips trembled. “Lucien… she fell out of nowhere. She was fine this morning. It doesn’t make sense, what if...”

Lucien stiffened.

Because he knew it made sense.

Because he already suspected the truth.

Because he had already ordered his men to find who had tampered with hospital staff, who orchestrated the scare, who had dared provoke Serena at her most vulnerable.

Arabelle.

The realization was like ice spreading down his spine.

But he couldn’t say that yet. Not until he had proof. Not until he could deliver Arabelle’s head on a platter at Serena’s feet.

So he pulled Serena closer, resting his forehead against hers.

“No one,” he whispered, voice trembling slightly with suppressed rage, “touches the people you love. Not while I’m alive. I swear to you.”

Serena squeezed her eyes shut as another tremor wracked her body.