Chapter 248

Chapter 248
As soon as they stepped outside the room, Serena slumped against his chest, burying her face against him.

He wrapped her up instantly.

“You’re safe,” he murmured. “She’s safe.”

“I was so scared,” she whispered into his shirt, her fingers twisting the fabric. “Lucien… what if...”

“She’s here,” he cut in. “She’s breathing. Arabelle won’t come within a mile of her again.”

Serena inhaled shakily, clinging tighter.

Lucien kissed the top of her head, then her temple, then her cheek, grounding her piece by piece.

“I’ll triple security,” he promised quietly. “No one touches what’s mine.”

Serena shifted enough to meet his eyes, dark, burning, resolute.

“What are you planning?” she whispered.

His jaw flexed. Something lethal flickered behind his gaze.

“Everything,” he murmured. “For what she did today… for Meilin… for every time she laid a finger on you...”

He lifted her chin gently.

“I will erase the Weng name.”

Serena’s breath hitched, not from fear, but from the gravity of the man holding her, willing to burn the world down for her.

And tonight began the first spark.

Serena’s knees weakened. The adrenaline finally drained. Exhaustion pulled at her eyelids.

Lucien carried her.

Literally lifted her off her feet, bridal style, and walked her to their bedroom.

He lowered her gently onto the bed, pulled the blankets over her, and kissed her forehead.

Her fingers curled into his sleeve, one last tiny plea. “Don’t… don’t leave yet.”

“I won’t,” he whispered.

And only after she finally slipped into a deep, trembling sleep did he move.

Lucien stepped out onto the balcony, pulling his phone from his pocket. The night air was cold, sharp, perfect for what he was about to begin.

“Get the teams ready,” he told his head of intelligence. “We’re moving on Arabelle Weng. Full scale.”

“Yes, sir.”

“No delays. No mistakes. I want everything she’s touched, every asset she’s hidden, every deal she’s forged. Dig up the dirt she buried ten years ago if you have to.”

A pause.

“And sir… what about retaliation?”

Lucien’s voice dropped to ice.

“There won’t be any. By the time I’m done, the Weng family won’t have the strength left to lift a finger.”

He hung up.

Then stared through the glass door at Serena sleeping, chest rising and falling softly, eyelashes damp from earlier tears.

His fists tightened.

Arabelle dared touch Serena’s mother.

She dared to poke the one vulnerability Serena rarely showed the world.

Now Arabelle would face something she had never in her life been prepared for: Lucien Feng without restraint.

Serena woke up with a sharp inhale.

For a moment she didn’t know where she was, the last few hours blurred together: the fear, the emergency call, her mother nearly collapsing, the doctor’s half truths, her confrontation, Lucien’s fury simmering under every breath…

Her eyes adjusted.

The room was dim.

Quiet.

Too quiet.

She turned to the side, and froze.

Lucien’s side of the bed was empty.
The sheets cold.

Untouched for hours.

A strange heaviness spread through her chest.

Lucien never left without telling her. Not since they’d become… this.

She sat up slowly, pushing the blankets aside. The moment her feet touched the floor, she felt it.

Tension.

Thick.

Heavy.

Hanging in the air like a storm waiting to break.

She stepped out of the bedroom.

And the silence became louder.

Two guards stood at the far end of the hallway, stiff, alert, eyes fixed straight ahead. When she approached, they immediately bowed.

“Mrs. Feng.”

Her stomach knotted.

“What’s going on?” she asked quietly.

They didn’t answer, but exchanged a subtle glance.

And that told her everything.

Something had happened.

Something big.

Something Lucien didn’t want her to wake up to.

Her voice tightened. “Where is Lucien?”

A guard swallowed, visibly.

“Madam… the Master left the estate shortly after you fell asleep.”

Her pulse slowed in a cold, painful way.

“Why?” she whispered.

The guard lowered his eyes.

“We… we were instructed not to tell you.”

Which meant...

Lucien was doing something dangerous. Something he didn’t want her involved in. Something tied to Arabelle. Tied to her mother. Tied to Meilin. Tied to everything he had been holding in.

Serena took a breath.

Then another.

The guard hesitated. “The estate is on lockdown for your protection.”

Serena laughed, low, humorless.

Protection.

No.

This wasn’t protection.

This was Lucien preparing for war.

Her voice came quieter, colder.

“Bring my phone.”

The guard nodded and hurried away.

Serena stood in the center of the silent hallway, hands shaking slightly, not because she was afraid. But because she knew.

Lucien never disappeared like this unless he was about to destroy someone.

And tonight… that someone was Arabelle Weng.

And Serena wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop him.

Or help him.

Her chest tightened painfully.

“Lucien…” she whispered.

Immediately she dialed his number.

It rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

Straight to voicemail.

She tried again.

Voicemail.

Her hands trembled, not from fear, but from the sickening knowledge that whenever Lucien went silent like this, it was because he was doing something irreversible… something ruthless… something he didn’t want her to witness.

She pressed the phone to her forehead and exhaled shakily.

“Lucien… pick up…”

Nothing.

She took a step toward the staircase, she needed answers, she needed someone who would talk, she needed...

“Madam Lin.”

Serena turned sharply.

The head of Lucien’s security unit stepped forward with a respectful bow. His expression was composed, but Serena could see it, the tension around his jaw, the slight stiffness of his shoulders.

“Where is my husband?” she demanded.

The captain hesitated only a breath before answering: “Sir Feng is currently overseeing a high level field operation.”

“Against who?”

The captain lowered his gaze.

“…the Weng family’s southern compound.”

Serena felt her pulse crash against her ribs.

He wasn’t just retaliating.

He wasn’t just angry.

He was waging war.

Her voice lowered. “Why didn’t anyone wake me?”

“Sir Feng left explicit orders not to disturb you,” the captain said carefully. “Considering your condition last night… and Madam Lin’s health scare… he wanted you to rest.”

Her throat tightened. Her eyes stung, not with tears, but with frustration.

He was protecting her again.

Shielding her again.

Keeping her at a distance again.

And doing something dangerous in the process.