CHAPTER FIVE

Serena’s POV

“My wife did not deserve what happened to her.” Adrian’s voice filled the room quietly from the television screen. I sat frozen at the edge of the bed. 

The cameras flashed endlessly around him while reporters shouted questions from every direction, but Adrian barely reacted. He stood there in a black suit, looking exhausted in a way I had never seen before.

For a moment, he almost looked sincere.

“I ask everyone to respect my family’s privacy during this difficult time,” he continued calmly.

“Family,” I muttered. That word felt bitter now, I stared at the screen without blinking.

This was the same man who stood silently while another woman discussed divorcing me like I was disposable.

The same man I overheard planning a future without me. And now he was standing before the entire country acting like a grieving husband. My fingers curled slightly against the blanket.

Leonard remained near the window behind me, silent while the broadcast continued.

One reporter suddenly shouted louder than the others. “Mr. Laurent! Is it true your wife discovered your affair hours before the accident?”

Everything paused, Adrian stopped moving completely. The cameras zoomed closer instantly. That silence lasted barely three seconds, but it was enough for me to see the guilt.

My stomach churned with disgust

Adrian finally continued walking without answering the question. The reporters exploded again but I wasn’t listening anymore.

My mind drifted back to the hotel suite.

Celeste asking him when he planned to serve me divorce papers, mentioning how the partnership deal was already successful and they needed to discard me soon.

I remembered every word clearly. And suddenly—the accident no longer felt random. A strange dark feeling settled inside me.

What if Adrian knew?

What if he arranged everything to protect himself?

The thought shocked me the moment it appeared but it didn’t leave. It stayed there quietly while my mind kept replaying everything. From the cheating, the divorce, the timing, then the crash.

My head buzzed as if struck by lightning.

Adrian was cruel lately, but murder? No.

I closed my eyes briefly, but another memory flashed immediately.

The black SUV following my car closely, then hitting it from behind. I felt inexplicably irritated. I opened my eyes again slowly.

“What if?” I whispered slowly before stopping myself.

Leonard finally spoke from behind me. “You’re asking yourself the same question I did.”

I turned sharply toward him.

He walked closer calmly, holding a thin black folder in one hand.

“What question?” I asked carefully.

Leonard placed the folder beside me. “Whether your accident was really an accident.”

Silence filled the room instantly.

I stared at the folder without touching it. Then slowly, I opened it. My trembling fingers flipped through each page. One picture immediately caught my attention.

A black SUV parked outside a building, another image followed beneath it, a man stepping out of the vehicle. My breath seized for a second.

Adrian.

The picture was blurry but clear enough for me to recognize him.

I looked up immediately. “Where did you get this?”

“My people recovered surveillance footage from the city.” 

My throat stiffened slightly.

The timestamp beneath the photograph showed the exact same night as the accident. I looked back at the image again, Adrian was beside the SUV.

The same kind of SUV that chased me before the crash. My thoughts became dangerously loud inside my head.

No, this could mean anything. But the doubt was already there now.

Leonard watched me carefully while I struggled silently with myself.

“He cheated on me,” I said quietly, almost like I was trying to convince myself. “But Adrian wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t what?” Leonard asked calmly.

I looked away, I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. I was stunned into silence.

Then he dropped another document in front of me. “Read page three.”

I flipped through the report slowly.

Halfway down the page, one sentence was highlighted. Secondary vehicle impact confirmed before crash point. My fingers tightened slightly around the paper.

“There was another car,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

The room suddenly felt colder again. My mind drifted unwillingly toward Adrian’s face on the television moments ago.

The guilt and silence.

Everything tangled together until I couldn’t separate emotion from logic anymore and somehow, the worst part was that a small part of me already believed it.

Leonard sat across from me afterward. “There’s something else,” he said quietly.

I looked up slowly with tired eyes. “What again?”

Instead of answering directly, he pulled another photograph from the folder and handed it to me, the second my eyes landed on it, my expression turned vague.

It was a picture of me holding a little boy. The child looked around four years old, smiling brightly while resting comfortably in my arms.

The image felt important, I tried to remember who the child is and why he felt so attached to me but no recognition came. My memory felt blurry, like it omitted an important part.

I looked at Leonard slowly. “Who is he?”

For the first time since I woke up, Leonard’s expression changed slightly, he looked concerned.

“You don’t remember him?”

I shook my head slowly.

The pressure behind my eyes worsened instantly. Fragments flashed briefly through my mind.

A child crying in the car. My car plunging into the ocean—then darkness.

I grabbed my head slightly, “what’s wrong with me?”

Leonard leaned forward calmly. “You suffered memory damage during the accident.” 

I stared at the photograph again. The child looked deeply attached to me, so why couldn’t I remember him?

“Why do you have this picture?” I asked quietly. 

Leonard studied me carefully before answering. “Because that child may be connected to the reason someone wanted you dead.”

My eyes snapped toward him instantly. “What?”

Before Leonard could answer, the door opened suddenly. One of the staff rushed inside looking visibly shaken.

“Sir…”

Leonard stood immediately. “What happened?”

The man swallowed hard before speaking. “Our security team intercepted someone attempting to access the estate servers.”

The room fell silent. Leonard’s expression darkened slightly.  

“Who?”

The staff member hesitated, then he answered quietly.

“The access request came from Adrian Laurent’s private network.”