All Chapters of She Was Never The One: The CEO's Regret: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

By the time Friday evening rolled around, nearly a full week had passed since the mysterious flowers had appeared on Sera’s desk. She had deliberately refused to let the incident consume her, choosing instead to bury herself in work and trust the security measures already surrounding her. Still, the image of that enormous arrangement of white lilies and deep pink roses occasionally surfaced in the back of her mind, especially whenever she remembered the completely blank card tucked between the stems. She had tried to convince herself that it was nothing more than an overly enthusiastic client or investor trying to make an impression, but Damien’s genuine confusion at dinner had made that explanation harder to believe. Rather than spend another weekend trapped inside the walls of Fina Corp, Sera cleared her schedule completely, cancelling her late-afternoon client calls and moving her Monday morning briefings to another day. For the first time in weeks, she wanted two entire days wit

The blacked-out SUV pulled into the private underground garage at Fina Corp, the heavy steel security gates locking shut behind them with a low, metallic clang.Sera stepped out of the vehicle, her tailored blazer sharp, her heels clicking rhythmically against the concrete floor. Beside her, Zoe was already on the phone with their head of security, wrapping up a briefing."The perimeter at the house is fully manned," Zoe said, lowering the receiver and stepping into stride beside Sera toward the private executive elevator. "Two extra guards are stationed at Maplewood Prep starting this morning, tucked discreetly near the main entrance. The school director has the updated black-list. Adrian Cole won't get within fifty feet of Ethan without triggering an immediate lockdown."Sera pressed the elevator button, her posture rigid, her eyes fixed on the illuminated floor numbers. The past forty-eight hours had been a blur of frantic phone calls, security audits, and sleepless nights. But as

Sera left the office before three o'clock. Delaney had called her personal phone right after lunch to mention a subtle shift in Ethan's mood. He had been quiet, picking at his food, and standing by himself near the playground fence during morning recess instead of playing with the other kids.When Sera arrived at the house, Daniel hadn't brought Ethan back from Maplewood Prep yet. To keep her hands busy and her head clear, she went down to the kitchen and helped Mary chop vegetables for dinner."He'll be fine, Ms. Sera," Mary said softly, stirring the pot on the stove. "Little boys have quiet days too.""I know," Sera replied, setting down her knife. "I just want to be here when he walks through the door."When they finished in the kitchen, Sera headed upstairs to her master bedroom, needing a moment of quiet before Ethan arrived.She sat on the edge of her bed, taking her phone off the nightstand. She opened her messages and tapped on the thread with Celine. Celine's reply sat there

The security alert on the 50th floor came too late. By the time Zoe reached the head of building security, Celine was already out of the private elevator, past the ground-floor turnstiles, and gone into the Manhattan traffic.Sera stood behind her mahogany desk, looking down at the empty velvet slot in her top drawer. She took a slow, deep breath, forcing her heart rate to settle. Panicking now would accomplish nothing, and making a loud scene across the building would only ruin the company's image."Cancel the floor lockdown," Sera told Zoe, her voice dropping into a quiet, steady tone as she walked over to close her office doors. "We aren't going to turn this into a public circus."Zoe hesitated by the frame, her hand hovering over her tablet. "Sera, she took Ethan's legal documents. If she takes those straight to the media or uses them against you—""If we sound the alarm, every executive on this floor will start asking questions, and the press will catch wind of it before nightfal

The morning sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling glass of Sera’s private office, illuminating the quiet hum of Fina Corp. Down the hall, executive teams moved through the glass corridors, preparing for the quarterly risk assessment—the well-oiled machine running smoothly under its executive directors while Sera focused on the silent war inside her inner circle.Damian sat across from her desk, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His brown eyes were fixed on Sera, reflecting a deep, protective quiet that went far beyond his professional duty."She took the physical file directly out of your desk vault, took photos, and compiled the PDF herself," Damian said, his low voice calm but heavy with concern. "And she thinks she sent it to her Chicago line.""Zoe confirmed the outgoing trace," Sera replied, leaning back against her leather chair, her fingers loosely laced together. "Celine believes she’s holding the ultimate card right now. She’s at Adrian’s mansion waiti