CHAPTER 244: CHAPTER 244: CALEB LOCKWOOD TRULY DOESN’T LOVE HER

When Serena Jennings was pressed tightly against the wall, she saw the cold and burning anger in Caleb Lockwood’s eyes.

"Without me, you would have died on that construction site long ago. Is this how you repay me?"

Caleb Lockwood’s deep, magnetic voice scratched forcefully against Serena Jennings’ eardrums.

Serena knew that with Caleb Lockwood’s temper, it was impossible for him to do nothing after the extraordinary shareholders meeting ended.

"I already went easy on you... Otherwise, before proposing to remove you, I should’ve worked those small shareholders, united them, and perhaps could’ve had you ousted."

What Serena said was true, and Caleb Lockwood knew it well.

It was evident that convening the extraordinary shareholders meeting was not to truly remove him, but to limit his control over the company’s funds.

In other words, the person Serena was targeting wasn’t him at all.

But rather...

"Do you have to go so far?"

Caleb frowned and asked.

"Are you really going to push Claire to a dead end?"

Serena’s shoulder ached from Caleb’s grip.

Caleb stared at her, unblinking.

Serena did not avoid this sharp gaze.

She saw blame towards her in Caleb’s eyes.

But more so, a deep sense of guilt.

A guilt Caleb bore for Claire Shaw.

Serena stayed silent for a while, then let out a cold laugh.

"You should go question your beloved Claire Shaw."

"Serena, the one who harmed you was Cynthia Fulton..."

Serena forcefully broke free from Caleb’s grasp.

"Caleb Lockwood, is deceiving yourself amusing?"

"What?"

Caleb was stunned, only to see Serena slightly raise her chin, her expression stern and overpowering.

"Before being sent to prison, Cynthia Fulton pointed at Claire Shaw."

"But the police didn’t find any evidence."

"Then where do you think Cynthia Fulton got the money and connections to hire help after going bankrupt and working as a waitress and delivery driver? And how did she hook up with Adam Aldrin?"

"..."

"Caleb Lockwood, you just don’t want to admit it. You don’t want to admit that your first love, your perfect muse, is a deceitful, deadly murderer!"

Serena’s shout seemed to strike Caleb like a heavy blow.

She saw Caleb close his eyes.

For the first time... she saw such a pained and conflicted expression on Caleb’s face.

It was for Claire Shaw...

That expression... was revealed because of Claire Shaw...

The hatred that had been festering in Serena’s heart suddenly turned into a sense of helplessness.

Serena didn’t want to get angry with Caleb.

The more she got angry, the more it seemed like she still cared about Caleb.

But Serena found it really hard to control her emotions, especially when Caleb defended Claire Shaw time and again.

The day Caleb left the hospital, she lay on the hospital bed, pondering for a long time, unable to sleep for a long while.

She wondered why Caleb kept saving her time and again?

If he really didn’t love her, had no feelings at all, why bother doing all this?

Later, she figured it out.

Caleb indeed didn’t love her.

Saving her... was merely atoning for Claire Shaw’s crimes, a compensation offered to her.

After all, Caleb had done such things before in order to compensate for helping Claire Shaw.

Serena firmly believed that every trouble she encountered had something to do with Claire Shaw behind the scenes.

Evidence?

She indeed had none.

But she wouldn’t deceive herself like Caleb, saying it wasn’t Claire Shaw without solid proof.

Serena was willing to believe her intuition.

More willing to believe the clues provided by Chance Bell.

When Chance told her, inadvertently discovering the connection between Claire Shaw and Dylan Quinn, Serena realized that when Dylan Quinn kidnapped her, it was under Claire Shaw’s secret assistance.

Later, whenever Cynthia Fulton took the blame, it was also Claire Shaw pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Facing her doom, Cynthia pointed it out quite clearly, but it was all about the lack of evidence.

Serena admitted, Claire Shaw was clever.

Or perhaps, her accomplices were cunning enough.

Since the police couldn’t arrest Claire Shaw, then she would personally send Claire Shaw to hell.

That nominally runaway CD Company was actually hers.

It was a shell company she had Chance Bell help her register.

This time, the bid for Country C’s new mineral vein was a trap she set for Claire Shaw from start to finish.

Lying on the hospital bed, watching Claire Shaw step into her trap step by step, was more nourishing than any medicine.

Making Claire Shaw completely bankrupt and burdened with enormous debts wasn’t easy.

Because Caleb Lockwood was Claire Shaw’s backer.

Thus, this time, Serena made multiple preparations.

The reason for the mineral vein bidding was partly due to its relevance to Claire Shaw’s normal job, making it easy to pique her interest and lure her in.

Another reason was due to its enormous financial requirements.

In reality, Caleb Lockwood was truly indulgent of Claire Shaw, allocating 1.5 billion in working capital effortlessly.

However, just in case, Serena had Chance Bell hack into the chip factory to force a production halt.

Furthermore, threatening Caleb as a shareholder to sign a capital supervision agreement, in this way, the Lockwood Group couldn’t cover Claire Shaw’s debts. What awaited Claire Shaw would be an inescapable abyss.

When Caleb opened his eyes again, he saw Serena’s cold, sneering face.

This face, for a moment, seemed unfamiliar to Caleb.

"Serena, actually I..."

"You don’t need to repay kindness with gratitude."

Serena coldly interrupted Caleb’s words.

"Your repeated rescues... are merely to make up for the damage Claire inflicted on me..."

When Serena spoke this sentence, she saw Caleb’s eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

"Ultimately, the person you’re protecting isn’t me, but Claire Shaw..."

"Serena, how could you see me this way?"

"How else should I see you?"

Serena stared directly at Caleb.

"Do you think that because you saved me, I should let Claire Shaw go?"

"..."

"I’m telling you Caleb Lockwood, this time, Claire Shaw is doomed!"

After delivering her harsh words, Serena turned and left the office without looking back.

In the office, Caleb clutched his burning stomach.

It hurt so much...

Caleb rested against the desk and slowly sat down.

For a moment, he couldn’t determine whether the pain was in his stomach or his heart.

So it turns out...

Serena had always thought of him this way.

His repeated rescues, in Serena’s eyes, were all compensations for Claire Shaw.

Caleb’s face was ashen with pain, breathing heavily, as a thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead.

"If you think so deeply..."

Enduring the pain, Caleb muttered to himself:

"Why not think a bit more..."

He knew that Claire Shaw bid for the mining rights of the new mineral vein in Country C, but as an inspection and evaluation entity, CD Company had no qualifications or reputation in Country C.

Yet, the Country C government only provided CD Company’s evaluation report.

If he had learned this news, he wouldn’t have blindly bid.

He could’ve easily warned Claire Shaw at the time.

But he didn’t.

He heard that Serena was also interested in this bid and even sought financing of nearly a billion from the Mo and Yuan families.

However, he had his agents investigate, and while the news was true, the funds hadn’t been used, meaning Serena wasn’t really seeking financing from the Mo and Yuan families, but rather she wanted others to believe she had.

A possibility gradually became clear in Caleb’s mind.