The CEO's Regret: His Lost Wife's Secret Twins novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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Then I heard it. Faint. Desperate.

“Help… please… someone…”

I ran. Found the heavy metal door. Locked from the outside. A chair had been wedged under the handle for

extra security.

Someone did this on purpose.

“Aria! You in there?”

Nothing. Just silence. Too much silence.

“ARIA!”

“Matthew?” Her voice came back weak, broken. “Matthew, I can’t… breathe…”

I grabbed the chair, flung it aside. The lock was commercial grade. No way to break it without tools.

“Hang on! I’m getting you out!”

I looked around frantically. A fire extinguisher hung on the wall. I grabbed it, swung with everything I had.

The metal door rang like a bell. Again. Again. The lock mechanism started to bend.

“Stay with me, Aria! Talk to me!”

No answer.

“ARIA!”

I swung harder. The fire extinguisher dented. The lock gave way partially. One more hit. The mechanism

broke. The door swung open.

Wine smell hit me first. Then I saw her.

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Chapter 10

She lay in a pool of wine and blood and broken glass. Her dress was soaked burgundy. Her hands-God, her

hands. Shredded. Cut to ribbons. Blood everywhere. Her face was pale, lips blue. She wasn’t moving.

“No. No, no, no.” I dropped to my knees beside her, glass cutting through my pants. “Aria!”

I pressed my fingers to her throat. Pulse. Faint but there. She was breathing-shallow, irregular, but

breathing.

I scooped her up, careful of her destroyed hands. She was limp, unconscious. Her head lolled against my

shoulder.

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“I’ve got you,” I said, even though she couldn’t hear. “I’ve got you.”

I carried her up those three flights. My arms screamed. My legs burned. I didn’t stop.

The hotel lobby erupted when I burst through with her. Blood dripping. Wine staining everything. Aria’s

ruined hands hanging limp.

“Call 911!” I shouted. “NOW!”

A manager rushed over. “Sir, what happened-”

“Someone locked her in the wine cellar!” My voice came out raw. “She’s been down there-I don’t know how

long. She’s cut up bad. Might be in shock.”

I laid her on a leather couch. Her eyes fluttered but didn’t open. Her breathing rattled.

“Aria.” I patted her cheek gently. “Come on. Stay with me.”

Her lips moved. Barely a whisper. “Baby…”

“What?”

“Save… the baby…”

My blood froze. Baby? She’s pregnant?

“Ambulance is three minutes out,” someone said.

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Chapter 10

I looked at her hands again. The cuts were deep. She’d destroyed them trying to break out. Trying to

survive.

For a baby.

The ambulance arrived. Paramedics swarmed. They loaded her onto a stretcher, started an IV, wrapped her

hands.

“Are you family?” one asked.

“No. Friend. But she’s pregnant.” The word felt foreign. “She said to save the baby.”

The paramedic’s expression shifted. “How far along?”

“I don’t know.”

They moved faster. Loaded her into the ambulance. I climbed in without asking.

“Sir, family only-”

“I’m the one who found her. I’m staying.”

The paramedic nodded. We took off, sirens wailing.

I watched them work on her. Oxygen mask. Checking vitals. Bandaging those destroyed hands.

Who did this? The question burned. Someone locked her in that cellar. Wedged the door. Left her to die.

And she fought her way out for a baby.

Blake’s baby. Had to be. Unless-

No. Aria wasn’t like that. For all her faults, she was loyal. Stupidly loyal to a man who didn’t deserve her.

Did Blake even know? About the pregnancy? About what happened tonight?

The ambulance pulled into Redwood Medical Center. My hospital. My family’s hospital. The place where 1 was supposed to hate her, supposed to make her suffer for what her father did.

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But all I saw was that little girl who used to share her lunch with me. Who’d tie my shoelaces when I

couldn’t figure them out. Who’d let me win at tag even though she was faster.

The girl I’d loved before I learned to hate.

They wheeled her into the ER. I followed, ignoring the surprised looks from my staff.

“Get me Dr. Harrison, I barked. “And someone from obstetrics. Now.”

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R Visitor

2 Comments >

Matthew hates her and calls her “cheap help” not 5 minites ago and then in a snap, he’s overly worried about her and helping her? Makes no sense.

7 days ago

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The CEO’s Regret: His Lost Wife’s Secret Twins