The CEO's Regret: His Lost Wife's Secret Twins novel Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Aria didn’t pull away like usual. “I know.”

Her calm response surprised me. “You’re not pushing me away today?”

She looked directly at me. ‘Do you think we can go back to how things were before, Blake?”

“Yes,” I answered immediately, relieved she hadn’t mentioned divorce again. ‘We can. We will.”

She gave me a strange look. “Because this time it seems unnecessary to bring it up again.”

“What?” I didn’t catch her whispered words. “What did you say?”

“Nothing important.” She stepped back. “I might be late tonight. Don’t wait up.”

I watched her walk away, feeling my chest tighten. Something wasn’t right.

After she left, I couldn’t settle. The emotions churning inside me were foreign and uncomfortable. I’d always despised emotional dependency, seeing it as weakness. Yet here I was, counting the hours until Aria would return.

I walked through the east wing, trying to clear my head, when I noticed one of the maids carrying a familiar brown teddy bear-the one

Aria had kept since childhood.

“Where are you taking that?” I demanded.

The young woman startled. “Mrs. Morgan gave this to me for my daughter yesterday, sir. She said she didn’t need it anymore.”

“That’s impossible. The words came out sharper than I intended. “She wouldn’t give that away.”

That teddy bear was Aria’s most treasured possession. She’d had it since childhood. After Aaron died, she kept it even closer, sometimes holding it when she thought no one was watching.

I took the bear from the surprised housekeeper. “There’s been a mistake. I’ll speak with Mrs. Morgan about this.”

Something was definitely wrong. I needed to find Aria immediately.

As I headed toward the front door, a white Bentley screeched into the driveway. Richard and Elaine emerged, looking panicked.

“Where is she?” Richard demanded before I could speak. “Where’s our daughter?”

“Emma? She didn’t come here today,” I replied, confused by their agitation.

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Chapter 103

Richard shook his head frantically. “Not Emma. Aria! Where is Aria?’

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“What are you talking about?” My grip tightened on the teddy bear.

Richard pulled two documents from his coat. “These birth certificates-they were switched. Twenty-three years ago, Christine deceived us

all. She exchanged her own daughter, Emma, with our biological daughter, Aria!”

The world seemed to stop. I stared at the papers, seeing the dates, the names, the evidence of an unimaginable betrayal.

“We’ve been investigating this for weeks, Richard continued, his voice breaking. ‘We just confirmed it last night and came straight here.”

Elaine stepped forward, her eyes red from crying. “Where is she, Blake? Where is our daughter?”

“She left about an hour ago, I managed to say. “She’s meeting someone about dashcam footage for her investigation.”

Richard grabbed my arm. “Her phone has been off since last night. We’ve been trying to reach her constantly.”

“That’s impossible. She just told me this morning that the car owner called to rush her to the meeting.”

If her phone had been off since last night, who had called her this morning? It hit me then-Aria had lied. But what was her real motive?

“The truth is,” Richard’s voice cracked, “I wasn’t there when Aaron died because I was tracking down the nurse who saw the baby switch. I just got back last night and found out Aaron was gone. I should have been there for her.”

Before I could process this, Martha, our housekeeper, ran out from the house.

“Mr. Morgan! The police just called. Mrs. Morgan’s car was found wrecked on Route 27!”

“What?” The word felt ripped from my throat.

“There was blood at the scene, Martha continued, her voice shaking. “The security camera at the gas station caught everything. Christine attacked Mrs. Morgan and took her away in another vehicle.”

Elaine collapsed against Richard, who looked like he’d aged ten years in seconds.

“The police are investigating, but they said it will take time to-

I didn’t hear the rest. I was already running to my car.

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