The CEO's Regret: His Lost Wife's Secret Twins novel Chapter 180

Chapter 180

The bastard actually came himself.

“Arya, we gotta start, Jessica hissed. “Host is ready.”

I nodded, forcing myself to focus. “Let’s do this.”

The lights dimmed then brightened as our host took the stage, welcoming everyone to Nouvelle’s grand opening. I stood near the stage,

mentally rehearsing my speech.

That’s when all hell broke loose.

“LIARS! THIEVES!” A group of people in worn clothes pushed through security. Their leader, a middle-aged man with a face twisted in

anger, stormed toward the stage.

་་

“This fancy mall is built on stolen land!” he shouted. “Nouvelle forced us out! They bullied us when my parents were sick!”

The crowd erupted in whispers. Before security could grab him, Emma freaking Grant glided onto the stage like she’d been waiting for her

cue.

“Hold on,” she said, taking the microphone. “I’m Emma Grant,” she announced unnecessarily-as if everyone didn’t recognize America’s sweetheart. “I think we should hear this man out. What’s your name, sir?”

“Jerry Mitchell,” he said, voice cracking perfectly. “My family owned property here. They threatened us into selling for nothing when my

parents got sick!”

Emma gasped dramatically. “That’s absolutely horrible! Please, everyone should hear this.”

Jerry collapsed to his knees-a bit theatrical for my taste-and photos spilled from his pocket. Pictures showing contractors apparently manhandling him off a construction site.

The crowd started passing them around, faces morphing from shock to outrage.

“Disgraceful!”

“How could they do this?”

Emma put her hand over her heart. “I had no idea this beautiful center was built on such suffering. Mr. Mitchell, I’ll personally help with your parents’ medical bills and find you proper housing.”

The crowd ate it up, applauding her generosity while shooting dirty looks my way.

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Chapter 180

Victoria, never one to miss an opportunity, raised her voice. “If I were the Scotts, I’d drop Nouvelle as a partner immediately!”

I stood perfectly still, watching their little show. This wasn’t just a disruption-it was a deliberate hit job. And Emma was loving every second of it, basking in her white knight moment.

Then her eyes met mine. I didn’t look shocked or panicked. I looked like I was watching a particularly bad community theater production.

I took a deep breath and marched straight onto the stage. The crowd went nuts-many seeing me for the first time as the mysterious Arya they’d only heard about in business gossip.

“Hey everyone, I grabbed the mic from Emma’s hand, since I’m actually running Nouvelle Retail Group, maybe I should address these

accusations myself.”

Emma’s picture-perfect smile twitched. “Arya, with all this drama happening, don’t you think you should step back until things cool down? Just looking out for you.”

“Right, thanks for the concern,” I replied dryly. “But if a random person can hijack my company’s event, I think I’ll skip the hiding act and

face this head-on.”

People in the audience started whispering, several doing double-takes as they realized Emma wasn’t supposed to be running the show at

all.

Emma touched my arm with fake sympathy. “I was only trying to help. Maybe I got carried away.”

As she tried to slide past me, I caught her arm and whispered, “After all the trouble you went through setting this up? Stay for the grand

finale.

I turned back to the mic. ‘Ms. Grant, you seem pretty worked up. Everything okay with your thinking?”

Her eyes flashed panic before she recovered. “I’m just shocked about how your company treats people.”

“Well, buckle up for more surprises.” I nodded to Jessica across the room.

The giant screen behind us lit up, showing HD security footage of Jerry-our supposed victim-smashing equipment with a crowbar and punching a security guard who tried to stop him.

“Reality isn’t nearly as pretty as rehearsed stories,’ I said, watching Emma’s face go white as a sheet.

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