The CEO's Regret: His Lost Wife's Secret Twins novel Chapter 30

Chapter 30

ARIA

“She was what?”

“Her hand was on the ventilator tube when I walked in.” My voice stayed level. She was seconds away from disconnecting it.”

“Aria, that’s-

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“Murder. I know.” I pulled out my phone. My fingers didn’t shake anymore. They’d stopped after the third time I watched the video. “Want

to see?”

“You recorded it?”

“Every word. She told me it was time to let him go. That he’d been ‘existing’ for ten years. That I was being selfish.” I looked up at Olivia.

“But when I mentioned what Dr. Mayer said-about Dad’s brain activity improving, about him possibly waking up-she panicked.”

“Panicked how?”

“Pure terror. Her face went white. She grabbed my wrist.” I pushed up my sleeve to show the fresh bruises under the bandages. ‘Dug her

nails in so hard she drew blood.”

Olivia’s hand flew to her mouth.

“The nurses heard us screaming. Security came. They found blood under her fingernails.” I pulled my sleeve back down. “My blood. But I

had the video, so they kicked her out instead of me.”

“What’s the hospital doing?”

“Investigation. Security posted outside Dad’s room.” I set my phone on the table between us. “But here’s what I can’t stop thinking about-

what is she so afraid of? What secret makes killing your own husband worth the risk?”

Olivia was quiet. Her fingers drummed against her cup. When she finally spoke, her voice was careful. “Can I ask you something?”

‘Go ahead.”

“Has Christine ever acted like your mother?”

The question hit me sideways. ‘What do you mean?”

‘I mean has she ever loved you? Actually loved you?” Olivia leaned forward. “Because I’ve watched her with you since we were kids, Aria.

And what she does-that’s not normal.

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‘She’s just cold. She’s always been-

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“No. It’s more than cold.” Olivia grabbed my hand. “When did she ever hug you? When did she ever tell you she was proud? When did she

ever choose you over Emma?”

Never. The answer was never.

“You think she’s hiding something,” I said slowly.

‘I think she’s hiding everything.” Olivia pulled out her phone and showed me a website. DNA testing. “Have you ever seen your birth

certificate?”

My throat went dry. “She said the photos were destroyed in a flood.”

“How convenient.” Olivia’s voice was gentle but firm. “And the birth certificate itself?”

“I don’t know where it is. She always handled that stuff. My chest felt tight. “You think she’s not my mother.”

“I think you deserve to know the truth.”

I stared at the website on her phone. Simple. Clean. Two weeks for results.

“How would I even get a sample?”

“Hair with the root still attached. Or a toothbrush. Olivia squeezed my hand. “She keeps things at the Grant estate, right? In that guest

room?”

“Yeah, but if she catches me-

‘She won’t. She’s avoiding the place since the hospital, isn’t she?”

True. Christine hadn’t been to the Grant house in over a week. Probably afraid I’d file charges. Or maybe just afraid of what else I might

uncover.

My phone buzzed. Blake. I ignored it.

It buzzed again. And again. And again.

“You need to look at that,” Olivia said quietly.

Seven messages waited for me:

Blake: [Where are you?]

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Blake: (Answer me.]

Blake: [You left without telling me.]

Blake: [Did you take your medicine?]

Blake: [I’m tracking you. You’re at a café in SoHo.]

Blake: [Why are you with Olivia?]

Blake: [Come home now.]

He wasn’t asking. He was commanding. Three years of this and I’d almost forgotten there was a difference.

My fingers moved before my brain caught up:

Me: [Having coffee with a friend. Will be home later.]

His response came in seconds:

Blake: [Come home NOW.]

I stared at the word NOW. All capitals. An order from CEO to employee. From owner to property.

Me: [No.]

I hit send.

Olivia’s eyes went wide. ‘Did you just tell Blake no?”

“I did. My hands shook but I felt something else too. Something sharp and bright and terrifying.

My phone rang. Blake’s name filled the screen.

“Answer it,” Olivia said. “Or he’ll come here.”

I let it ring three more times before I picked up. “What?”

“What did you just say to me?” His voice was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that came before explosions.

“I said I’m with Olivia and I’ll be home later.”

“You don’t have friends. You have duties. Your first duty is to me.”

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The words should have hurt. They’d hurt before. But right now all I felt was tired.

“I need to go.”

“If you hang up-

I hung up. Then I turned the phone off completely.

The silence was so loud it hurt my ears.

“You turned off your phone. Olivia stared at me. “You never turn off your phone.”

“He can’t track me if it’s off.” My hands still shook. “He can’t control what he can’t see.”

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“He’s going to lose his mind when you get home.”

“Good. Let him lose it.” I touched my stomach. The baby moved under my palm. “I can’t do this anymore, Olivia. I can’t raise a daughter in

a house where I’m treated worse than the furniture. Where love means surveillance and care means control.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Take your advice. Get the DNA test. Find out who Christine really is to me.” I met her eyes. “Then divorce Blake and disappear.”

‘His lawyers will destroy you.”

“Let them try. I’m done being afraid.” My voice got stronger. “My daughter deserves a mother who fights back. Who shows her that money and status don’t mean you accept cruelty.”

Olivia’s grip on my hand tightened. ‘I’ll help you. Money, lawyers, whatever you need.”

“You have your own mess with David-‘

“So what? We help each other. That’s how this works.” She smiled but it looked sad. “Maybe we’ve been doing it wrong. Fighting alone

when we should fight together.”

I stood and grabbed my coat. “I need to go before Blake shows up. Thank you. For seeing what I was too scared to see.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

We hugged. Two pregnant women drowning in bad marriages. When I pulled back, Olivia had tears in her eyes.

“We’ll be okay,” she said. “Both of us. Our daughters will know what real love looks like.”

‘Promise?’

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