Mr billionaire's regret chasing his irresistible wife by Gabby Emmanuel

The call

(JARED'S POV)

I had just wrapped up a virtual meeting and was about to dive back into work when Arielle's call flashed across my screen.

The unexpected sight of her name made my heart skip a beat. There was a flicker of hope. Stupid, maybe, considering how firmly she'd shut me out before, but I couldn't help it. Perhaps this was it. Maybe she had a change of heart. Maybe she was calling to let me meet my son.

I know, it sounded foolish. But a man was allowed to dream.

"Hello," I answered the call, trying to sound casual but I knew it betrayed how my heart was leaping with anticipation.

But no amount of preparation could've braced me for what I heard next. Her voice-sharp, frantic, panicked-broke through the phone, jagged and hysterical. "Maverick's missing! Someone took him from school... I thought it was you..." Her words hit me like a gut punch, stealing my breath.

I hated hearing her so terrified, so out of control. I immediately tried to calm her, assure her that I hadn't taken Maverick and that I would never do something like that. But as I pressed for more details, the line went dead.

I stared at the screen in disbelief. She hung up.

Frustration boiled inside me, and I immediately redialed, but the call wouldn't go through.

What happened? Was Maverick okay? I felt my stomach twist in knots.

"Oliver," I snapped, voice sharper than I intended. "Call off the meeting. We're done for now."

My personal assistant blinked, clearly taken aback. "But, sir, this project is critical for the next queue_"

"Then postpone it. Until I get back." I was already turning away, heading for the door. My voice was low, but the tension in it was undeniable. "Take me to Valley View School."

The drive to the school was a blur of thoughts and questions, each one darker than the last. Nothing about this made sense. Arielle was meticulous about security, about keeping her family safe.

systems in the city. How could

arrived, my feet barely hitting the

was there, her face drained of color, eyes wide with terror. She held her

brief flicker of recognition flashed in her eyes, before it quickly dimmed again. "Jared, Maverick..." Her voice broke on the last word. She stepped forward,

steady her. Her body stiffened for a moment, and I could feel the tension between us, a gulf

just gave a small

I'm Jared Smith. You know who I am. Now, tell

Mr. Smith, but there are few clues. The teacher who saw the man said he had

license? A worker's license? What the hell kind of identification is that?" My temper flared, but I managed to keep my voice low. "Are you all that careless? Get your damn teachers together. Find out everything about this man. What did he look like? Who saw him? From the custodians

Oliver were both standing there,

I snapped at the principal, before turning back to Arielle. She was pale, and

her, but the words

was a lie she was telling herself. I could see

hand, looking into her tear-streaked face. "He'll be fine," I repeated, my voice more firm than I felt. "Maverick is fine. We'll

raw in her red-rimmed eyes. "He will be fine, right? Jared... please... tell

making her meet my gaze. "Look at me, Arielle. Look at me. Yes,

nodded, but it was hollow. She wasn't listening, not really. Seconds dragged into minutes, and

was a storm of doubts and questions, none of which had

back? Most likely he's not a stranger to Maverick. But Arielle couldn't

Arielle had returned, her

to interact

been in bed for two days, lying low, recovering from whatever had been plaguing her. According

had shown a J&S Capital worker's license. But that detail made everything

our lives tightly under wraps. So, how could this man possibly know? And even if this was

her voice carefully neutral, but her exhaustion was impossible to hide. I could see through her