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.

security systems in the city. How could someone just snatch a child in broad

of the car the second we arrived, my feet barely hitting the ground before I

of color, eyes wide with terror. She held her

quickly dimmed again. "Jared, Maverick..." Her voice broke on the last word. She stepped forward, her fragile

moment, and I could feel the tension between us, a gulf of unspoken words, but I didn't

respond, just gave a small

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

under the pressure. "We've done everything we can, Mr. Smith, but there are few clues.

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 to the students-everyone who was

standing there, stunned into silence. But I couldn't help myself. My thoughts were racing,

now!" I snapped at the principal, before turning back to Arielle. She was pale, and her hands were trembling-cold, almost lifeless

her tighter, trying to calm her, but the words didn't come

be fine," she whispered, but it was a lie she was telling herself. I could see

"He'll be fine," I repeated, my voice more firm than I felt. "Maverick is

at me, desperation raw in her red-rimmed eyes. "He will

Arielle. Look at me. Yes, our son's fine. We just need time to

wasn't listening, not really. Seconds dragged into minutes, and

couldn't sit still. My mind was a storm of doubts and

to Maverick. But Arielle couldn't think of anyone who would do something like this-and neither

had

leaving little time to interact with anyone outside of her business

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

man who claimed to be Maverick's "uncle" had shown

had only learned about it myself recently. Arielle had kept that part of our lives tightly under wraps. So, how could this man possibly know? And even if this was somehow connected to me, I should have heard something by now-someone should have reached

mother, her voice carefully neutral, but her exhaustion was impossible to hide. I could see through her forced calmness, the way