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.

one of the best security systems in the city. How could someone just snatch

second we arrived, my feet barely hitting the ground before I stormed into the principal's

of color, eyes wide with terror. She held her phone in her shaking hands, barely

saw me, a 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, her fragile

body stiffened for a moment, and I could feel the tension between us, a gulf of unspoken words, but I didn't pull away. "You're going to be okay," I said, trying

gave a small nod, though

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

hair, was sweating under the pressure. "We've done everything we can, Mr. Smith, but there are few clues. The teacher who saw the man said he had a J&S Capital license, and...

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

blood boiling, my fury barely contained. Arielle and Oliver were both standing there, stunned into silence. But I couldn't help myself. My thoughts were racing, spinning with

to Arielle.

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

it was a lie she was

looking into her tear-streaked face. "He'll be fine," I repeated, my voice more firm

in her red-rimmed eyes. "He will be fine,

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

was hollow. She wasn't listening, not really. Seconds dragged into minutes, and still, no good news

sit still. My mind was a storm of doubts and questions, none

likely he's not a stranger to Maverick. But Arielle couldn't think of

had returned, her

been so absorbed in rebuilding her career, leaving little time to interact with anyone outside of her business circle. It was possible that she hadn't noticed anything out of the

But she'd been in bed for two days, lying low, recovering from whatever

man who claimed to be Maverick's "uncle" had shown a J&S Capital worker's license. But that

learned about it myself recently. Arielle had kept that part of our lives tightly under wraps. So, how could

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