MR BILLIONAIRE'S REGRET: CHASING HIS IRRESISTIBLE WIFE
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.

Valley View had one of the best security systems in the city. How could someone just snatch a child in broad daylight?

I jumped out of the car the second we arrived, my feet barely hitting the ground before I stormed into the principal's office.

Arielle was there, her face drained of color, eyes wide with terror. She held her phone in her shaking hands, barely holding it together.

When she 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 trembling.

I reached out instinctively, my hands grasping her shoulders to steady her. Her 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 to sound reassuring.

She didn't respond, just gave a small nod, though her lips trembled.

I turned to the principal, my tone ice-cold. "Mr Robert. I'm Jared Smith. You know who I am. Now, tell me what the hell is going on."

The principal, a man of middle age with thinning 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... she assumed it was one of your employees."

"A 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 to the students-everyone who was here during that time. I want names, alibis, descriptions. Everything."

I could feel my 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 worst-case scenarios.

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

I held her tighter, trying to calm her, but the words didn't come out as I'd hoped.

"He'll be fine," she whispered, but it was a lie she was telling herself. I could see it in her eyes.

I squeezed her 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 replace him. Trust me."

She looked at me, desperation raw in her red-rimmed eyes. "He will be fine, right? Jared... please... tell me Maverick's okay."

I cupped her face, making her meet my gaze. "Look at me, Arielle. Look at me. Yes, our son's fine. We just need time to replace him. Please, trust me."

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

I couldn't sit still. My mind was a storm of doubts and questions, none of which had answers.

Why would someone take Maverick? Why hadn't he fought back? Most likely he's not a stranger to Maverick. But Arielle couldn't think of anyone who would do something like this-and neither could I.

Since Arielle had returned, her focus

had been entirely on her restaurant. She'd 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 ordinary.

The only person I could even remotely suspect-though it made no sense-was Sofia. But she'd been in bed for two days, lying low, recovering from whatever had been plaguing her. According to Oliver, she hadn't met with anyone, hadn't gone anywhere. It didn't add up.

The principal said that the man who claimed to be Maverick's "uncle" had shown a J&S Capital worker's license. But that detail made everything more complicated.

No one, no one, was supposed to know that Maverick was my son. Hell, I 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 out, given me some kind of warning...

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

shoulders drooped as she sel net

These days too many things have

happened. She was barely holding it

together.

I walked over to her as she hung up. "Come here," I said softly, taking her by the arm. "You need to rest Ari. Let's go. My car's just outside. I promise I'll wake you up as soon as we get any leads."

She shook her head, not looking up at me. Her eyes were hollow, drained. She wasn't crying-she wasn't even trying to fight it anymore.

"I'll wait," she said quietly, her voice distant.

My chest tightened at the sight of her like this. I wanted to pull her out of there, but I knew she wouldn't go. I stepped back, my heart heavy, and went outside to take a breath.

I pulled out my phone, dialing Vincenzo and Mark. I had informed them earlier, hoping against hope that it wasn't an abduction, that Maverick wasn't in any kind of danger. But none of them had responded yet. I was about to dial again when- My phone rang.

I glanced down at the number, unfamiliar, private. A cold shiver ran down my spine.

"Hello?" I answered, voice tight.

"Jared Smith."

I froze. I knew that voice. And the chill that crept up my spine confirmed it-this wasn't good.