The Wife He Lost

Part 3: The Wife He Begged to Keep

The next morning, I woke up to thirty-seven missed calls.

Twenty-six were from Vincent.

The remaining eleven were from his mother, Eleanor Moretti.

I didn’t answer any of them.

At ten o’clock, someone knocked on Madison’s apartment door.

When she opened it, Vincent stood outside.

He looked terrible.

His expensive suit was wrinkled, his hair disheveled, and dark circles had appeared beneath his eyes.

Behind him stood two security guards.

“Where is Claire?”

Madison blocked the doorway.

“She’s not interested in seeing you.”

“Madison, please. I need five minutes.”

I appeared behind my friend.

“Let him in.”

Vincent entered immediately.

The moment he saw me, his expression softened.

“Claire.”

I remained standing.

“What do you want?”

He placed a thick folder on the coffee table.

“Daniel gave me the investigation report. Sophia has been stealing from my company for almost a year.”

I glanced at the folder.

“And?”

“She was also working with my mother.”

My eyebrows lifted.

“Your mother?”

Vincent nodded.

“Mother gave Sophia access to several company accounts. She wanted Sophia to replace you.”

I almost smiled.

“Replace me?”

“She never approved of our marriage. She always thought you weren’t suitable for the Moretti family.”

I looked directly at him.

“Then why didn’t you defend me?”

Vincent lowered his head.

“I should have.”

“You should have done a lot of things.”

He swallowed.

“I know.”

He opened the folder and showed me several documents.

There were bank transfers, emails, and photographs of Sophia meeting Eleanor.

One email caught my attention.

It was written by Eleanor.

Once Claire is out of the picture, Vincent will have no reason to refuse Sophia. The child will secure her position in this family.

I read it twice.

Then I looked up.

“Does your mother know about my pregnancy?”

Vincent nodded.

“She found out yesterday.”

“And what did she say?”

His expression darkened.

“She said Sophia’s child would be more valuable to the family because Sophia was willing to give us a male heir.”

I felt sick.

Madison muttered something under her breath.

I placed the documents down.

“Vincent, I want to leave Chicago.”

His face changed.

“No.”

I stared at him.

“Excuse me?”

“Not like this. Not while you’re pregnant. I’ll arrange protection. I’ll get you another house. Whatever you need.”

“I don’t need another mansion.”

“Then tell me what you need!”

I looked at him for a long moment.

“I needed my husband to remember my birthday. I needed him to come home. I needed him to love me without making me compete with another woman.”

His eyes became glassy.

“I love you, Claire.”

I shook my head.

“Maybe you love the woman I used to be. The one who waited for you every night. The one who accepted every excuse.”

I placed my hand over my stomach.

“But I won’t raise our child to believe that this is what love looks like.”

Vincent slowly lowered himself onto one knee.

The most feared man in Chicago was kneeling in front of his wife.

“Please don’t take my child away from me.”

My eyes filled with tears.

“I’m not taking your child away. I’m leaving a marriage that has already broken.”

He looked up at me.

“Give me one chance. Just one. I’ll prove that I can be the husband you deserve.”

I wanted to believe him.

God, I wanted to.

But then my phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

I answered cautiously.

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice spoke.

“Claire? This is Dr. Miller from Lakeside Medical Center. We need to discuss something concerning Sophia Reynolds.”

I frowned.

“What about her?”

“We received additional medical records this morning. Her pregnancy test was negative.”

I stopped breathing.

“What?”

“She isn’t pregnant, Mrs. Moretti. The test was repeated twice.”

I slowly looked at Vincent.

He had heard every word.

His face turned completely pale.

“Are you certain?” I asked.

“Absolutely.”

I ended the call.

For several seconds, the room remained silent.

Then Vincent stood.

“She lied.”

I nodded.

“Apparently.”

He immediately pulled out his phone.

“Get my car ready. I’m going to find her.”

But before he could leave, another message arrived on my phone.

It was from Eleanor.

There was a photograph attached.

It showed a document bearing my signature.

Underneath it was a short message:

Claire, if you want to protect your unborn child, stop asking questions. Your husband has no idea what his family is capable of.

I stared at the document.

It was a medical authorization form.

My name.

My signature.

And a date from three months earlier.

I had never seen it before.

Vincent took the phone from my hand.

His expression changed as he read the document.

“That’s impossible.”

“What is it?”

He looked at me.

“Claire, this authorization gives someone access to your private medical information.”

My heart began pounding.

“Who signed it?”

Vincent examined the bottom of the page.

Then his face went completely cold.

Eleanor Moretti.

His own mother.

He immediately called his head of security.

“Find my mother. Now. And nobody lets her leave the estate.”

Then he turned toward me.

“Claire, I’m going to fix this.”

I picked up my suitcase.

“No, Vincent. You’re going to deal with your family.”

He stared at me.

I placed the ultrasound photograph inside my handbag.

“And I’m going to protect mine.”

For the first time, Vincent didn’t try to stop me.

He simply stood there, watching his wife walk away.

But as Madison opened the apartment door, his phone rang.

He answered.

A security guard spoke urgently.

“Boss, we have a problem.”

“What?”

“Your mother has disappeared.”

Vincent’s expression hardened.

Then the guard delivered the final piece of news.

“She took Sophia with her. And they were last seen heading toward the private airport.”

Vincent looked at me.

I knew from his expression that whatever had happened to our marriage was no longer the biggest danger.

Someone was trying to take control of the Moretti family.

And my unborn child might be part of their plan.