THE CEO'S SECRET

The big news

Chapter 5

I was at the office, reviewing some documents, when my phone buzzed. I glanced at it, expecting it to be a routine call, but when Paul’s name flashed on the screen, my gut instinct told him something was off.

“Sir, it’s Audrey,” Paul’s voice came through. “She’s in the hospital.”

My heart skipped a beat, “What happened?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.

“She’s been through something...bad,” Paul responded, his tone grim.

Without another word, I grabbed my jacket and rushed out, leaving everything behind. My mind raced with questions. Why Audrey? Who would want to hurt her? What had happened?

When I finally arrived, Paul was waiting outside the emergency room. I approached him quickly.

“What the hell happened?” I demanded.

Paul straightened, his expression serious. “I was following her, like you instructed. She went to her parents’ graves first, spent some time there. Afterward, she drove to her old family house. I waited outside for hours, nothing seemed unusual until I heard a gunshot.”

My heart pounded in my chest. “A gunshot?”

Paul nodded. “I rushed in. There was a man in the house, armed. He was hurting her, but he ran off as soon as he saw me. I tried to chase after him, but I couldn’t catch up. When I went back inside, I found her unconscious. I brought her to the hospital immediately. But I noticed something when I entered the house, the house was a mess, like someone had been searching for something.”

“Searching for what?” I muttered, rubbing my forehead. “What could he want from Audrey?”

“I don’t know,” Paul replied, shaking his head. “But whatever it was, he was desperate.”

Before I could say more, the doctor emerged from the emergency room. “Mr. Blackwood?” the doctor asked.

I stepped forward quickly. “How is she? Is she okay?”

The doctor smiled reassuringly. “Your wife is fine, just a bit shaken up. She’s stable and resting now, and the baby is fine.”

I frowned. “Baby?”

The doctor hesitated, then spoke. “Yes, your wife is pregnant. About a month and two weeks along.”

I blinked, the words hitting me like a freight train. “Pregnant?” I echoed, stunned. My mind went back to a month ago, that one night, the night they had slept together.

“Yes,” the doctor confirmed. “Both she and the baby are doing well.”

I barely heard the rest of the doctor's words. My thoughts raced. Audrey was pregnant, with my child. I clenched my jaw, torn between shock and a flood of emotions I hadn’t expected.

Fuck!

I turned away from the doctor, my hands running through my hair. Everything suddenly felt far more complicated.

“What do you want to do, boss?” Paul said, snapping me out of my thought.

I didn’t answer immediately, I was still processing.

“I need you to find out who had tried to kill Audrey and why she was targeted,” I finally said, my voice quieter now, more controlled.

Paul gave me a curt nod and left.

**************

Audrey was discharged later in the evening. I waited to drive her home myself, we needed to talk, she had some explaining to do.

Maggie had been calling me nonstop but I ignored her calls, I needed to figure out what was going on here first.

The drive home quiet, we were both lost in our thoughts. When we got home, the tension between us was thick. I couldn’t push away the feeling that there was more to this than she was letting on. I watched her closely, every small movement, the way her hands trembled.

“What happened in that house, Audrey?” I didn’t waste time, I needed answers and I needed them now.

She flinched at the sharpness in my voice, brushing her hair out of her face as she struggled to gather her words. “A week ago... I got a call from a safety deposit company,” she started, voice barely above a whisper. “They said Sir Edward left something for me, a package. I went to pick it up and brought it back home.”

I crossed my arms, eyes narrowing. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

Her lip quivered. “I... I didn’t know how to. You were so angry, so distant. You never wanted to hear anything I had to say.”

I took a step closer, watching her squirm under my gaze. “What was in the package?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice cracking. “It’s locked. It needs a key, and I don’t have it.” She Paused, “Dominic, something is going on. Your Father tried to tell me. This package, it could be the key to uncover the secret. Whatever is inside, it’s very important, and that’s why I hid it in my old house. That was what the man that tried to kill me was after.”

“And you chose you hide all these from me?” The frustration inside me boiled over. “What else have you been hiding, Audrey?” I spat.

She shook her head, “Nothing! I swear, nothing!

“And the baby?” I asked, my voice harsh. “Did you plan on hiding that too?”

Her face went pale, as if I had just hit her. “I didn’t know what to do Dominic. I tried to tell you that night, that night you brought… your woman home and spent the night with her in your room.” She paused, as tears welled up in here eyes. “And Dominic, you were forced into this marriage. I didn’t want to trap you with a baby you didn’t want.”

I stared at her, I didn’t know was to think anymore. There was so much I didn’t understand. “Audrey, tell me the truth, for once. What is your endgame here? What exactly do you want from my family?”

She paused, wiping away the tears that fell. She looked me right in the eyes. “You want to know my endgame Dominic? It’s you. Your safety. I agreed to marry you because it was the only way I could stay by your side and protect you.”

I stared at her, struggling to make sense of it all. She had married me to keep me safe? It sounded absurd. “So that’s it? You agreed to marry me, trap me in this hellhole of a relationship, just to keep a promise?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

I took a step forward, feeling anger bubble up inside me. “Is that why you manipulated me? Lured your way into my bed the first night we met? Was that your plan, Audrey? Seduce me so I’d be stuck with you?”

“No!” she cried, shaking her head violently. “I didn’t know who you were, Dominic. I swear. I didn’t recognize you that night. It wasn’t until the next morning when I saw you in the light that I realized...”

She paused, “That’s when it hit me, your father had shown me your picture once... But that night, I swear I didn’t know.”

I laughed bitterly. “Well, I don’t believe you.” I picked up my coat ready to head out. I turned to her. “You will stay in this house until I figure out what to do about… about this new development.”

Without another word, I turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

I entered the car and started driving to no particular destination in mind. For so long, I had thought of Audrey as the enemy, the obstacle standing in the way of my plans. Now, she was tangled in something much bigger, and I didn’t know where to start.

My mind flashed back to my father’s deceit, to my plan to make Audrey’s life miserable, to Maggie... and now… this changed everything. I couldn’t ignore the fact that there was a life involved, my child.