All Chapters of The Wife He Lost The Heiress I Became : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Clara’s POV“Tell me you’re not planning to wear that to the meeting.”I looked up from my laptop. Daniel stood by the door, holding two cups of coffee and eyeing my plain navy dress.“What’s wrong with it?”“Nothing. You look like you’re attending a meeting.”“I am attending a meeting.”“Exactly. No drama at all.”I took the coffee from him. “You’re welcome to wear a suit with glitter next time.”He laughed and dropped into the chair opposite me.The Montecillo publishing team had scheduled a preliminary discussion with Ashford Holdings about distributing our new children’s collection. I’d seen the company name on the invitation the night before. I’d also seen the name of its managing director.Adrian Ashford.I had considered asking Papa to assign someone else. It would have been easy enough to say I wasn’t ready for the meeting. But the proposal was mine, and I wasn’t going to pull out of a business discussion because my former husband might be sitting across the table.Daniel watc

Isabella's POVI barely touched my lunch.Margaret noticed, of course. She noticed everything that concerned the baby, especially when it gave her another reason to remind me of my responsibilities."You should eat more," she said, pushing the serving dish toward me. "You're carrying an Ashford child. You need to take care of yourself."I forced a smile and took another bite.An Ashford child.If only she knew.She'd already picked a color for the nursery. A decorator. A list of things for a boy as if he was already born and already an Ashford."Adrian has enough on his mind," Margaret continued. "The least you can do is make sure you're healthy. He shouldn't have to worry about you, too."I lowered my fork."Of course."She seemed satisfied with that answer. Her attention shifted to the family dinner she was planning for Sunday, where she expected Adrian to appear with me by his side. She spoke as though everything had already been decided, as though the future belonged to her.I nod

Adrian's POVMy assistant placed three personnel files on my desk the next morning."These are the former employees who worked in the executive office around the time the correspondence ledger disappeared," he said. "Two have retired. The third left the company shortly afterward."I opened the first file.Most of the names meant nothing to me. They belonged to people who had worked under my grandfather and, later, my father. By the time I took over Ashford Holdings, their departments had already been reorganized."What about the third employee?""Martin Hale. He was an administrative officer responsible for tracking documents sent between departments. He lives outside the city now.""Can you arrange a meeting?""I've already called. He agreed to speak with you tomorrow."I nodded and returned to the files. There was no reason to assume Hale knew anything important, but he had worked in the right department at the right time.For once, I wanted to ask questions before deciding what the

Clara’s POVThe first printed copy arrived on a Tuesday morning.It wasn't a thick book or an expensive edition. The cover was simple, and a few illustrations still needed adjustments. But when I opened it, I found my name printed on the inside page.Clara Montecillo Story Development.I ran my fingers over the letters, almost afraid they would disappear.For years, I'd written stories in the quiet hours when everyone else was asleep. I never imagined that one of them would become part of a real collection."You're going to wear the ink off if you keep touching it," Daniel said from the doorway.I looked up. "I'm checking whether it's real."He laughed and sat beside me. "It looks real to me.""You're not the one whose name is printed here.""No, but I'm the one who listened to you complain about the illustrations until midnight.""They were too dark.""The fox looked perfectly fine.""It looked angry.""Maybe the fox had a difficult childhood."I laughed, nudging his arm.It felt str

Clara’s POVI barely slept that night.Someone had removed a name from an old personnel register, and now an anonymous sender was warning me to stop investigating. I couldn't tell whether the messages were meant to frighten me or lead me toward something important.By nine the next morning, I was in Daniel's office."Tell me you have something more than another incomplete photocopy," I said.He turned his monitor toward me. "We found the original personnel register."I leaned closer.Most entries contained employee names, job titles, and approval codes. One line was different.The name field had been cut out.Not crossed through. Not faded.Cut out."Someone physically removed it," I whispered."That's what it looks like," Daniel replied. "The surrounding entries are intact, but the paper where the name should be is missing.""Can the approval code identify the employee?""Possibly. We're comparing it with another surviving register. We also need to establish when the page was altered