The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 145: The Lead

The mood inside the Anderson Mansion had shifted. The heaviness of grief still hung low in the halls, but something new was building urgency.

"The police have a lead," Steve said, whispering to Mara, eyes scanning the faces of his siblings. "A solid one. They think they’ve narrowed Philip’s location down. Somewhere in North Holt. An abandoned airstrip near the old canning factory."

Everyone went still.

Mara’s eyes sharpened instantly. "I’m coming," she said without hesitation, already reaching for her coat.

"Stef—" Stanley began.

"No," she cut in, voice firm. "He has my son. I’m coming."

The brothers exchanged glances. Stefan looked concerned but knew better than to argue with a mother on fire. Stanford simply nodded in silent agreement. They would protect her together.

As they moved quickly toward the cars, Ethan emerged from the corner hallway, having overheard just enough. His heart lurched.

"You’re going after him?" he asked, already pulling on his jacket.

"Yes," Steve said tightly, "Then I’m coming too," Ethan added, voice low but steady.

Mara didn’t respond. She didn’t even look at him. But she didn’t stop him either. Audrey was with the nannies, and sent back to the Shepherd mansion security is locked down tight.

The convoy of dark SUVs moved swiftly, escorted by unmarked police vehicles. Inside the main vehicle, Mara sat sandwiched between Stefan and Steve, her fingers twitching slightly in her lap. Her breath was steady, but her heart was thundering in her chest. Every second brought her closer to either hope or heartbreak.

Behind them, Ethan rode in silence, knuckles white around the steering wheel. He kept glancing at the photo in his phone the one of baby Audrey smiling in his arms.

The industrial outskirts of North Holt loomed ahead. The sky was overcast, wind howling through broken windows and crumbling warehouses. The air was electric, pulsing with a storm not yet broken.

They pulled up just outside the old canning factory.

Police surrounded the perimeter quietly. One of the detectives briefed Steve and the rest quickly. "There’s movement inside. Surveillance confirms two adults. One male, one female. We believe it’s Philip and an accomplice. We’re waiting on your go."

Mara stepped forward before anyone else. "If he has my baby, I want him back. Alive."

Stanley placed a hand on her shoulder. "We’ll find him." Ethan came to her side. "Whatever happens in there... please stay behind us."

Still, Mara didn’t look at him. But this time... her silence wasn’t cold. It was focused. Determined. Unshakable she needed no one’s protection.

She looked up at the building, eyes narrowing, and whispered to herself: "Hold on, baby. Mommy’s coming."

—

Inside the dim, crumbling canning factory, dust clung to every corner, and rusted machines loomed like forgotten ghosts. The air was stale, laced with oil, ash, and something more sinister.

Vera stood in the middle of the concrete floor, trembling not from fear, but rage. Her heart pounded wildly, her fists clenched at her sides.

Across from her, in the shadow of the broken conveyor belt, stood Philip smiling like the devil. His face lit up when he saw her, like a father greeting a favorite child.

"I knew you’d come," he said, voice slick and cold. "Alone, just like I taught you. No one to protect you. Just you and me. My blood."

"I didn’t come for you," Vera snapped. "I came for the baby. Mara’s baby. Don’t twist this into something it’s not."

Philip chuckled darkly, slowly circling her like a vulture.

"Oh, but it is. You’re more like me than you think, princess," he said with a grin that made her skin crawl. "You followed the trail, you came alone, and you lied to your precious family. That’s the first rule of power you only win when you play alone."

"I came because I had to. Someone has to end this madness."

Philip stopped in front of her, pulled something from his pocket a small silver key.

"This," he said, holding it between his fingers, "unlocks everything. Under this building is everything I ever earned, stolen, blackmailed, and killed for. It’s yours now. Your birthright. Every missed birthday? Every tear your mother shed? It’s all down there, waiting."

Vera’s eyes narrowed. "I don’t want your dirty money."

"You’ll change your mind," he whispered. "Especially when this place is ashes. Tick-tock. There’s a timer. The place will blow in twenty minutes."

Her stomach turned. "Where is the baby?"

He tilted his head, smirking. "You think I’d hand him to you that easily? The boy is safe for now. But choices, Vera... accept me as your dad and the legacy I leave you, then you can have him,"

Before she could react, there was a loud crash outside the doors of the warehouse being forced open.

—

Mara’s heart was in her throat as she moved with precision beside Stefan and Steve. The police fanned out, weapons drawn, covering every possible escape route.

"he’s inside," one officer confirmed, speaking into his radio. "No sight of a baby,"

Stanley kept close to Mara, shielding her while she moved. Ethan was steps behind, eyes scanning every dark corner.

Vera stood frozen, trying to think fast. Somewhere, hidden in the shadows of this broken-down tomb, was baby Andrew. Somewhere ticking down was a bomb set to destroy everything including the truth.

Philip took a step closer. "You can run. Or you can listen. But you better decide fast."

Then—

Bang! The door was kicked open.

Floodlights pierced through the gloom, cutting through the dust. Mara notices the lady.

"VERA!" Mara’s voice rang out. Philip’s eyes darkened. "Well. I guess the game just ended."

The building creaked with time and tension. Dust swirled around them like ghosts disturbed from slumber.

Philip, as calculated as ever, had already vanished, he knew the terrain too well. A trapdoor behind one of the rusted generators led to a tight shaft, and from there, he disappeared through the maintenance tunnel. His escape route was clean, planned, and invisible.

Back inside, Vera was frozen, body stiff, fists trembling at her sides. Her knees threatened to buckle.

She felt like a child again, lost, manipulated, used.

"Vera!" Ethan rushed forward, pulling her into his arms. She didn’t resist. Her breath hitched against his chest.

"He... he said the place is rigged to explode. He said the baby’s here. I—I didn’t know what to do—" she choked out.

Then it came.

A sound that cut through the confusion.

A soft, fragile cry.

Like a thread in the wind, but unmistakable.

A baby’s cry.

Mara’s body jolted. Her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes darted toward the far end of the factory, where shadows overlapped in forgotten corners.

"Andrew." Her voice was barely a whisper, but everyone heard it.

"I heard it," Stefan said, already moving with his flashlight raised.

"Split up!" Steve shouted to the officers. "Sweep every damn inch of this place."

Mara surged forward, but Stanley grabbed her hand. "Wait, you don’t know what’s ahead."

"I don’t care," she said, eyes burning with something ancient. "That’s my son."

The sound led them to a narrow hallway behind a warped steel door. Dust clung to the walls like cobwebs. Water dripped from rusted pipes.

And then another cry.

Louder this time. Closer.

Mara pushed the door open herself, heart beating like a war drum.

There, in a makeshift wooden crib surrounded by blankets and empty formula cans, was a baby boy. Eyes wide. Crying. Alive.

"Andrew..."

Mara’s knees hit the dusty floor with a heavy thud. Her arms stretched instinctively to reach for her son but then came the sound.

A mechanical click.

A beep.

And then another. Faint, yet distinct, echoing from beneath the wooden crib.

"Hold it right there!" one of the officers barked, eyes wide, voice urgent.

"Step away from the crib, do not touch the baby. It’s wired. If anyone touches him, it could trigger the bomb." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

The words didn’t make sense to Mara.

She looked at her baby, her flesh, her blood and heard nothing else. The world had gone silent except for Andrew’s soft whimpers. Her baby... was a trigger.

"No. No, no... I’m not leaving him." Mara shook her head furiously, tears cutting clean lines down her dirt-streaked face. "You don’t understand. I can’t."

Her brothers, Steve, Stanley, Stanford, and Stefan all rushed to her side, trying to speak over one another.

"Stef, please—"

"We’ll get him out safely, I promise—"

"You have to let them handle this—"

But she wouldn’t budge. She stood like a mother lion, body shielding her son.

Ethan’s voice broke through the noise. "Then I’m staying too."

"No," Stefan said. "You both have to go. We don’t know how many charges are planted—"

Just then a distant explosion.

Concrete shifted. Dust rained down. A wall cracked open behind them.

Screams echoed down the corridor. Panic spread.

The building trembled, crying out like a wounded beast.

"The bomb squad is here!" an officer shouted, dragging his equipment inside. "But it’s too late Philp has the trigger. He’s detonating remotely!"

Mara stared at her baby, her feet rooted in the ground. Andrew hadn’t stopped crying, he was staring at her, big, trusting eyes wide with innocence. Her world.

The second beep turned into a siren in her ears.

BOOM.

Another section of the building exploded, concrete and flames billowing upward.

It was no longer safe. They had to run.

Steve screamed, "We have to go—NOW!"

"No! I won’t leave him!" Mara fought like hell as her brothers tried pulling her away. Ethan’s chest clenched. His decision came in a heartbeat. With everything he had, he grabbed Mara, lifted her from the ground, and ran. She kicked, punched, sobbed screaming Andrew’s name.

The last explosion sounded like the earth splitting open.

The building collapsed. The force hurled them to the ground outside. Flames swallowed the warehouse behind them. A wave of heat seared the air.

Mara hit the ground first, gasping, turning, "ANDREW?!" Mara scrambled to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably, her brothers surrounded her holding her tight. Ethan fell to his knees beside her his own tears falling as the flames devoured the place Philip once ruled and the place that took everything from her.