The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 161: I might still have a shot

The house was quiet. The babies had been put to sleep—Audrey in her crib in Mara’s room, and Andrew in the guest nursery Ethan had requested, prepared, though Mara had stood at the door longer than necessary before letting the nanny settle him in.

Mara stepped out into the hallway, her silk robe tied loosely. She paused at Rafael’s door and knocked softly.

He opened it almost immediately, as if he’d been expecting her.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

"Always." They walked together down the grand staircase and into the smaller sitting room near the back of the house—Mara’s favorite place when she needed to think. She sat down, her hands restless in her lap.

Rafael watched her for a moment before speaking. "You’re sure?" he asked softly. "About the DNA test?" Mara nodded. "Every part of me is screaming that he’s mine, Raf. Even when I try to be logical... It’s like my soul already knows."

Rafael leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

"Alright. Then let’s not waste time. I’ll get close to the nanny tomorrow. Maybe walk her and Andrew around the garden. I’ll clip a few of his hairs—she won’t even notice."

Mara smiled faintly. "You always have a plan."

"For you? Always."

Their eyes held for a long moment, the quiet between them loaded with something unsaid. Something blooming.

"You don’t think I’m crazy?" Mara asked finally, her voice small.

Rafael shook his head, inching closer.

"No, Mara. I think you’re a mother who knows her child. And I’d rather help you chase something that might seem crazy than watch you fall apart, wondering ’what if.’"

Her hand found his, fingers brushing tentatively. "Thank you."

He didn’t say anything. He just brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently.

"When we find out the truth," Rafael whispered, "we’ll face it together. No matter what."

—

The sun hung high over the city as Rafael parked in front of a discreet, glass-walled building nestled between a clinic and a law firm. This wasn’t a public hospital—it was a private DNA facility he had used once before for a business associate. Discreet, accurate, and fast. They didn’t use the shepherd facility for obvious reasons, the brothers will get to know and think she was being crazy.

He stepped into the reception area, where a woman in a white coat greeted him.

"Mr. Diaz, welcome. You called ahead?" she asked.

"Yes," Rafael said, reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulling out the small sterile envelope. "I need this tested against a maternal DNA sample I submitted earlier under the name ’Stefania Shepherd.’

The lab tech took the envelope and nodded. "We’ll run it right away. Since it’s a rush order, we should have preliminary results by early tomorrow."

"No leaks. Total confidentiality," Rafael said firmly.

"As always," the technician confirmed, already scanning the barcode on the envelope and placing it into a small secure tray.

Rafael exhaled deeply once he stepped back outside. The weight of the moment settled in his chest—this wasn’t just about Mara anymore. If that little boy was really Audrey’s twin, then everything changed.

He got into his car, sitting quietly for a moment, fingers tapping the wheel.

"Please... let it be him," he muttered before driving off.

By the time Mara stepped into the now-quiet living room, Ethan and the baby were already gone.

The space felt emptier than she expected—

as if something had been pulled out of it.

Out of her.

She stood there for a moment, unmoving, her eyes lingering on the small toy the baby had dropped beside the couch. She bent slowly to pick it up, holding it in her palm like it might tell her something her heart hadn’t already screamed a hundred times.

He felt like hers. In the way he looked at her. In the way he reached for her hand without fear. In the soft, unexplainable pull in her chest every time he smiled. She closed her eyes, clutching the toy to her chest. Then came the second blow—

The wait.

"Twenty-four hours," Rafael had said gently.

Standard for the clinic they had gone to, neutral, discreet.

But it might as well have been a lifetime. If it were the Shepherd Hospital... She could’ve had the results within hours. They had the tech, the connections, the speed.

But that wasn’t an option. Not now.

Because if her brothers found out what she was doing— If they discovered she had gone behind their backs to run a DNA test on a child who might not even be hers— they would shut it down.

They would say it was too soon. Too risky. Too emotional.

And maybe they’d be right. But Mara couldn’t ignore her instincts. Not this time. This wasn’t just emotion. This was something deeper. Something primal.

A mother’s pull toward a child she had never truly known, but somehow... always carried inside her. She sat down, resting the toy gently on her lap, staring at it like it held the answer she was waiting for.

"Just one more day," she whispered to herself. "Then I’ll know."

And until then... She would carry the weight alone.

The Lab Results

The following morning, Rafael sat in his office, looking out over the city with a mug of coffee in his hand. His phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with the name of the lab technician he’d left the DNA sample with.

He pressed the accept button, his heart racing.

"Mr. Diaz, we’ve completed the test."

Rafael sat up straighter, trying to keep his voice steady. "And?"

There was a pause before the technician spoke again, a slight hint of hesitation in her tone.

"We compared the DNA sample of the child to the maternal DNA we have on file for Stefania Shepherd... and we found a match."

Rafael’s heart skipped a beat, his grip tightening on the phone.

"So...?"

The technician took a breath, knowing the gravity of the situation. "The child is biologically Stefania Shepherd’s son. Andrew Shepherd, as you suspected."

Rafael’s breath caught in his throat. He leaned back in his chair, staring out the window, as the news settled into his mind. Andrew—Mara’s son—was alive. The child she thought was gone.

He closed his eyes, unable to stop the wave of emotions that hit him. He could hear Mara’s voice in his mind, filled with hope, anxiety, and longing. They had to tell her. He had to tell her.

"Thank you," he said hoarsely, hanging up the phone.

He didn’t waste another second. He stood up, grabbed his coat, and headed straight for the mansion. It was time to change everything.