No Second Chances Ex-husband (Lauren and Ethan) novel Chapter 126

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CHAPTER 0126

ROMAN’S POV

“It depends. If It’s important, I could use your computer and start immediately. If it’s not that important, then I could just wait till I get home and use mine,” he said.

His tone was casual, but his eyes told me he was ready to dig in if I gave the word. I glanced down at my wristwatch, the golden hands ticking toward a deadline I was deliberately ignoring. By now, I should’ve been focusing on the pile of documents in front of me, signing off on the shareholder reports that were due before the day ended. Every second I delayed meant another reminder email, another call from my assistant asking where the files were.

And yet… I couldn’t bring myself to care.

Something in my gut that faint, irritating whisper that rarely ever led me wrong told me to push everything aside. To focus on this instead.

I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe obsession. Or maybe it was that gnawing need to understand her to finally connect the missing pieces of the puzzle that was Lauren Darrow.

Whatever it was, it was strong enough to make me break one of my own rules.

And I had many rules. Rules that kept me grounded, focused, disciplined. The kind that separated my personal life from my business life. I never mixed the two. Ever. But here I was, deliberately shoving multi–million–dollar deals to the side just so I

could pry into a woman’s past.

When I thought of it that way, it almost made me sound like a creep.

Almost.

But I needed to know. There was a theory running wild in my mind, one that had been scratching at the edges of my thoughts since yesterday till now. If what I suspected was true, then this search might just confirm everything or destroy it completely.

“I need it now,” I said finally, forcing my tone to sound more casual than it felt. “So you can just come and use this. What I’m doing can hold on a bit.”

I got up from my seat, stepping aside so he could take over my computer.

Jeff nodded without a word and moved closer, his chair scraping softly against the floor as he sat. His fingers were already poised above the keyboard, the look of calm focus spreading across his face.

To this day, I still don’t know how he did it, how he was able to dig up files and information on people that no one else could find. It was almost unnatural. He could uncover the most hidden parts of a person’s life, no matter who they were.

It didn’t matter if the subject was famous, obscure, rich, or poor. All he needed was a name, a passport number, or sometimes even less. From there, he built a picture, one filled with details most people assumed were buried forever.

“Lauren Darrow,” he said finally, his voice calm as he typed the name into the search field.

I didn’t reply. I just stood behind him, watching as the screen filled with lines of text, scrolling data, and loading bars. My reflection hovered faintly over the monitor, a restless shadow behind his calm, steady presence.

Twenty minutes passed.

He scrolled, typed, clicked, paused his rhythm never faltered. The longer he went, the more the silence pressed into the room. My thoughts felt too loud against it.

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. The anticipation was getting under my skin, clawing at my patience. I walked toward the counter on the other side of the office and reached for a glass cup, needing the distraction. My hand lingered on the cool surface

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CHAPTER 0126

+25 BONUS

of the cup longer than necessary. Maybe I just needed something to hold on to, something to keep me grounded while my mind spiraled through possibilities.

What was I even expecting to find? Something small? Something massive?

I didn’t know. But I had to find out.

I was halfway to the water dispenser when Jeff’s voice broke through my thoughts.

“All right,” he said suddenly. “So here’s what I’ve found.”

The cup nearly slipped from my hand.

I turned immediately, placing it down without even pouring the water. The dry taste in my throat didn’t matter anymore. My focus snapped back entirely. I walked back toward him, each step echoing faintly on the floor.

He didn’t look up right away, his eyes were still on the screen. My heart rate picked up as I came to stand beside him, my hand resting on the edge of the desk, fingers tapping lightly against it.

“Okay,” he said after a few seconds. “These are the basics, things I’m sure you already know. Let’s skip past that and dig deeper.”

I nodded, watching as he scrolled down with the touchpad. His expression shifted slightly, the faint tightening around his jaw, the small furrow in his brow, the kind of look that told me he’d just found something worth paying attention to.

“Come look at this,” he said, gesturing me closer.

I leaned in. The screen glowed softly, illuminating the lines of data that made my pulse slow for a second.

“Before she got divorced from her husband, Ethan Black,” Jeff began, reading from the screen, “their child, Elena Black, was killed mysteriously. No one knew who killed her or why they killed her.”

The words hit harder than I expected.

I didn’t say anything and I definitely didn’t see that coming either. My eyes followed the text across the screen, reading it again as though seeing it twice would make it make more sense.

“Elena Black…” I repeated under my breath. The name felt heavy, weighted with something I couldn’t describe.

Jeff glanced up at me. “Did you know about this?”

But I couldn’t answer him.

I just straightened slowly, stepping back a little as my brows drew together. My thoughts came crashing all at once, disorganized and loud.

The child she had with Ethan… was killed?

Then why…

Why did she agree with my assumption that Aria was Ethan’s daughter?

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