THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 502

“Thank you, Miss Caitlin. Thank you, Mrs. Howard.” Lee kept bowing to Hannah and Caitlin, gratitude written all over his face.

Caitlin had been running on fumes these past few days, and after handling everything for Mae, she was truly exhausted. All she wanted now was to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.

But before that, she sought out the butler. “Leland, if my brother Xavier gets home tonight after his meeting, would you please let him know I need to see him? No matter how late it is, tell him to come find me—I have something important to tell him!”

“Of course, Miss Caitlin.” Leland nodded dutifully.

Only after making sure Leland understood did Caitlin finally head to bed.

She slept deeply, exhaustion giving her the best night’s rest she’d had in weeks. When she woke, it was already half past seven the next morning.

Stretching lazily, Caitlin suddenly remembered her urgent message. She quickly dressed and hurried downstairs in search of Leland. “Leland, did my brother Xavier come home last night?”

“He did,” the butler replied, “but he just left a little while ago.”

A frown creased Caitlin’s forehead. “Then why didn’t he come find me?”

“Oh dear, Miss Caitlin,” Leland groaned, smacking his forehead, “I completely forgot to tell him!”

Today was Hannah’s birthday luncheon. She didn’t even have to ask—Xavier must have gone to see Katrina Prescott. Caitlin pressed, “Do you know where he went?”

Leland shook his head, then paused as if recalling something. “The Splendor Hotel! Yes, that’s it—the Splendor Hotel!”

Thankfully, he remembered Xavier mentioning it in passing. It stuck in his mind because the Splendor Hotel belonged to the Howard family.

At that, Caitlin didn’t even bother with breakfast. She grabbed her purse and asked the family driver to take her straight to the hotel.

—

Meanwhile, Xavier had already arrived at the Splendor Hotel lobby.

He was carrying a gift box containing the dress Katrina would wear to the luncheon. But it wasn’t the fabled Celestial Azure—just an elegant, ordinary gown. As her brother, Xavier simply couldn’t bring himself to ask Caitlin for Celestial Azure.

Standing in the lobby, Xavier’s face was clouded with worry. Hannah’s birthday celebration was set to start at exactly 11:18 a.m., and he still had no idea how he’d explain the truth about Katrina to the family. And worse—how was he going to talk to Katrina about the Celestial Azure? What if she threatened to hurt herself again?

Upstairs, in her hotel suite, Katrina was already applying her makeup. Today, she was the star of the show—of course she had to wake up early and look flawless. As she finished her lipstick, her phone rang. She slipped in her Bluetooth earpiece. “Hello?”

Jeanette Howard’s voice came through, bright and excited. “Katrina, Xavier’s downstairs in the lobby! He’s carrying a huge garment box—I bet anything the Celestial Azure gown is inside!”

“You’re sure you saw right?” Katrina asked, a sly smile curling her lips.

“Positive,” Jeanette replied. “But for some reason, he’s just standing there, not coming up.”

Katrina’s smile widened. “Is he holding flowers?”

“Nope,” said Jeanette.

She had barely sent the message when Jeanette’s call came through, panic in her voice. “Katrina, you need to get down here! Xavier just left with Freya!”

Katrina’s face fell instantly. She dashed out of her room, fury burning in her chest.

That wretched Caitlin—what exactly did she want? How many times was she going to meddle and try to ruin her relationship with Xavier? Shameless!

Outside, Caitlin and Xavier had already stepped out of the hotel doors.

“Xavier, Katrina isn’t your real savior,” Caitlin blurted out. “The person who rescued you from the sea was someone else. I’ve found her—I know who really saved you!”

“Freya,” Xavier said, his whole demeanor changing as hope flickered in his eyes, “are you telling the truth?”

Caitlin handed him her phone. “I’ve gathered all the evidence—videos, records, everything. Take a look. You’ll see I’m not lying.”

Xavier seized the phone, scrolling through aerial photos and video calls—Caitlin speaking with Celeste Hayes, piecing together the whole story.

“It was March. March was the one who saved me!” Xavier’s voice broke with emotion. Tears welled up in his eyes, mixing with laughter as relief washed over him. “Freya, thank you—thank you so much! Grandma was right, you really are our family’s lucky star!”

He’d thought his life was ruined, that everything was lost. Yet, at the darkest moment, the truth had finally come to light.

“Xavier!”

Katrina stormed out of the hotel lobby, her voice shrill and furious. “Don’t you dare take another step! If you don’t stop right now, I swear you’ll regret it!”