Substitute Wife For The Blind CEO

Before she could finish, the line went dead. Ivy had hung up unable to hear Elizabeth carry on about Ruby.

Elizabeth stared at the phone, disbelief quickly morphing into fury. "Unbelievable," she hissed under her breath, slamming the phone down on the table. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

So that’s how it’s going to be?

She stood still for a moment, heart racing, eyes narrowed. Regina. She’d be next.

Elizabeth squared her shoulders and reached for her coat. She wasn’t going to wait for the truth to find her anymore. She was going to hunt it down, dig it out, and bring her son back the one thing he truly loved.

Ruby Quinn—and the child she carried.

No more lies. No more games and if Regina or Ivy tried to get in her way again, this time, they’d feel the full weight of a Winters mother’s wrath.

Elizabeth didn’t wait for a driver. She got into her car, hands gripping the wheel with a tension that mirrored her soul. The engine roared to life, but it didn’t drown the noise in her head.

Ruby, the girl she’d betrayed was pregnant. Her son was heartbroken. And somewhere in between, two women who should’ve protected Ruby had driven her away instead. She could understand why she’d easily been able to betray her but them? It was hard to tell why.

The cold morning wind whipped through the cracked window as she sped across Zeden’s streets. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Elizabeth Winters wasn’t operating behind polite smiles or veiled intentions. She was a woman on a mission, and that mission had a name—Ruby Quinn. To find her, and restore her relationship with her son.

She arrived at Regina Quinn’s home fifteen minutes later, barely giving the house a glance before she was striding up the front steps. Her coat flared around her like a cloak of war. Without hesitation, she rang the bell and waited, jaw clenched tight.

The door opened after a moment, and Regina appeared, wrapped in a silk robe, eyes puffy from sleep—or guilt or maybe both.

"Elizabeth?" Regina blinked. "It’s barely nine. What on earth—"

"I need to speak with you," Elizabeth said flatly, pushing past her into the house without waiting for an invitation.

Regina closed the door behind her, frowning. "This early? What’s going on?" she asked even though she knew this had to do with Stefan finding out about the truth.

Elizabeth turned to face her. "Where is Ruby?"

Regina stiffened. "Excuse me?" She had known it had to do with Stefan finding out the truth but why would she be asking about Ruby instead of how her son found out?

"Don’t play dumb, Regina," Elizabeth snapped. "She’s pregnant. Carrying my son’s child. And she’s missing. Did you send her away? Threaten her? I want the truth."

Regina’s expression faltered. She even knows Ruby is pregnant. Is that why she’s looking for her? To do what? "Pregnant? Ruby’s...? No, that can’t be. She never told me anything like that."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, searching Regina’s face for even a flicker of deception. But all she found was a carefully guarded expression showing absolutely nothing.

"You really didn’t know?" Elizabeth asked, arms crossed.

"No," Regina said firmly, shaking her head and Elizabeth raised a brow.

"Are you saying Ivy knows but you don’t? Just quit the pretense already. I hate it," Elizabeth snapped and Regina sighed.

"Fine, Ivy told me but Ruby never mentioned it. We haven’t spoken since... since that day. I have no idea where she is or what is going on with her."

"You mean the day you chose your runaway daughter over the one who stayed? Over the one who sacrificed everything for your family," Elizabeth said with an eye roll.

Regina’s eyes flashed with anger at that. "Don’t you dare lecture me about sacrifice. You created this whole mess, Elizabeth. If anyone’s to blame, it’s you."

Elizabeth’s voice dropped to a low, dangerous tone. "Don’t turn this around. I did what I did because I thought I was protecting my son."

"Oh, please," Regina scoffed. "You were trying to preserve your perfect image. Stefan’s perfect marriage. That’s all it ever was with you—control, nothing more."

"At least I did it out of love!" Elizabeth snapped. "At least I believed I was saving my son from heartbreak. What about you? What was your excuse when you discarded Ruby like she was nothing? She put her entire life on the line for your family—for Ivy—and you repaid her with silence and abandonment!"

Regina faltered, color draining from her face, she opened her mouth to speak but Elizabeth wasn’t done.

Her words sliced like a blade as she continued. "She walked into that marriage to protect your reputation. Your business. Your pride. And you threw her out like trash the second your golden child returned."

"And what did you do? Remind me please," Regina retorted and Elizabeth shook her head.

"You think I don’t regret it?" Elizabeth whispered. "You think I don’t hate myself for it every single day? I regret it because I saw how much she loved Stefan. I saw it. Every single day. She loved him even when he was broken. Even when he didn’t know who he was loving. And you—you made her believe she wasn’t worthy of it. And I just had to stupidly follow you both thinking it was for my son. I never should have followed you both in your stupid plan but I was scared," Elizabeth said weakly, tears gathering in her eyes. "I was scared of what people would say if they found out or if Stefan found out. I was scared of what would happen if Stefan’s wedding collapsed in public. I didn’t think Ruby would... would stay and fall in love. I didn’t think she’d matter. And that day, if I had known my son loved her and not because he thought she was Ivy, I would never have obliged to you throwing Ruby away. And now she’s gone, carrying a life she didn’t even get to tell him about."

Regina’s face twisted. "I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know about the baby."

"But you pushed her out anyway," Elizabeth said with a bitter laugh. "You pushed her out and told yourself it was for the best. You never once considered what Ruby wanted. What she needed."

"I thought she’d be better off away from this madness," Regina whispered, wrapping her arms around herself like she was trying to hold her shame together but she knew better.

"She’s alone," Elizabeth said, her voice cracking. "And she’s scared. And if anything happens to her, to that baby, I swear to you—there won’t be a day you don’t wish you could go back and do things differently."

Regina sank onto the couch, stunned silent.

Elizabeth stood for a moment, watching her. Then she took a deep breath, the storm inside her still raging but now focused.

"I’m going to find her," she said softly. "With or without your help. Because for once in my life, I’m going to do right by my son. And by the woman who gave him something none of us could."

She turned to leave, but paused at the door.

"You can stay here and wallow in your guilt. Or you can help me find her. Your choice."

Without waiting for a response, Elizabeth walked out, slamming the door behind her.

As soon as Elizabeth left the house, slamming the front door with a level of finality that made the chandelier above the dining table tremble, Regina rose from the couch. Her perfectly manicured nails trembled slightly as she picked up her phone, her face set in stone.

She waited until the sound of the gate shutting reached her ears before dialing a number she hadn’t used in a long time. The line rang once... twice... then a click.

"You’ve reached me," a male voice said.

"It’s me," Regina said sharply, wasting no time. "I need you to find someone. My daughter, Ruby."

There was a pause on the other end. "Ruby? When last did you see her?"

"Three days ago," Regina snapped, her voice tight with irritation and urgency. "She’s not in the city anymore. I’m sure of it. Start at all the travel counters. Bus stations, airports, private transport companies... everything. She must’ve left Zeden."

The man on the other end didn’t ask questions. He’d worked with Regina long enough to know better. "Understood. I’ll report once I have something."

The call ended, leaving a heavy silence in its wake.

********

Hello, dearest readers!

I love that you all are following this book actively and I appreciate you all. I want to let you all know that for now, I’ll only be able to write one Chapter every day. I’m not well and it’s telling on me.

But, I won’t abandon the book. I don’t like abandoning books so I’ll most definitely write one Chapter everyday. It’s because of your support, your time and your votes. Thank you all and much love from me to you!