The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 348

< Chapter 258 Something Doesn’t Click

Chapter 258: Something Doesn’t Click.

Clara

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The sound of the china hitting the plate was soft, elegant… everyday. And yet, something inside me still lingered, uneasy from Boston.

I raised my coffee cup in my hands while Ethan checked something on his tablet across the table. Morning light streamed through the kitchen windows, bathing everything in calm. The house was quiet, warm… safe. And perhaps that’s why I felt worse, having uncomfortable thoughts in there.

Ethan looked up at me.

“Did you sleep better?”

I nodded slightly.

“Yes.”

A partial lie. I hadn’t slept badly… but my mind still couldn’t quite shake off the project. Boston continued to haunt me like an unfinished conversation.

Ethan put his tablet aside.

“I spoke with the legal department there yesterday,” I said, sipping my coffee. “They told me that after the permit issue, everything seems much more stable.”

“Oh, that’s fabulous…” he murmured. “It’s much more organized now.”

And it was true. After the initial chaos, things started moving almost too fast. Alexander moved with impressive efficiency.

My gaze dropped to my breakfast, because there it was again, that thought. The same one I’d had several times since Boston. Maybe Ethan wasn’t seeing something important, maybe Alexander really was too essential a piece of the puzzle.

Maybe… I pressed my lips together.

No, it wasn’t the right time. I knew Ethan too well to know how he’d react if I brought that up now. Not after everything that had happened. Not after Vanessa. Not after knowing I’d considered excluding Alexander from certain future decisions. It was going to turn into an argument, and I didn’t want to argue. Not when things were going well, not when he was trying to trust me even knowing I was constantly traveling with a man who clearly had feelings for rne.

Ethan watched me for a few seconds.

“What are you thinking about?”

I blinked.

“Nothing important.”

He smiled slightly, as if he didn’t quite believe me.

Chapter 258 Something Doesn’t Click

“That’s almost never true with you.”

t chuckled softly.

“I’m thinking I want to sleep for a whole week when all this is over.”

“I totally agree.”

“But… then I remember I can’t, because I have to keep up with the wedding preparations. I’m so excited about it.”

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I smiled a little more. And I decided to keep quiet about what I’d been about to say earlier. Because yes… Perhaps Alexander had been key to resolving Boston, but there was also something strange. Something I still couldn’t quite put my finger on.

And until I understood exactly what was bothering me… I preferred to say nothing, or back down from what I’d started to stir up among the company board.

When I got to the office, I tried to focus on normal work. Emails, signatures, reports. My desk was piled high with folders pending from the trip.

I set my bag aside and started organizing documents while my assistant updated my schedule for the day. Everything seemed normal, until she peeked back into the doorway.

“Mrs. Sinclair…”

I looked up.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Howard is on line one.”

My hand stopped on a folder.

Howard.

I felt an uncomfortable weight in my chest immediately. I’d seen him off. I still remembered his face that day… The way he insisted he hadn’t done anything, the desperation in his voice when he spoke of his family. And yet… the evidence was there, or so we thought.

I exhaled slowly.

“Did he say what he needs?”

“No, ma’am. He just asked to speak directly with you.”

I glanced at my phone for a few seconds. Part of me thought he’d call to ask for a reconsideration. Another part… didn’t know what to think.

“Put it over.”

“Sure.”

Chapter 258-Something Doesn’t Click The line rang for just a moment.

“Mr. Howard?”

I heard nervous breathing on the other end.

“Ms. Sinclair… thank you for speaking with me.”

His voice sounded tired, more subdued than before.

“I’m listening.”

There was a brief silence. Then he spoke quickly, like someone afraid of running out of time.

“I’ve been reviewing everything again. The documents. The files I sent. The approvals. Everything.”

I frowned slightly.

“Howard…”

“It wasn’t me.”

The firmness of that statement made me freeze.

I glanced slowly toward the window of my office.

“What happened in Boston… I wasn’t involved.”

I closed the folder in front of me.

“There was too much evidence against you.”

“That’s the strange thing.”

My breathing slowed slightly.

Howard continued…

“The documents you reviewed aren’t exactly the same as the ones I sent.”

My hand tightened around the phone.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean someone altered things.”

Silence… A heavy, uncomfortable, dangerous silence.

My eyes slowly drifted down to the desk.

“Do you have proof of that?”

“Yes.”

The answer was immediate. And that’s what really unsettled me. He didn’t sound like a desperate man making excuses. He sounded… confident. Too confident.

m

Chapter 253 Something Doesn’t Click

have copies. Digital records. Files stored off the main system.”

My mind started racing, then something had definitely happened. There had been manipulation. But if Howard wasn’t involved, who was?

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I felt a small chill run down my spine, because suddenly… too many pieces were starting to feel off. The speed with which Alexander resolved everything, the “coincidences.” The permits… The way each problem appeared… and then disappeared, I swallowed hard.

I had the perfect opportunity to end that call, to tell him to talk to lawyers. To HR, to anyone else, but something inside me… Something very small… It asked me to listen to him.

“Let’s meet outside the office,” I finally said.

Howard was silent for a few seconds, surprised. I checked the time.

“There’s a café diagonally across from the building.”

“Yes, I know it.”

“Two thirty.”

My voice was firm.

“You have fifteen minutes, Mr. Howard.”

I heard her exhale on the other end.

“Thanks.”

I hung up slowly and stared at the phone for several seconds, that strange feeling growing inside me. Like when a door starts to open… even though you can’t yet see what’s on the other side.

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