What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 110

Noelle sounded utterly exhausted, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I was a little over two months along... and then there was no heartbeat. I just started bleeding. I had even picked out a nickname for her. It broke me..."

Wendy's empathetic sigh echoed from the bathroom. "Ms. Lawrence, try not to dwell on it. You'll definitely have a healthy baby one day. Besides, two years ago you were working yourself into the ground, pulling all-nighters for that project. You can't blame yourself."

"I know. I wanted to surprise Rafael. I was going to wait until he got back from his business trip to tell him we were having a baby," Noelle's voice dropped even lower. "Who knew it would end like that?"

"Yeah, you terrified me that day. The bleeding just started out of nowhere. If Mr. Sanders hadn't been there..." Wendy caught herself and abruptly stopped talking.

Noelle let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. "Yeah. Thank God for Finnian. If he hadn't stayed with me in that random city for half a month, my recovery would have been a total nightmare."

"Mr. Sanders has always been deeply devoted to you. He literally thought of everything. If you were his wife, you'd be the luckiest woman in the world," Wendy said playfully.

"He is fiercely loyal, yes. But don't say things like that out loud," Noelle scolded gently. Kaia heard the sound of the faucet running. They were washing up and getting ready to leave.

Before they stepped out, Kaia ducked into the adjacent file room, pulling the door shut silently.

It felt like a rusty nail had just been driven directly into her heart. The pain was sharp, suffocating, and absolute.

She leaned back against the cold wall, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the folders in her hands.

Two years ago. May. Finnian had flown to a city up north to handle a major acquisition. He was gone for half a month. He completely missed her birthday.

Brynlee had only been two years old. Because she missed her dad so much, she woke up crying every single night and caught two bad colds back-to-back.

So that was the truth. That two-week "business trip" up north was spent playing nurse to Noelle while she recovered from her miscarriage.

Kaia stood in the silence of the file room for two full minutes before she finally pushed the door open and walked straight to Gordon Hayes's office.

By the time she left the Aethelstan building at 4:30 PM, the biting winter wind hit her face, sobering her instantly.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Quinn Finch, her lawyer.

"Mr. Finch, I need you to pull the patient records for the maternity ward at Capital Hospital from May, two years ago. I just found out Noelle Lawrence had a miscarriage during that time, and the person who signed off or took care of her was Finnian Sanders. Find me the proof."

Quinn Finch didn't miss a beat. "Understood, Dr. Chavez. How did you come across this information?"

"I overheard it," Kaia said, a cold, humorless smile touching her lips. "Or, more accurately, Noelle made sure I overheard it."

While waiting at the gate, Silas couldn't help but vent. "Looking at the conglomerate's annual budget allocation... the favoritism is staggering."

Kaia had seen the spreadsheet. Veridian's budget was less than half of what Aethelstan got. Finnian was clearly prioritizing his flagship company—and the woman running it.

"We work for Veridian now. Let's just focus on building our own pipelines and ignore the noise." Kaia was not the type to roll over and play dead. When it came to her technical expertise, she possessed absolute, unshakeable confidence.

"True. Let the results speak for themselves. Talent always wins out in the end." Silas flashed a devastating, arrogant grin.

When they landed that night, the partner company hosted a welcome dinner for them.

During the meal, Silas stepped in to intercept several toasts aimed at Kaia. One of the opposing executives specifically remembered Kaia; he had worked with Aethelstan before and was a massive admirer of her work.

He practically fawned over her at the table. "Mr. Sanders, having a powerhouse like Dr. Chavez on your team is incredible. She's brilliant and rock-solid under pressure. Veridian's future is in very safe hands."

Silas shot Kaia a loaded look, then smiled at the executive. "Exactly. Letting a talent like hers go to waste is a crime. I just happened to recognize her worth before anyone else did."

Kaia glanced up at him. Silas immediately ran a hand through his hair and laughed awkwardly. "Don't be mad. I'm just stating facts."