Trapped in a Secret Marriage with a Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 226

Chapter 226: Abducted

Xander finished showering and threw on the two-piece loungewear set Aurora had picked for him before leaving the room. But as soon as he came downstairs, he heard her saying,

“I told you. Try it with the dipping sauce.”

There was something persuasive about her voice that piqued his curiosity. He wondered just what she was trying to force his best friend to do. But as he stepped into the living room, the scene he saw was unexpected.

His wife, and his best friend were eating together.

Xander was a bit surprised by the situation, seeing the two people sitting on different sofas eating from the same plate.

Even he rarely ate with the same plate as his wife. Since when did they grow that close?

Just as Xander took another step, Aurora and Asher looked up and glanced his way.

As soon as Aurora saw him, the first thing she did was beckon to him to taste the fish fingers.

“Darling, you need to these. The taste bangs.”

Xander shook his head as he made his way over. He wasn’t even surprised at how she managed to rope Asher into eating from the same plate.

While wondering just how delicious the fish fingers that she was dragging everyone to eat with her were, he exchanged quick brotherly greetings with Asher before picking one of the fish fingers.

Then dipping it in the sauce, he brought it to his lips and took a huge bite as the two people before him watched in anticipation. His eyes immediately narrowed at them, but as the burst of flavours from both the fish and the sauce hit, he shut his eyes briefly, relishing the goodness.

“Is this fish actually so good because the chefs perfected the taste or because my wife says it’s good?” Xander asked, glancing at Aurora before dipping the remaining fish fingers in his hand in the sauce before throwing it into his mouth.

“Maybe, because she says so,” Asher said, picking an extra finger from the plate and shifting away the armrest, totally giving up that position to Xander, who immediately settled in.

The corners of Aurora’s eyes crinkled like she had won an award. She was happy her recommendation was accepted therefore, continued to eat while sharing the rest of her snacks.

What she did, at least, lessened the tension that could have been between the two friends who had an urgent topic to discuss.

Three minutes later, something finally clicked in Aurora’s head. She just realized that Asher must have come over to talk about something important, so she gave an excuse for needing fresh air.

“I will leave you two to your discussions while I go bask in the beautiful ambience of my lovely flowers.”

Xander and Asher both nodded as the latter happily thanked her for the fish fingers she let him try.

At the same time, Nene and two servants came to take what was left of Aurora’s snacks before escorting her to the in-house flower garden.

—

Back in the living room, Xander and Asher were finally left alone. After they washed their hands and dried them with warm towels, Asher broke the silence.

“Your wife is acting weird today,” he said, meeting Xander’s question brow before proceeding to explain. “I was surprised when she asked me to join her eat the fish. I have never had a friend’s wife ask me to eat from the same plate with her. Plus, your wife was overly excited. Does this happen often?”

Xander’s brows relaxed immediately as the corners of his eyes curved into crescent moons. “Lately, she’s been acting a bit differently,” he confirmed before meeting Asher’s gaze. “I think she’s pregnant.”

Instantly, Asher’s gaze grew wide in shock. He wasn’t expecting that news, but as he was about to congratulate Xander, he shushed him.

“Although I’m sure of the games I played, since the news hasn’t been confirmed yet, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Asher chuckled, pointing a finger at him and calling him out for being so smart just before the mood turned serious.

“Do you think Stella knew you and the police had people following her, so she leveraged whatever opportunity she had and decided to disappear before the scheduled time?” Asher asked immediately, his brows furrowing in curiosity.

“That was my thought, but not being able to find any traces of her leaving that Spa even after a month seems to hint at something more serious.”

Xander’s mood dropped, and so did the tension in the room. For once in a long while, he blamed himself for not preparing for the worst with Stella.

If he had known, he would have given an order for his men to go inside whatever saw she visited. At least if they had done that, today’s story would have never happened.

As the two friends tried to analyse the situation by themselves, Liam arrived in casual jean pants and a crisp white shirt tucked into it. He bowed politely as he greeted them before straightening his back.

“You mentioned over the phone that you found something. What is it?” Xander asked almost immediately, trying to gauge his reaction.

“Sir, the analysis the team and I came up with after going through wherever pieces of evidence and clues we could find is that Stella Swift was abducted and taken away from the Spa.”

Instantly, Asher sat upright, his gaze deepening as he and Xander watched Liam assemble every piece of item in his bag on the table.

“The spa has two entrances. How is it possible for her to be abducted, and none of the men keeping watch saw them leaving?” Xander asked, and almost immediately, he quickly added, piecing the situation together, “Perhaps there was another entrance we overlooked?”

Liam nodded, confirming his suspicions before explaining, spreading the blueprint of the spa building on the table.

“Stella couldn’t have left the Spa by herself even if she knew people were keeping an eye on her. Also, even if she had a little help escaping, she wouldn’t have left her purse, which had her important IDs, even if she wanted to leave her phone behind in case it was tracked.”

Releasing a deep breath, Liam added, looking between the two men who had all their attention on him, “She left abruptly with no trace. Since she left without her IDs and the fake ones she had processed, she was abducted by experts.”