The Abandoned Wife's Second Chance (Scarlett and Jasper) novel Chapter 171

Chapter 171

(Jasper’s POV)

+25 Points

The fluorescent lights burn my eyes. Everything hurts–my head, my ribs, the spot where the IV was yanked out. But none of it matters.

I’m shoving my arms through my jacket when the nurse catches up to me, her face pinched with anxiety.

“Mr. Blake, you can’t leave. The doctor hasn’t cleared you-”

“I’m leaving.” My voice comes out rough, almost unrecognizable. “Bill me for whatever you

need to.”

“Sir, you have a severe concussion. If you collapse again—”

“Then I collapse.”

I brush past her, each step sending sharp pain through my skull. The hallway tilts and sways, but I grip the wall and keep moving. Scarlett’s out there. I don’t have time to lie in a hospital bed while Morgan destroys everything I love.

The elevator takes forever. When the doors finally open to the ground floor, I nearly stumble into someone.

“Whoa, easy there.”

Strong hands catch my shoulders, steadying me. I look up into Dorian’s face.

“Got here faster than I expected. Have you been camping out front?”

“You wish.” He doesn’t let go until I’m steady on my feet. “I drove past red lights to get here as fast as I could for Scarlett.”

“I just received a text from James. Morgan has them,” I say, the words tasting like ash. “Scarlett, Virginia, Lily. James is probably walking into a trap right now, and I’m-” My voice

cracks.

Dorian guides me toward the exit. The night air hits my face, cold and sharp. It helps clear some of the fog. We reach his car–some expensive SUV that probably costs more than my bar.

“Get in,” he says. “I’ve been digging into Morgan Foster while I drove here.”

I slide into the passenger seat, my body screaming in protest. “What did you find?”

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He pulls out his phone, scrolling through what looks like old news articles. “Her father was Edward Foster. Does that name mean anything to you?”

“No. Should it?”

“He was James Stone’s business rival about twenty–seven years ago. Stone destroyed him- spread rumors about embezzlement, got his loans called in, basically ruined him. Foster killed himself six months later.”

The pieces click into place with sickening clarity. “So this is revenge.”

“From what I got so far, that’s what it seems like. Dorian’s jaw tightens. “Morgan was fifteen when her father died. Her mother died a year later. She’s been planning this for decades.”

“Virginia.” The realization hits me like a punch. “What’s her connection to Virginia?”

“Morgan’s been manipulating her for years, making Virginia think she’s her mother, that James stole everything from her, forcing her to abandon her in an orphanage.” He looks at me. “But from what I found, Morgan is the one who stole Virginia from the Stones.”

Dread twists in my gut. All those times I dismissed Virginia’s behavior, all those moments I thought she was just jealous or vindictive–she was being used. It’s almost as if…Morgan wanted to destroy James in his own daughter’s hands.

“We need to find Lily first,” Dorian says, starting the engine. “Once we know she’s safe, we can focus on Scarlett and Virginia.”

How? We don’t even know where she is.”

“Actually, we do.” He pulls up another app on his phone, and a blinking red dot appears on a map. “After the car accident, I put a tracker in Lily’s backpack. Just in case.”

Hope flares in my chest, painful and bright. “So you know where she is?”

“Yes.” He’s already driving, weaving through traffic with the kind of precision that comes from too much money and too little fear. “East side of the industrial district. Morgan must be keeping her separate. Probably as extra leverage.”

“Or she’s already-” I can’t finish the sentence.

“Don’t.” Dorian’s voice cuts through my spiral. “Don’t go there. We find her, we get her out, and then we handle Morgan.”

The drive takes twenty minutes, but it feels like hours. Every red light is torture. Every delay makes my chest tighter.

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“Why are you helping?” The question comes out before I can stop it. “You love Scarlett. This is your chance to-”

“To what? Let her die so I can have a clear shot?” He laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “That’s not love, Blake. That’s obsession.”

He takes a sharp turn, tires squealing. “Besides, Scarlett doesn’t love me. She loves you. She’s always loved you, even when you didn’t deserve it.”

The words sting because they’re true.

“I know I don’t deserve her.” My voice comes out quiet, almost lost under the engine’s roar. “I never did. But I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of her anyway.”

“Good.” Dorian pulls into an alley behind a decrepit building. “Because if you hurt her again, I’ll take her and Lily, and that time, I’ll make sure you never get a third chance.”

Though he doesn’t put it into words, I sense this is his way of saying he’ll get out of the way.

I nod, vowing internally that he’ll never get the chance.

We park and kill the engine. The warehouse looms ahead, dark and silent.

“The tracker shows Lily’s on the second floor,” Dorian says, checking his phone. “Northeast

corner.”

“How do we get in without alerting whoever’s guarding her?”

“There’s a fire escape around back. Looks like the lock’s been broken for years.” He reaches under his seat and pulls out a gun.

I stare at it. “You carry a gun?”

“You don’t?” He tucks it into his waistband. “Come on.’

The fire escape is exactly where he said it would be, the metal rusted and creaking under our weight. Each step sounds like a scream in the quiet night.

My head throbs with every movement. Twice I have to stop, gripping the railing while the world spins. But Dorian doesn’t rush me, doesn’t complain. He just waits.

The second floor window is broken. We slip through, landing in what looks like an old office space. Desks and chairs lie scattered, covered in years of dust and bird droppings.

“This way.” Dorian moves like a shadow, surprisingly quiet for his size.

We follow the tracker’s signal through a maze of corridors. The building groans around us,

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settling into its decay.

Then I hear it. A child’s cry, muffled but unmistakable.

“Lily.”

+25 Points)

I’m running before I can think, my body moving on instinct. Dorian curses behind me, trying to

keep up.

The door is locked. I slam my shoulder against it once, twice. Pain explodes through my injured body, but the wood splinters.

The third hit breaks it open.

Lily’s huddled in the corner, her school uniform dirty and torn. When she sees me, her face crumples.

“Daddy!”

I drop to my knees, and she crashes into my arms. She’s shaking, her small body wracked

with sobs.

“I’ve got you,” I whisper into her hair. “I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe now.”

“They took Mama.” Her voice is broken, terrified. “The bad lady took Mama and Aunt Virginia.”

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