Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown novel Chapter 197

When Serena returned home, she quickly organized Dr. Owens's recordings. Then she opened Cynthia Lynwood's chat history and meticulously packed every message from over the years into a USB drive. Soon, Aaron would have the chance to see a side of his beloved Cynthia that he never knew existed.

As Serena scrolled through the messages, she stumbled upon a prenatal check-up report sent by Cynthia Lynwood a few months back. At the time, Serena was still in love with Aaron. The names "Father: Aaron Vance" and "Mother: Cynthia Lynwood" had been too painful to examine closely.

Revisiting it now, Serena felt more curiosity than heartache. Enlarging the report, she noticed the date was from five years ago. It had been puzzling back then—how Aaron, despite his flaws, could have fathered a child with Cynthia when she wasn't in good health. The truth was, the child was conceived five years prior. Cynthia had been adept at keeping secrets; Serena had never seen the child.

However, a new question arose. Why had Cynthia only sent the report a few months ago if the child was born years ago? Serena pushed aside her thoughts and continued packing Cynthia's messages into the USB drive. After two hours, she finished and collapsed onto her bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

In her dream, she left Alderburg and returned to her job at the Restoration Center. Her exceptional skills even led Director Thomas to select her as a representative for the Republic of Valeria in an international competition. Waking up to warm sunlight on her face, Serena realized it was just a dream. Yet, the possibility of leaving Alderburg was not.

While having breakfast, she remembered she had blocked all of Aaron's contacts. Reluctantly, she unblocked his number and dialed.

Meanwhile, at Vance Holdings, Aaron frowned at the sudden ringing of his phone. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized the number. Across the room, Victor, organizing files, noticed Aaron's hesitation and glanced at the screen. He, too, was surprised—Mr. Vance had predicted correctly; Miss Sullivan had indeed reached out.

Aaron let the phone ring for a few moments before answering nonchalantly, "What do you want?"

"I need to meet you," Serena stated.