Chapter 2

The mahogany desk bit into my lower back as Alexander leaned his full weight into me.

His fingers dug into my upper arms, tight enough that I knew I’d have purple bruises by tomorrow morning. But I barely felt the physical pain. My mind was spinning with panic and disbelief.

How did he find out? How did Marcus get those records?

I had been so careful. I used a fake name at the clinic, paid for everything in cash from a hidden savings account and chose a tiny, unnamed town three hours north of the city to hide my son, Leo.

“I asked you a question, Elena,” Alexander said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it had a quiet, vibrating anger that made the hairs on my arms stand up. “Where is my brother’s son?”

“I don’t... I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. It was a terrible lie, cracked and breathless but my instincts were screaming at me to protect Leo at all costs.

Alexander let out a harsh, dry, fake laugh. “Don’t play games with me,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Not now, Marcus has the DNA results right there. Did you really think you could outsmart the Blackwood estate?”

He squeezed my arms tighter, forcing me to look directly into his eyes. They were completely black with anger.

“Two years ago, my brother Julian died in a car crash,” he said. His voice was rough in pain.

“A month later, his frozen embryo disappeared from the Swiss storage facility. Since then, we’ve searched everywhere for the surrogate. And all this time, she was right in front of us. The fallen socialite standing at my door, begging for help.” he said bitterly as his eyes burned into mine.

“I am not a surrogate!” I replied sharply, the insult triggering a flash of my old anger. “I didn't do it for money!”

“Then why did you steal his child?”

“I didn't steal him!” I yelled back, tears finally stinging the corners of my eyes. “Julian was my friend! Your family treated him like a black sheep, but he was a good man.”

“Before he died, he told me how terrified he was that his stepfather and his ruthless older brother, who is you, would use his future children as pawns in your corporate wars. He begged me to carry his child if anything happened to him. He wanted his baby to have a real mother, a real life. Not a corporate inheritance!” I said.

Alexander’s face went completely pale. For a fraction of a second, a flash of pure, terrible pain crossed his face for a moment, showing a small piece of childhood wounds that had made his heart so hard. But the cold Ice King-look quickly returned to his face.

“He was a fool,” Alexander whispered, his face inches from mine. “And you are a thief. You took a Blackwood heir and hid him in the dirt.”

He let go of my arms so quickly I almost lost my balance. He turned to Marcus, his movements sharp and decisive. “Get the car. We're going to the cottage.”

My heart stopped. “No! Alexander, please, don't involve Leo. He's just a baby. He doesn't know anything about Blackwood Global or the money!”

Alexander didn't even look at me. He walked over to the closet, grabbed his heavy cashmere overcoat, and threw it on. 

“Marcus, call the legal team. Tell them the contract we just signed needs an immediate amendment. The custody agreement must be strict and leave no room for change or argument.”

“Custody?” I gasped, running after him. I grabbed his forearm, my small hands wrapping around the thick wool of his coat.

“What do you mean by custody? We have a contract for a fake marriage! You said no feelings, no attachments!”

Alexander paused, finally looking down at me. The look he gave me was so cold it felt like a physical slap.

“The deal just changed, Elena,” he said, his voice cold and firm.

“You wanted your stepfather ruined and your mother's bills paid. That you would get. But in exchange, I was just getting a temporary wife. Now? I’m getting my brother’s heir. You are going to bring my nephew to this penthouse tonight. You will raise him here, under my roof, under my surveillance.”

“And if I refuse?” I challenged him, my chin trembling but still raised. “I'll take him and run. You’ll never find us.”

Alexander stepped closer, his shadow completely swallowing me. He reached out and slowly ran one finger down the side of my neck until it rested over the fast beat in my throat. The gentle touch felt far too close, sending fear through me.

“If you run, Elena, I will use every dollar, every lawyer, and every corrupt cop in this city to hunt you down,” he murmured, almost like a lover sharing a secret.

“I will have you arrested for kidnapping. I will take Leo away from you legally, and make sure you spend the next ten years in a state prison where you will never see his face again. Do you understand me?”

A tear finally escaped my eye, tracking down my cheek. He was completely serious. He had the power to do it, and he wouldn’t hesitate.

“You’re a monster,” I whispered.

“I’m a businessman,” he corrected coldly, turning toward the private elevator. “And you have five minutes to get in the car, wife, before I leave you behind and go get my nephew myself.”

The elevator doors opened. Marcus stood inside, holding the door, his face looked serious.

I looked back at the desk, where my signature on the contract was still drying. I had thought I was buying my freedom and my mother’s life. Instead, I had just handed Alexander the keys to my entire world.

I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand, took a deep breath to steady my shaking legs, and walked into the elevator. I had to stay close to Leo. No matter what Alexander did, no matter how much he tried to scare me, I wouldn't let him take my son.

The elevator dropped sharply, heading down to the underground garage.

Ten minutes later, we were in the back of his midnight-black Maybach, speeding through the rainy streets of Manhattan toward the upstate highway. The partition was up, separating us from Marcus in the driver's seat.

The interior of the car was dark, lit only by the passing streetlights. I pressed myself against the passenger door, as far away from Alexander as possible. But the space was small and his heavy, masculine scent seemed to fill every corner of the vehicle.

“Why do you want him so badly?” I asked quietly, looking out the window covered in rain. “You didn't care about Julian when he was alive. Why care about his son now?”

For a long time, he said nothing. I thought he was going to ignore me, like he usually did when he thought a question was too small for him to answer. But then, the car hit a dark stretch of the highway, and I heard him shift in his leather seat.

“You don’t know anything about my family, Elena,” he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low pitch. 

“Julian was weak,” he continued. “He thought he could run away from the Blackwood name but this name carries a target. If the board or our rivals found out there was a stray child out there with a claim to the estate, they would have used him to tear the company apart. Or worse.”

I turned my head to look at him. In the dim light, the side of his face looked so sharp and perfect, like it had been shaped from stone. “So this is just about protecting your company?”

Alexander turned his head, his stormy eyes locking onto mine in the darkness. The distance between us suddenly felt incredibly small.

“It’s about control,” he said, leaning across the seat toward me. The sudden movement caught me off guard, and I pressed back against the door. He didn't stop until his face was just inches from mine. “And right now, I control the child, I control your mother’s life, and I control you.”

He reached out, his hand wrapping around the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair. It wasn’t a very tight hold but it was completely controlling. His eyes dropped to my lips again and for one moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. My heart beat hard against my ribs and a strange warmth spread through my stomach.

“Don’t fight me on this, Elena,” he warned, his thumb brushing the sensitive skin right behind my ear. “If you play your part, you keep your son. If you cross me, I will erase you from his life completely so he won’t even remember your name.”

He let go of me just as the car slowed down.

I looked out the window. We had turned onto the gravel driveway of the quiet little house where I kept Leo.

The headlights of the Maybach shined on the front entrance but something was wrong.

The front door of the little house was wide open, moving slowly and weakly in the night wind. The front entrance light was broken, and the gravel driveway showed deep, fresh tire tracks that didn’t belong to my nanny's old car.

My heart instantly jumped into my throat.

“Leo…” I whispered in fear.

Before the car could even come to a full stop, I grabbed the door handle and threw myself out into the pouring rain.