Chapter 1

"Ma'am, your IVF procedure was a total success."

The doctor looked up from his charts with a professional smile. "Currently, both you and the babies are doing great."

Eve St. Claire sat in the plastic chair, her fingers white-knuckled around the ultrasound report. A flicker of a smile finally broke through her frozen expression.

"That's wonderful," she breathed. "The two rounds were worth it."

She still remembered the crushing weight of the first failed attempt. Terrified of disappointing her husband, Silas, she had kept the bad news to herself and rushed back to the hospital for a second emergency transfer. Thankfully, it had finally taken. Eve stood up to leave, but paused as a thought struck her.

"By the way, Dr. Evans, please don't mention the first failure to my husband, okay? I don't want him getting upset over something that's already in the past."

She flashed back to the day she was diagnosed with blocked fallopian tubes. It had felt like the world was ending, but Silas had gripped her hand tight.

"Don't be afraid," he had told her. "Medicine is so advanced now. We'll do IVF, and I'll be right there with you."

Even the nurses had swooned, calling him the most considerate husband they'd ever seen. Going through the physical hell of IVF twice felt like a small price to pay for that kind of love. As long as she could deliver these two babies and protect their home, Eve believed it was all worth it.

To share the news, she headed straight to the Covington Group offices. Since it was lunch hour, the hallways were mostly empty, and she made it to the executive suite without being spotted. She reached for the handle of the CEO's office, but noticed the door wasn't fully shut. Just as she was about to knock, a voice from inside stopped her cold. It was teasing, lighthearted, and chillingly familiar.

"Silas, man... this move of yours is ice cold."

It was Hudson Winslow, Silas's oldest friend. "Are you really having your wife carry Melody's kids?"

Hudson continued with a dry chuckle. "If she ever found out she was a surrogate for you and your ex, she'd lose her mind, wouldn't she?"

Eve's hand froze inches from the wood. She felt the air leave her lungs. Had she heard that right? Silas's response followed—his voice a casual, cutting sneer.

"Lose her mind? What right does she have to complain? If she hadn't used those dirty tricks to drive Melody away years ago, Melody never would have left me," Silas said, his tone hardening. "This is nothing more than what Eve owes us. Besides, being able to carry a child for us should be an honor for her, shouldn't it?"

Eve felt like she'd been struck by lightning. She stood paralyzed, the color draining from her face as she instinctively shielded her stomach.

"But she's been through so much these last six months," Hudson pointed out, his voice a mix of pity and disbelief. "Are you sure about this?"

"Melody is delicate," Silas brushed him off. "She has a low pain tolerance. I can't let her suffer through the physical toll of a pregnancy, can I? And besides..." His voice dropped to a low, manipulative hum. "Hasn't Eve always wanted to give me a child? My child with Melody is still my child, isn't it?"

Hudson sighed. "God, you're ruthless."

"Don't call me heartless," Silas replied. "Once she gives birth, I'll give her a massive payout as compensation."

"But what if—"

"There are no 'ifs,'" Silas snapped, cutting him off. "Just make sure she doesn't find out. Nothing can go wrong with Melody's babies."

Eve didn't remember walking away. She stumbled into the stairwell, her entire body shaking so violently she had to grab the railing to keep from collapsing. The children she had risked her life for weren't hers. They were her husband's and his "one that got away."

She wasn't a wife; she was a breeding tool. It was laughable. The tenderness, the hand-holding, the "I'm here for you"—it was all an act, a performance to keep the surrogate compliant.

Wait.

A jagged thought pierced through the shock. The first round of IVF—the one with Melody's embryos—had failed. The babies she was carrying now were from the second round.

So whose children are they?

"No," she whispered, wiping tears away with the back of her hand. "I have to go back. I have to know the truth."

Eve sprinted back to the hospital and burst into Dr. Evans's office. The door was unlocked, and she found the doctor mid-rant, screaming at a young nurse who was shaking like a leaf.

"I didn't mean to!" the nurse sobbed. "It was my first time at the sperm bank, and I misread the code!"

Dr. Evans whirled around at the sound of the door. The second he saw Eve, his anger turned to pure, unadulterated panic.

"Dr. Evans," Eve said, her voice like ice. "You're the hospital's lead OB-GYN. The embryos I'm carrying—whose are they?"