CHAPTER 16: SHOCKING NEWS AND THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS

His face goes white and he immediately lifts me up in his arms, without saying another word and bolts for the elevator, shouting orders into his earpiece.

“Get the car. NOW!”

We’re racing through the streets before I can even stop crying.

I press my hand to my belly again, begging for a kick, a flutter, something, anything.

I don't want my baby to die.

“Please,” I whisper. “Please move. Please move.”

Xander grips the steering wheel like he’s about to rip it off, driving through every red light along the way without stopping for even a second.

We arrive at the private hospital, and they rush me into an exam room, place cold gel on my belly and wait.

Sobbing I look from the beeping machines to the nervous nurses, seeing them flinch as Xander promise's to render them jobless for life and burn down the hospital if anything happens to me or the baby.

Then… after a while of tests,....

“Heartbeat detected,” a nurse says softly, letting out a sigh of relief along with that other nurses.

“And it’s strong.”

I sob in relief, but something in the nurse’s expression changes as she darts a nervous look at me and a scared look at Xander.

“There’s… something else.”

“What?” Xander and I both ask, worried.

She turns the screen, pointing to the grainy image.

“You’re… carrying twins.”

_

_

_

We're back at his penthouse now, and I'm sitting curled on the edge of the couch with my knees drawn to my chest even though it’s uncomfortable with the growing size of my body from the weight of the twins.

The ultrasound picture is clutched tightly in my hand, showing two tiny shadows curled together inside me.

My babies.

I've had twins all this while inside me and I had no idea.

I should feel joy, hope... and wonder, but all I feel is dread.

What if the one that's been chasing me finds out about this as well.

... They'll be more eager to kill me.

I'm confused.

Now that I think about it, if I was picked to bear Xander's child deliberately like some sort of experiment...

Then why do I now feel like they're after by babies?

That attacker squeezed down on my belly, he wanted to hurt them... Why?

Xander’s pacing behind me now, speaking into his Bluetooth earpiece.

“Find him. I don’t care what you have to do. Shake every hand, flip every stone. If he’s breathing, I want him crawling to beg for forgiveness.”

He ends the call and tosses the phone onto the coffee table, running a hand through his hair.

“They lost him,” he says tightly.

My stomach knots at his words, and despite the obvious fact, I really hope that it's not what I think he means.

“What do you mean lost him?”

“The attacker,” he replies.

“The one who tried to hurt you and the babies. He survived the fall from your window and we've tracked him across three boroughs. But someone shut down our lead. It was clean and professional like they were expecting us.”

“Do you think it’s Veronica?”

He hesitates. “She doesn’t have that kind of reach.”

“So who does?”

He doesn’t answer and that’s what scares me most.

Does he know, or does he not know?

Why is he quiet?!!

I shift upright and glare at him.

“Xander, I’m done playing this game blind. You brought me into this world, and now I’m stuck in it, pregnant with your children, stalked, attacked and hunted. And you want me to stay silent and smile through it?”

His jaw clenches, “You’re safe here.”

“That’s not an answer.”

"You don't need one."

“The hell I do!" I snap at him.

"I need the truth because just when I trusted you to protect me, someone nearly killed me.”

He looks at me then— truly looks and I see something in his eyes, something that looks like, fear, guilt or maybe regret but it’s gone quickly.

“You want the truth?” he says lowly.

“Fine. I don't know the answer."

I keep quiet and just look at him, staring in shock because I thought he knew.

Or is he lying?

"Xan-----"

"I'll find out what I can, for now rest," he tells me and walks out.

Staring at his back as he leaves, I wonder if he's not shocked about the fact that we now have twins take care of.

He looked shocked back at the hospital, but I can't say I've seen any other reaction from him.

Sighing, I close my eyes and raise my hands to bury my face in them.

TWINS.

... I feel so overwhelmed.

----------------

Across the city, in a darkish suite of the Marionette Hotel, Richard Elias Knight sits in a high backed chair with a glass of red vintage wine in his hand and a soft smile tugging at his rather middle aged lips.

On the screen in front of him, there's a footage playing back in grainy black- and- white, showing Athena sitting in the penthouse and arguing with Xander.

He sips his wine slowly, savoring the flavor with a nod of his head.

“They’re losing themselves faster than I expected,” he muses aloud.

Just then, a man that had been standing by the side stiffly, steps forward.

“Sir should we escalate the plan?”

Richard swirls his glass and shakes his head a bit.

“Not yet. Let the girl grow in doubt and let Xander stew in rage. They’re both emotional creatures easily manipulated. However...” He says and turns to the man who bend his head low immediately.

"Do you see this footage on the screen?"

"Yes Sir."

"Take the drone down before my son finds it. I want to be the one surprising him, not the other way round."

The man looks surprised at the order but not nods in obedience.

“Alright Sir, I'll have it done immediately."

Then the man pauses for a while and the summons up courage to ask.

"Sir, what about the babies?”

Richard’s eyes narrow a little before he responds.

“Those children are more valuable than they’ll ever realize. This pairing," he adds and points at the footage.

"... might be the greatest genetic asset we’ve ever produced.”