All Chapters of One Night, One Baby, One Billionaire Mess: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Damian's grasp on the phone tightened so much that the screen broke. Rachel's voice rang in his ears like a gunshot in an empty cathedral. "You touch her, Rachel, and I swear""You'll what?" she interrupted, mockingly sweet. "Have you lost another piece of your memory? Have you forgotten your son's name? Damian, you are a puppet. Always has been. You just didn't realize the strings I was pulling." The call went dead. Damian heard a full second of silence. Then he moved fast, quick, and calculated. "Code Red," he said into his communicator. "Seal all exits, lock every satellite on her signature, and find my wife and son.""Yes, sir," James replied.But Damian was already moving, out the door, into the elevator, past the shocked employees. He did not wait for backup. He didn't need it. Rachel had stolen more than just his family; it was the final thread of his restraint. Ava woke up with a throbbing headache and the taste of iron in her mouth. The environ

AVA The world shifted sideways. I could hear glass crunching beneath Damian's body as he sheltered me with his own, the floor hard beneath us, and my arms curled instinctively around my abdomen. My baby. My heart. Shots. Silence. Then his voice—raw and furious. "Ava. Talk to me. Ava!""I am OK," I muttered, looking up at him. His face hung over mine, a wound growing on his cheek. "We need to go. Now." He grabbed the bag and pushed me to my feet, and our bodies moved like two shadows through the hotel room's devastation. Whoever fired that gun did not miss by accident. We were not safe here. We might not be safe anyplace.We ran to the elevator, but Damian drew me to the stairs instead. "They could have rigged the lift," he explained. My legs burned, and my breath came in harsh bursts as we fell flight by flight. My heart raced with more than panic; there was something else. Damian mumbled a name before the shot went off. Someone real. Someone powerful. If h

AVA My fingers trembled as I scrolled through the file Damian had given me. Photos. There are so many photos. I was at a birthday celebration. I graduated from college. My first flat, seen from outside. In addition, there were videos. CCTV footage is shown, as are interviews with academics and coworkers. Even a private investigator wrote: "The subject is extremely adaptive. Unmatched emotional resilience. "The ideal candidate." Who is the best candidate for this position? "This is not surveillance," I said quietly, nausea rising in my stomach. "This is a case record." Damian sat across from me, the screen glow reflected in his eyes. "You were part of something before we met." I glanced up, my heart pounding. "Do you think I worked for them?"No," he answered firmly. "I believe they were watching you." They are grooming you, Planning." I murmured, "For you." He gave a nod. "It was not random," he continued. "Our meeting." We are married. "Even the

AVA Pregnant? The word struck me like a train. Not my. This is someone else's. But Brigham's gaze was on me, and his speech slithered through the speakers like venom. "You thought it was about vengeance? "What about control?" He said. "No, Ava." This was about producing a perfect storm. I established a legacy, not simply a weapon."My knees locked. Damian was speaking shouting back but I could not hear him over the sound of my heartbeat. My baby stirred inside me, as if it sensed the shift in gravity. Another child. Somewhere. What source? From whom? "Who is she?" I eventually asked, my voice scratchy. Brigham smiled. "You will meet her soon." I glanced to Damian, but he was also stopped, a thousand ideas racing through his mind none of which were pleasant. "I am going to count down," Brigham explained. "In ten seconds. "Either you give me that file... or you lose your son.""Do not do this!" I yelled. "Ten…"Damian grabbed my wrist. "Nine…" His thumb s

AVA I should have made a lunge. Should have slapped her. Screamed. I finished something. But I didn't. I just stared at Rachel and her large pregnancy, her bare feet on the stone floor, and the ghost of smugness in her eyes. She did not seem shocked to see us. She seems to have been waiting. "Are you planning to kill me?" She asked, her lips curving slightly. "That would be very dramatic.""No," I responded flatly. "That would be kind." She stepped back. I did not want to go in, but Damian insisted, and I followed. The home was dim and silent, resembling a convent but with medical-grade sterility. It felt more like a lab than a home. Who is the father? I inquired.Rachel did not make eye contact with me. "You know already.""Do you mean the monster that almost killed my son?" I let out a hiss. "You are carrying his child?""I am carrying legacy," she remarked coldly. "Something you would never understand." I took a step forward. "That is not legacy