All Chapters of Billionaire’s Hidden Heir: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The apartment felt like a war zone. Security teams barked into radios. Computers lit up with maps, coordinates, and live surveillance feeds. Ava stood in the center of it all, arms wrapped around herself, barely breathing.Dominic paced like a caged animal.“He has my son,” Ava whispered. “He has our son, Dominic.”“I know.” His voice was tight with fury and control. “And we’re going to get him back.”Lila entered the room, pale but composed. “We may have a lead.”Dominic was on her in an instant. “Where?”She pointed to a red blinking dot on the map displayed across the monitor. “One of Maddox’s dummy accounts was used to charter a helicopter. It departed from a private airfield twenty minutes ago.”“Where was it headed?” Ava asked.“Somewhere off the coast of Connecticut. An island estate Maddox used for retreats and illegal meetings. It’s not on the books—but I’ve seen him mention it in encrypted messages.”“Do we have access to air transport?” Dominic asked his head of security.“

Three months had passed since their rooftop wedding, but Ava still found herself waking up each morning and smiling at the sight of Dominic sleeping beside her.He looked so different now—still powerful, still the CEO, still the man who could command a room with a single glance. But there was a softness in him these days, one she knew was reserved only for her and Liam.And now… maybe someone else, too.She pressed a hand to her lower abdomen, a secret smile playing on her lips. The test she’d taken that morning sat tucked in her nightstand drawer. Positive. She hadn’t even told Dominic yet.She wanted to be sure.She wanted to tell him in the perfect way.Downstairs, Liam was busy lining up toy trucks across the kitchen floor while Dominic flipped pancakes in an apron that said “#1 Dad (and Pancake King).”“You’re burning them,” Ava teased as she stepped in.Dominic turned around, spatula in hand. “That’s impossible. I have a system. A rhythm. A—”Smoke rose from the skillet.Ava rai

Ava sat alone in the upstairs bedroom of the Brooklyn brownstone, the city’s muffled hum far in the distance. The walls were quiet, too quiet. Liam was napping, and Dominic was downstairs in another hush-hush phone call with Lila.She pressed a hand to her belly, still flat, still waiting for that first flutter, the first proof that life was really forming inside her.But right now, all she could feel was the weight in her chest.Someone was watching them.Dominic had confirmed it. The photos. The messages. The fact they’d moved in the middle of the night like fugitives. Everything had come rushing back—memories she’d locked away deep inside.She closed her eyes.Flashbacks of her past clawed their way to the surface.A dark room. Harsh words. The fear of being alone and pregnant the first time. When she was still just nineteen, scared and unsure of everything except that she would keep the baby, even if the father wouldn’t stay.Even now, years later, there were moments she still fel

It started with a flicker.One moment, the hallway lights in the Brooklyn brownstone were glowing steadily. The next, they dimmed—then surged—before cutting out completely.Ava froze at the top of the stairs, Liam’s tiny hand wrapped tightly around hers. “Mommy?” he whispered.Dominic looked up from his phone on the living room couch, already alert. “Stay there.”The emergency backup kicked in seconds later—low, battery-powered lamps along the baseboards glowed with a soft, pulsing blue.But it wasn’t enough to hide the sinking feeling in Ava’s gut.Something was wrong.Dominic stepped quickly toward the control panel by the front door and keyed in his override code. It beeped. Nothing changed.“System override failed,” the robotic voice chirped.“Someone’s inside the network,” Dominic muttered. “They’ve taken control.”Ava’s mouth went dry. “Ezra?”“It’s the only explanation.”He turned to her, eyes fierce. “Take Liam to the panic room. Don’t wait for me.”“No. We’re not splitting up

The night air was sharp and quiet, the kind of stillness that warned something was about to snap.Ava crouched beside Isla in the shadows behind the rusting chain-link fence, their breath visible in the cold air. The warehouse loomed ahead, its windows blacked out, its presence like a silent threat sitting on the edge of the city.“Security cameras are angled to the front,” Isla whispered, pointing. “There’s a blind spot near the loading dock. That’s our way in.”Ava nodded, her fingers trembling slightly—not with fear, but adrenaline. She was far from the woman who had once avoided conflict. Now, with Liam’s safety hanging in the balance, she was ready to walk through hell if she had to.“Let’s go,” she whispered.They slipped along the fence line, crawling through a hole Isla had found earlier. The silence was unnerving. Ava could feel every heartbeat in her ears as they ducked low, reaching the loading dock. Isla pulled out a small black device from her coat pocket.“You come prepa