บททั้งหมดของ The billionaire's secret baby : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

Chapter Twenty One: Committed

AVAThe Willowbrook Private Treatment Center looked more like a luxury hotel than a psychiatric hospital. Marble floors, expensive artwork, fresh flowers everywhere. But the windows didn't open, the doors locked from the outside, and every visitor had to be approved.I was a prisoner in paradise."Mrs. Blackwood, time for your medication."The nurse, Janet, appeared in my doorway holding the small paper cup I'd come to dread. Inside were three pills that made my thoughts fuzzy and my reactions slow."I don't want them.""Doctor's orders. These will help with your anxiety and paranoid thinking.""I'm not paranoid. I'm realistic."Janet's smile was practiced and condescending. "That's what the medication is for. To help you see things more clearly."I stared at the pills. Taking them meant sinking deeper into the fog that made it hard to think, hard to fight back. But refusing them meant being held down while they were forced into me. I learned that lesson on day two.I swallowed the pi

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Chapter Twenty Two:Inside Information

AVAI was picking at my breakfast when she sat down across from me. The woman was maybe forty, with graying brown hair and intelligent eyes that seemed too alert for someone in this place."You're the new one. The kidnapper."I looked up from my untouched eggs. "Excuse me?""That's what they're calling you in the files. Mother who tried to kidnap her own child." She took a bite of toast. "I'm Sarah.""Ava.""I know. Word travels fast here." Sarah leaned forward slightly. "How long have you been taking the medication?""Six days.""Still feeling foggy?""Like I'm swimming through cotton."Sarah nodded knowingly. "Risperidone and lorazepam, right? Maybe some mood stabilizers thrown in?""How do you know that?""Because we all get the same cocktail. Keeps us nice and docile for therapy sessions."I studied her face. Despite being here, Sarah seemed sharp, focused. Not like the other patients who shuffled around in medicated hazes."You seem pretty alert for someone on medication."Sarah

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Chapter Twenty Three:The Investigation

AVAThe days blurred together in Willowbrook's sterile halls. Without Sarah, the walls felt like they were closing in. I'd been pretending to take my medication for three days now, and with each passing hour, my mind grew clearer. The fog lifted, but so did the protection it offered from the terrible reality of my situation.I was sitting in the common room, staring at the same magazine I'd been holding for twenty minutes, when Dr. Harrison approached with his clipboard and that practiced smile that never reached his eyes."Good morning, Ava. How are we feeling today?""Fine," I said, keeping my voice flat. I'd learned that showing any emotion was dangerous here."I noticed you seemed agitated yesterday during our session. You mentioned seeing another patient who... doesn't exist in our records." He made a note on his clipboard. "Have you experienced any other hallucinations?"My jaw clenched. Sarah wasn't a hallucination. I'd touched her hand, heard her laugh, seen the light in her e

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Chapter Twenty Four: Divided Loyalties

The penthouse felt different without Marcus. Liam stood at his office window, watching the morning traffic crawl through Manhattan streets below. The silence in the apartment was too thick, too empty. Marcus had been more than security, he'd been a steady presence, someone Liam trusted completely.Now he was gone, and Liam couldn't shake the feeling that he'd made a terrible mistake."Second thoughts?" Victoria's voice came from behind him. She entered his office carrying two cups of coffee, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor."No," Liam said, but his voice lacked conviction. "You were right. He was working against us."Victoria set a cup on his desk and moved to stand beside him at the window. "I know it's hard. You trusted him for years. But the evidence was clear, secret phone calls, unauthorized access to security areas, helping Ava plan her escape."Liam nodded, but something twisted in his gut. "The replacement starts today?""Derek Matthews. Excellent credentials. He work

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Chapter Twenty Five:Race Against Time

LIAMThe ambulance sirens faded into the distance, carrying Elena's lifeless body away from the penthouse. Liam stood in his kitchen, staring at the broken plate scattered across the floor. Her words echoed in his head: *Six weeks. Ever since the first day I started working here.*Six weeks of poisoning his son. Six weeks of lies.Derek appeared in the doorway, his face a mask of fake concern. "Terrible accident. The poor woman must have had a heart condition.""Get out." Liam's voice was ice."Sir?""Get out of my home. Now."Derek's expression didn't change. "I don't think that's wise, Mr. Cross. With everything that's happened tonight—""I said get out!" Liam roared.For a moment, Derek just stared at him. Then he smiled—a cold, knowing smile that made Liam's blood freeze."As you wish. But you might want to check on your son. The withdrawal from those medications can be... difficult for children."The words hit Liam like a punch to the gut. He raced down the hall to Eli's room, De

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Chapter Twenty Six: The Underground Network

AVAI woke up to the sound of water dripping somewhere in the darkness. My head felt like someone had split it open with an axe, and when I tried to sit up, the world spun sideways."Easy." A gentle hand pressed against my shoulder. "You've been unconscious for eighteen hours."The voice belonged to a woman I'd never seen before. She was Asian, maybe forty, with kind eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. She wore scrubs, but not the sterile white ones from Willowbrook. These were soft blue, like the sky I hadn't seen in weeks."Where am I?" My throat felt like sandpaper."Safe. That's what matters right now." She handed me a cup of water. "I'm Dr. Sarah Chen. I used to work at Willowbrook until I discovered what they were really doing there."I drank the water slowly, trying to make sense of my surroundings. We were in some kind of underground room with concrete walls and exposed pipes along the ceiling. Medical equipment hummed quietly in the corners, and I could hear voices talking softl

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Chapter Twenty Seven: The Hunter Becomes Hunted

LIAMThe first sign something was wrong came at eight in the morning when my credit card was declined at the coffee shop. I tried two more cards. Both declined."Must be a system error," the barista said, but her eyes said she'd seen this before, rich guy whose luck had run out.I called the bank from my car, hands shaking as I dialed."Mr. Cross, I'm afraid all your accounts have been frozen pending a court investigation," the representative said in that careful tone they use for crazy people. "The order came through at midnight.""What investigation? On whose authority?""I'm not authorized to discuss the details, sir. You'll need to speak with your attorney."But when I called my lawyer, his assistant told me he could no longer represent me due to a "conflict of interest." The same story at the second firm. And the third.By the time I made it back to the penthouse, Derek was waiting in my lobby with two men in expensive suits. One carried a briefcase. The other carried papers that

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Chapter Twenty Eight: Allies In Dark Places

AVADr. Chen led me down a different corridor than the one I'd seen before. This hallway had thicker doors with electronic locks, and I could hear the hum of serious computer equipment behind the walls."The women you met earlier are the ones we've helped escape," Dr. Chen said, stopping at a heavy metal door. "But there are others here. Women who've been fighting this network longer than you can imagine."She pressed her palm to a scanner, and the door clicked open. Inside was a room that looked more like a war room than a hiding place. Multiple computer screens covered one wall, showing security feeds, financial records, and what looked like surveillance photos. Three women sat at workstations, their faces illuminated by the blue glow of their monitors."Ladies, I'd like you to meet Ava Cross."The first woman to turn around made my breath catch. She was elegant, with silver hair pulled back in a perfect bun, wearing a pearl necklace that probably cost more than my old apartment. Sh

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Chapter Twenty Nine: Blood and Betrayal

LIAMThe elevator to Victoria's apartment felt like ascending to hell. I had her key, the one she'd given me months ago when she'd played the role of devoted friend and confidante. Back when I thought she was helping me grieve Isabella's death instead of celebrating it.The hallway was empty at two in the morning. Most of the building's residents were asleep, unaware that a monster lived on the fifteenth floor. I slid the key into Victoria's lock, half expecting it not to work. But it did, and the door opened silently into darkness.I used my phone's flashlight to navigate through her living room. The space looked different than I remembered, colder, more clinical. The family photos and personal touches that had made it feel lived-in were gone. It looked like someone was preparing to leave.But Victoria had left something behind.In her study, filing cabinets stood open, their contents scattered across the floor as if someone had been packing in a hurry. I knelt down and began sorting

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Chapter Thirty: The Real Game

VICTORIAI stood over Liam's unconscious body, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. The tranquilizer dart had done its job perfectly. His face looked almost peaceful in sleep, nothing like the broken man who'd discovered the truth about his precious Isabella just minutes ago."Clean this up," I told my men, stepping over the scattered files. "And make sure he stays unconscious for at least six hours. I have work to finish."The apartment felt different now that all my secrets were out in the open. No more pretending to be the devoted mistress. No more fake tears or manufactured sympathy. After five long years of playing a role, I could finally be myself again.Anna Volkov. Not Victoria Cross, the identity I'd stolen from a dead woman in Prague.I walked to the window and looked out at the city sprawling below. Somewhere out there, Ava was probably celebrating her rescue, thinking she'd escaped the worst of it. Poor fool. She had no idea that her suffering was just beginning

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