บททั้งหมดของ CLAIMED BY THE BILLIONAIRE : บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

Ava’s POVThe pain tore through me again, sharp and merciless. I clutched the sheets, sweat dripping down my forehead. Isa’s hand gripped mine tight, her lips pressed together as though she could take my pain if she held on hard enough.“Push, Ava,” Dr. Miranda ordered, her voice clipped and professional. “You’re almost there.”I cried out, pushing with everything I had left. The room blurred, white walls and harsh lights pressing in on me. A sudden cry pierced the air, thin and fragile but alive.“It’s a girl,” Dr. Miranda said. She lifted the tiny infant, her gloved hands steady.I sobbed, not from relief, but from something deeper something I couldn’t explain. My chest swelled with a strange mix of wonder and grief. She was so small, so perfect. My baby. And yet… not mine.The nurse wrapped the newborn in a blanket, the faint cries filling the sterile air. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Isa whispered, “She’s beautiful.”But then Dr. Miranda’s face changed. A flicker of alarm. Her ey

Ava’s POVFive years had passed, but New York still felt like it wanted to swallow me whole.The skyline towered above as the cab turned down Flatbush Avenue, the glass and steel throwing back the morning sun. Damien’s small hand was wrapped around mine, his fingers sticky from the muffin Isa had bought him on the way.“Mom,” he said, mouth full. “Are there parks here?”“Of course,” I answered, forcing a smile. “Bigger than the one we had in Montana.”His eyes lit up. “With swings?”“Yes, with swings.”Isa chuckled beside me, clutching her bag. “Don’t fill his head with fairy tales. You need to focus. It’s only an interview, Ava. Nothing more.”I nodded, though my stomach twisted. “I know. But it’s the start we need.”The cab pulled to a stop in front of a tall glass building. I stared up at it, nerves crawling under my skin.Isa touched my arm. “We’ll wait at the café across the street. Take your time.”I kissed Damien’s forehead. “Be good for Grandma.”“I will,” he said, swinging hi

The sun was bright when Damien and I reached the park. He held my hand until we stepped onto the grass, then he let go and ran ahead, full of energy. His laugh carried through the air as he darted toward the swings, then the slide, and then the sandbox. I kept my eyes on him, sitting down on a bench with my bag beside me.“Stay where I can see you,” I called out.“Okay, Mom,” he shouted back, already digging into the sand with his small hands.I smiled faintly, though a tightness remained in my chest. Saturdays in the park had become our small escape. No questions, no worries, just the two of us. Or at least that was how I wanted it to be.Damien paused suddenly. His eyes focused on something across the sandbox. I followed his gaze. A little girl, about his age, knelt on the other side, carefully shaping a small sandcastle with a plastic bucket. She had a crown of dark hair tied back with a ribbon, her face serious and determined as she worked. Damien tilted his head, then stood up an

The door opened before I said another word.“Daddy!”Diana ran into the office like she owned the place. Her backpack hit her side with each step. Clara followed her inside, trying to catch her breath.“I told her to wait,” Clara said. “She didn’t listen.”I kept my face blank, even though Diana was already wrapping her arms around my leg.“You left today without saying bye,” she said.“I had work.” I lifted her gently. “And you didn’t knock.”She grinned. “Clara said you wouldn’t be mad.”“Clara should stop saying things she cannot confirm.”Clara raised both hands. “I take full responsibility.”Ava stood in the corner, still by the chair she had stepped away from. Her hands were tight around her bag. She looked like she wanted to vanish. When Diana came in, she had moved back so fast I almost heard her shoes skid.I finally looked her way.“Ms. Morales,” I said. “You may go. I have what I need.”Her breath caught. “Yes. Thank you. Have a good day, sir.”She walked to the door, caref

Liam’s POVMy study had become my second skin a place where silence was easier than sleep and control was easier than thought..A knock came.“Come in.”Ivan stepped in, posture sharp, expression unreadable. A black folder rested in his hand.“Sir. The information you requested.”I motioned him closer and took it. Sleek. Heavy. Confidential.“Anything else?” I asked.“Only what’s in the file,” he said smoothly. “And… nothing that raises concern.”Concern. Interesting choice of word.“You may leave.”The moment the door closed, I opened the file.Name: Ava Morales.Age: Twenty-eight.Business: Brooklyn branch. Admin staff.Status: Single mother.Child: Damien Morales, age five.Father of child: unknown.Mother: Isabella Morales, owns a small restaurant in Brooklyn.No criminal record. Good employment history. Transcript clean.My jaw clenched.I flipped through the pages again.Why did this woman feel like an unanswered question?No matter how many facts I read, she remained… foggy. A