All Chapters of Five Years On The Run: The Billionaire's Secret Baby: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

**Colette**Three months later, I stood in my tiny bathroom staring at the pregnancy test in my shaking hands. Two pink lines. Clear as day. Mocking me.This couldn't be happening.I'd taken three tests already. All positive. My period was six weeks late. I'd been throwing up every morning for two weeks straight. Deep down, I already knew the truth before I bought the tests. I just didn't want to believe it.I sank down onto the closed toilet seat, the test still clutched in my hand. My mind raced through the timeline. Three months ago.I'd tried so hard to forget. Threw myself into my classes, worked extra shifts at my part-time job, avoided Owen and Sienna like they didn't exist. I almost convinced myself it was just a bad dream, a mistake I could bury and never think about again.But now this. A baby. Growing inside me. Proof that night really happened.I pressed my free hand against my still-flat stomach. There was a person in there. A tiny human who didn't ask to be created durin

**Colette**Victor returned an hour later, a thick stack of documents under his arm. He set it heavily on the table in front of me.“A contract,” he explained. “You agree to carry this pregnancy to term and hand the child over to us at birth. In exchange, your father’s company will be saved. All his debts will be wiped clean, and you will personally receive six million dollars.”Six million. More money than I would ever see in a lifetime.“And if I refuse?” I asked, though the answer seemed obvious.“Your family loses everything. You stay here, but without any compensation.” His gaze turned icy. “My employer will have this child one way or another. This arrangement simply allows you to profit from it.”I glanced at the pages covered in dense legal jargon. Yet one detail struck me as I skimmed the clauses.“It says ‘the child.’ Singular.” I looked up at him, my heart racing.Victor nodded. “Yes. The child you’re carrying.”I lowered my eyes to the papers again, carefully rereading ever

Colette's POV The next day, the rays of sunlight pulled me from a heavy sleep, the pain immediately present. I hurt in every fiber of my being, and my body felt covered in one enormous bruise. But Léa was there, curled against me, sleeping peacefully. That was all that mattered.**Dr. Reyes entered discreetly, a meal tray and medication in her hands.“How are you feeling?” she asked.“Like a semi-truck ran over me,” I admitted in a flat voice.“That’s a normal reaction after a twin birth.” She came closer to help me sit up with infinite care. “Do you think you can stand on your legs?”I tried. My lower limbs trembled like leaves, but they held. Just barely.“That’s more than enough,” the doctor decided. “We need to get you out of here before Victor returns. He usually comes by early in the afternoon to make sure everything is proceeding as planned.”The nurses had already prepared a large travel bag containing everything the baby needed: diapers, infant formula, bottles, and spare cl

**Colette**The Ashford Industries building was not what I expected.I knew it would be big. I'd done my research. But standing outside it the following Monday morning, looking up at forty floors of glass and steel cutting into a grey sky, I felt small in a way I hadn't in a long time.I straightened my blazer. Checked my resume one more time even though I'd already memorized every word on it."You've handled worse," I told myself quietly.A woman walking past gave me a strange look. I ignored her and walked inside.The lobby was all marble floors and high ceilings. A security desk sat at the center with two guards who checked IDs and issued visitor passes. I gave them my name and they pointed me toward the elevators on the right.The interviews were being held on the fourteenth floor. I pressed the button and waited. Two other people waited beside me, both in interview clothes, both staring at their phones. Competition.The elevator doors opened.I stepped in quickly because I was al

*Colette*Fifteen people sat around a table that could have fit twenty-five. Some looked curious. Some looked the way Holt did. Two younger staff members — both front desk, based on their uniforms — were at least making eye contact.I didn't use notes. I'd learned a long time ago that notes made you look like you were still figuring things out."I've read every report from the last eighteen months," I started. "Occupancy is down thirty-one percent from three years ago. Restaurant revenue is down by more than half. The spa hasn't turned a profit in eight months." I paused. "I'm not here to tell you that's your fault. Most of those problems started before half of you were in your current roles."The room shifted slightly. Less defensive."What I am going to tell you is that we have ninety days to turn this around. And we will. Not because someone's forcing us to." I looked around the table. "Because this building has good bones and you clearly know how to keep it running on almost nothi