Todos los capítulos de Not The Surrogate Baby They Ordered : Capítulo 131 - Capítulo 140

Elena found Zuri's passport in the bottom drawer of her dresser, tucked beneath a folder of old tax documents, issued three years earlier for a trip to visit a distant cousin in Canada that had never actually happened. She held it for a long moment, the small booklet feeling impossibly heavy in her hands.She didn't call Emily that night. She waited until the following afternoon, when Zuri was safely occupied with an episode of her favorite show, and sat down at her kitchen table with a legal pad of her own this time, methodically working through the practical logistics of a plan she still hadn't fully allowed herself to name out loud.Portugal. A former nursing school classmate had moved there years earlier, married a local, built a quiet life outside Lisbon. She'd mentioned once, in an old social media message Elena had never fully responded to, that the city always needed English-speaking healthcare workers.Savings. Enough for two plane tickets, a few months of modest rent, if she

Ethan read the resignation notice a second time, then a third, the bare, formal language refusing to yield anything resembling an actual explanation.A family matter requiring my full attention, effective immediately."Sit down, Marcus," Ethan said, setting the printout aside and gesturing toward the chair across his desk.Marcus hesitated. "Sir, I have a two o'clock—""Reschedule it. Sit down."Marcus sat."I want to understand something," Ethan said, leaning forward, his voice level but carrying an intensity that made Marcus visibly straighten in his chair. "Elena Hart has worked at this company for eight years. She's one of the most reliable people in operations. I've personally watched her handle crisis after crisis without once losing her composure. And today, out of nowhere, she resigns, effective immediately, with no notice period and a two-sentence explanation that says absolutely nothing. That doesn't happen without a reason. I want to know what you know.""I don't have the f

"Dr. Cole. This is Ethan Cross. I understand you've been trying to reach me."There was a brief, stunned silence on the other end, as though the man on the line had given up expecting this call would ever actually arrive. "Mr. Cross. Thank you. Thank you for calling. I'd nearly given up on reaching you through proper channels.""My assistant explained there's been a significant delay," Ethan said, pacing slowly behind his desk, every instinct sharpened with urgency. "I'd like to understand why, eventually. Right now I want you to tell me directly what you've been trying to say, without any further delay.""I don't know how to make this easier to hear," Dr. Cole said, his voice carrying the weight of something he'd clearly been rehearsing for weeks. "I've run through a dozen ways to begin this conversation, and none of them make the news itself any gentler. So I'm simply going to tell you plainly.""Go ahead.""Do you remember the exact language of your lawsuit against my clinic? The s

Marcus was already reaching for his own keys when Ethan stopped him at the elevator bank."I'll drive myself," Ethan said.Marcus hesitated. "Sir, with respect, you're in no state to—""I'll drive myself," Ethan said again, quieter this time, though something in his voice left no room for argument. "Get me her address. That's all I need from you right now.""It's already in your phone," Marcus said. "I sent it the moment Dr. Cole's call ended. Third and Delmore, apartment 4C."Ethan nodded once, already moving toward the parking garage, his mind looping back, again and again, to the first time Zuri had looked up at him from behind his own desk, drawing with pens she had no right to and an ease she had no reason to feel."I kept trying to explain it to myself," he murmured, mostly to no one, the words arriving out loud before he'd decided to speak them. "Why a six-year-old I'd known for ten minutes felt more familiar to me than people I've worked alongside for a decade. I told Elena, o

"Lady, you getting in or not?" the cab driver called, one arm resting on his open window, his patience visibly fraying. "Meter's running."Nobody answered him.Elena stood rooted to the sidewalk, suitcase still gripped in one white-knuckled hand, Zuri pressed close against her side. Ethan stood a few feet away, chest heaving from the run across the street, his tie askew, his usually immaculate composure stripped down to something raw and unguarded she had never once seen from him."How did you find us?" Elena asked finally, her voice shaking."Marcus had your address on file," Ethan said. "Elena, please. Just give me five minutes before you get in that car.""I can't," Elena said, and the words came out broken, half apology, half plea. "Ethan, I can't do this right now. I need to go.""Go where?" His eyes flicked to the suitcase, to Zuri's small, tense face, and something in his expression cracked further. "Elena, tell me you're not actually leaving the country."Elena's silence was a