Semua Bab The Alpha Heir Who Put a Baby in His Enemy: Bab 21 - Bab 30

The penthouse went completely dark.Not dim.Not emergency red.Black.For one second, the city beyond the windows remained visible, a field of distant lights suspended beneath the storm. Then the automated privacy glass darkened too.The room vanished around us.Ronan moved before I did.His hand caught my forearm.“Do not move.”“I was not planning to.”“That would be a first.”Even now, he found time to irritate me.Marcus activated the flashlight on his phone.The narrow beam cut across the living room.Nothing.No intruder.No movement.But somewhere deeper inside the penthouse, a door had definitely opened.Ronan released my arm and raised his gun.“Marcus, stay with Adrian.”I looked at him.“No.”His head turned toward me.“This is not the moment.”“It is exactly the moment. Someone entered your penthouse and you expect me to stand here like luggage?”“I expect you to avoid being shot.”“I have survived twenty-seven years without your instructions.”“Your current evening is no

The pain stopped the moment Ronan caught me.That terrified me more than the pain itself.One second, agony had been tearing through my abdomen so violently that I could barely breathe. The next, his arms were around me, his chest pressed against my back, and the pain vanished as if someone had switched it off.I stayed frozen in his hold.Ronan did too.Neither of us needed the wall monitor to explain what had just happened.The room had already answered.Proximity.Touch.Relief.Cradle had built the trap carefully enough that my own body had become the lock.Ronan’s voice was low near my ear.“Can you stand?”“Yes.”The answer was automatic.Probably unconvincing.His hand remained around my waist.I looked down at it.Strong fingers.Steady grip.Too familiar already.“Let go.”He released me immediately.The pain returned.Not fully.But enough.A sharp cramp tightened through me and I gripped the edge of the bed.Ronan saw.I hated that he saw everything.He took one step closer

The elevator doors opened.Six men stepped out.They wore dark tactical clothing without insignia, each carrying a compact weapon held low against the body. No masks this time. No attempt to hide what they were.They had entered Ronan’s penthouse as though they expected to leave with whatever they wanted.Or whoever.Ronan moved in front of me.Lucian swore quietly.“I told you. They are here for him.”One of the men lifted his gaze toward Ronan.“Alpha Ashcroft.”His voice was calm.Professional.Almost respectful.Ronan raised his pistol.“You have ten seconds to explain why you are inside my home.”The man did not look concerned.“Your participation in the O-17 protocol has been terminated.”Something cold moved through me.Ronan laughed once.“Good. Then leave.”“You misunderstand.”The man’s gaze shifted toward me.“The match remains necessary.”Ronan’s expression changed.“You said my participation was terminated.”“Yes.”“And the match?”“Will continue with a replacement.”Luci

For several seconds, I simply stared at Marcus.“Removing me as successor?”He nodded.“The emergency meeting begins in forty minutes.”Rage settled through me with surprising calm.Perhaps I had already reached the limit of what one night could do to a person. My medication had been sabotaged, a man had died beneath my building, my physician had disappeared, my parents had admitted that my entire existence was connected to a reproductive experiment, and now someone had decided that the appropriate conclusion was to steal my company before sunrise.Ronan looked at Marcus.“Who called the vote?”“Victor Vale.”Of course.I almost smiled.My uncle had spent years waiting for the smallest crack in my armor. Tonight, someone had handed him an entire fracture.“What grounds?”Marcus checked his phone.“Medical instability, failure to disclose a condition affecting executive performance, unauthorized removal of company information, and potential reputational risk.”The words hit precisely w

The symbol remained on every board member’s screen.A cradle beneath a crown.Beneath it, the message glowed in white letters.THANK YOU FOR CONFIRMING O-17 PUBLICLY.For several seconds, nobody spoke.Then the feeds began returning one by one.Victor appeared first.His face had changed.The arrogance was gone.“What the hell was that?”I looked at him.“For once, Victor, I genuinely do not know.”One of the directors demanded that security disconnect the meeting.Another asked whether Vale Dominion had been hacked.A third wanted to know what O-17 meant.The questions came too quickly.Too loudly.Exactly what Cradle wanted.Chaos.Ronan leaned toward me.“End the call.”I looked at him.“If I leave now, Victor controls the room.”“You have already survived the vote.”“Not yet.”Marcus checked the board tally.“He is right.”I glanced at him.“How many?”“Four supporting removal. Three against. Four undecided.”Victor heard.“This meeting is still active.”I looked back at the scree