Chapter 5 - Secrets of the Unborn
Two weeks passed in a tense, suffocating stalemate. Della’s pregnancy had reached its sixth month, and the stress of living in a gilded war zone was taking its toll. Her doctor ordered strict bed rest, noting that her blood pressure was dangerously volatile.
Royce spent every moment he could spare at her bedside, holding her hand while she slept. But the complexity of their relationship was shifting. It was no longer just about gratitude for a rainy night four years ago; a deep, unspoken affection had taken root between the cold mafia boss and the gentle woman.
One afternoon, while Royce was examining a map of Moretti’s territory in the study, Marcus entered with a thick manila folder.
"Boss, we managed to intercept the medical records of Della Marsh from the clinic she visited before she came to the Ashworth Grand," Marcus said, his voice unusually hesitant.
"And?" Royce asked without looking up. "Is her health in danger?"
"No, boss. But you need to see the paternity filing she attempted to lodge four months ago. It was blocked by a corrupt lawyer working for the Vance family."
Royce froze. He snatched the folder from Marcus's hand, tearing it open. As his eyes scanned the medical documents, his breath hitched in his throat.
The biological father of Della's unborn child wasn't some random man from her past. Five months ago, before she was hired at the hotel, Della had been a surrogate for a private agency—a contract she had taken out of pure desperation to pay off her late mother's medical debts. The client who had procured the surrogacy using a donor egg?
Harlan Vance.
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But when Harlan discovered that Della had fallen naturally pregnant with her own child due to a rare medical anomaly right before the procedure, he had tried to force her to abort the baby to avoid a scandal with Cordelia. When Della refused and fled, Harlan used his influence to blackball her from every restaurant in the city, forcing her to take a fake identity to work at the Ashworth Grand.
Royce’s fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. Cordelia hadn't just attacked a random waitress. She and Harlan had been hunting Della to eliminate the evidence of Harlan's secret past.
