the shadows, blending with the traffic outside New York City, hood up,

paparazzi's carefully staged photos. But Adrian didn't trust the paparazzi. He did

re earpiece. "She's leaving the car serv

raced. One misstep, one glance from the wrong angle, and

er hand brushing lightly over her stomach. Adrian crouched behin

l appointments booked under aliases. But

four. That didn't match the me

man following her-nondescript, casually dressed, holdin

rian muttered under his b

an is not medical staff. Vanessa's running a contro

r. Fake appointments, staged paparazzi, misleading ult

anding in the

fingers danced across the paper, outlining the curves of a building she wanted to des

n him on every major news outlet. Billionaire. Heir. Supp

d her unborn child. And yet... she couldn't deny the pull in her chest. Adrian had been honest i

tches. She couldn't let herself get distracted

essa slipped into a side room. Adrian peered through the tinted windows.

mach tightened. The "ultrasound" photos, the staged medica

" he whispered, a

t. "Confirm it, Adrian. But be careful-if she sen

e truth. And when he did, Vanessa Cole would r

move, his phone buzzed agai

r. Vale. Be careful-you're not

an down h

ew. Someone els

city, Zara Bello's

ssure. Stay out of

was this warning from? And why did it feel like a stor

ke pregnancy wasn't just a trap for him. It was a weapon. A carefully calcul

ff the glass windows of the clinic. One thing w

essa Cole would make her move. An

s phone-a social media post showing Vanessa smilin

ather? The Cole-Vale Enga

he phone down. H

lling the board, controlling the em

shadows, following her into t

drian Vale and g