Chapter 8
He had just realized that the unborn child he had tried so hard to cast aside was now directly connected to the massive Rochester empire.
Gavin’s estate located in the quiet hills of Crestview was far more than just a large house. It was a private, highly fortified compound hidden behind high iron gates, tall trees, stone walls, and advanced security systems that monitored every inch of the perimeter.
For two full weeks, I lived inside a surreal fog of unbelievable luxury and comfort. I was given an entire private wing of the mansion, top medical specialists monitored my high-risk pregnancy around the clock, and my dressing room was filled with custom silk maternity clothing that I had never even asked for.
Gavin remained remarkably patient and quiet around me during those early days.
Bit by bit, he carefully explained the dark history of my past.
My birth mother, who had been his beloved first wife, was targeted and taken by dangerous corporate rivals during an intense business war decades ago. She was tragically killed, and I was secretly passed through illegal adoption networks before being abandoned in the public foster system under a false name. Bureaucratic mistakes multiplied over time, and decades passed silently while I was lost in the system.
CHAPTER 7
09/10/2026
He had only managed to find me because of a specialized genetic screening required during my prenatal checkups.
However, Patrick was not the kind of man who would quietly accept a total defeat.
Realizing he could never beat Gavin in a financial or legal battle, he turned to the public media for leverage, using my unborn baby as a tool to gain public sympathy.
I sat inside Gavin’s spacious library wrapped in a soft cashmere blanket, staring at a large wall of high-definition monitors set up by Vanguard Global’s private intelligence division.
On the main display screen, Patrick was sitting on a comfortable sofa during a popular national daytime talk show, looking intentionally exhausted and heartbroken. His dark hair was styled in a messy fashion designed to make him appear deeply distressed yet attractive to the audience.
The bold subtitle scrolling across the bottom of the screen read:
GRIEVING HUSBAND FIGHTS BILLIONAIRE DYNASTY FOR HIS UNBORN CHILD.
“All I want is my wife back home,” Patrick told the sympathetic interviewer, his voice trembling slightly. “I made some mistakes because of immense business pressure, but I love Serena with all my heart. I have every right to be present for the birth of my daughter, but her powerful family is trying to completely erase my existence.”