numusjamesroses

Hazel Rogers never imagined her mother’s failing heart would force her into the arms of a stranger. With hospital bills piling up and no time left, she signs a desperate contract— as a surrogate for a billionaire who she doesn’t know. Ace Milan is cold, calculated, and devastatingly powerful, a man who built his empire on control and keeps  his heart locked behind a fortress. Hazel is just a transaction to him. But when a scary accident forces her to move into his home, the lines blur. He becomes cruel, unpredictable—testing her limits with sharp words and colder actions. Yet beneath his ice is something else, something broken, watching her with eyes that never quite soften. As her pregnancy progresses, Hazel stumbles upon whispers of the woman who came before her—the first surrogate. The one who vanished. No one speaks of her, and Ace refuses to explain. But the house holds secrets. Locked rooms. Late-night phone calls. Half-truths wrapped in charm. And suddenly, the child inside Hazel becomes more than a contract—it becomes a target. Torn between protecting the life growing inside her and uncovering the truth about the man she’s starting to feel dangerously drawn to, Hazel is forced to make a choice. Walk away before she ends up like the last surrogate… or risk everything to unravel the darkness Ace has spent his life hiding. One thing is clear—nothing in this arrangement is what it seems. And some secrets are buried deep for a reason.

THE BILLIONAIRE’S SECRET : Her contract, His Heart

I walked into the conference room like nothing had happened. Like the goddamn police hadn't stormed into my building the day before. Or my entire company wasn't under a microscope.

The senior team, the legal advisors, my executive assistant—even the damn head of security looked like he hadn't slept.

"Let's start," I said flatly, pulling out my chair.

No one spoke first. They were too scared. Always were. My reputation did that for me. My silence was usually worse.

"Where are we?" I looked at June. Her mouth parted, but she hesitated.

"I'm not gonna eat you," I snapped.

She blinked. "The police didn't find anything concrete. Yet. They took files, drives, asked about the off-shore accounts. But… nothing they can charge you with at this point."

"Good." I tapped the table once. "And PR?"

Chapter 38