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 don't even realize how long I sat there—hand bleeding, broken glass on the floor, my chest rising and falling like I just ran a damn marathon. But I didn't. I was just… trying to breathe. Trying to make sense of it.

Clara and Travis made a fool of me.

They handed me a poisoned gift, and I signed for it with a fucking smile.

I laugh. I actually laugh. Not because it's funny. Because it's sick. Because I didn't see it coming and now the world's watching me burn for something I didn't do.

I look at the screen again. Still open to the file June sent. I can't even read the words anymore. Everything's spinning.

The door creaks. I don't even turn. "Get the fuck out."

I snap my head up—Callen's standing there again, but he doesn't flinch. "June says she's digging into Jordan's finances. We've observed he's transferring money. Large amounts."

Chapter 48