Pregnant with the Mysterious Tycoon's Baby

"No... my baby!"

On the delivery bed, Juliana Wells weakly reached out, her fingers grasping at nothing as nurses whisked the blood-covered newborn away before she could even catch a glimpse. Pain tore through her body like her soul was being ripped apart, piece by agonizing piece. Each contraction brought waves of unbearable agony that left her consciousness flickering in and out. 

Through the haze, she heard the midwife's urgent shout.

"The other baby has the cord wrapped around its neck! Heart rate's dropping! We need an emergency C-section now! Mrs. Sharp, you need to make a decision!"

But Ashley Sharp's response from outside the delivery room was ice-cold: "Don't bother. Get rid of her and that useless thing in her belly. The Sharp family only needs one heir."

Juliana's breath caught in her throat. She clutched the sheets beneath her with trembling hands, her voice barely a whisper. "...Why?"

A year ago, the Wells Group had been maliciously reported for tax evasion. Overnight, everything collapsed. Her father, consumed by despair, had thrown himself from the company's rooftop. Her mother suffered a cerebral hemorrhage upon hearing the news and died before the ambulance arrived. Juliana hadn't even had time to grieve before creditors descended like wolves, eager to devour what little remained of the Wells family fortune.

That's when Ashley had appeared with an offer she couldn't refuse—carry a child via IVF for the Sharp family's comatose eldest son, critically injured in a car accident. Give them a son to continue the bloodline. In exchange, Ashley would eliminate all her enemies and clear the Wells family name.

Juliana had believed her. She'd gambled everything, endured ten months of pregnancy, suffered through excruciating labor. But from the very beginning, Ashley had never intended to keep her promise. What a carefully orchestrated trap. What a perfect betrayal. She and her unborn child were nothing but disposable tools.

This humiliation, this stolen child—Juliana would never forget.

Seven years later, Central Airport, Nexus City.

A stunning woman with an almost ethereal beauty stepped off the plane, hand-in-hand with an adorable little boy. Curious stares followed them through the terminal, passersby wondering which celebrity had just arrived. Juliana's naturally pale complexion and slender frame, paired with that exquisite face, turned heads wherever she went. She paid no attention to the gawking strangers, instead looking down at Matthew Wells—her son.

"Matty, still sleepy?"

Matthew's little face remained serious. "Not sleepy. Hungry."

A soft smile broke through Juliana's usual cool demeanor, warmth flooding her eyes as she gently swung their joined hands. "We'll be home soon. Still have those crackers in your pocket?"

At his confirmation, she praised him encouragingly, making the little boy who always tried to act mature blush to the tips of his ears. Mom always liked to tease him, Matthew thought, keeping his expression carefully neutral.

"Good boy, Matty."

But looking at her well-behaved son, Juliana's thoughts drifted to the other child—the one taken by the Sharp family. Her heart grew heavier. The Sharps were powerful. The odds of reclaiming that child were slim, but no matter how impossible it seemed, she would never give up. She'd spent seven years abroad, carefully rebuilding from the scraps of the Wells family fortune, lying in wait. She hadn't come this far just to surrender now.

Her lawyer was still gathering intel on the Sharp family. She couldn't rush this. Seven years she'd waited—a few more days wouldn't kill her. This trip back was specifically to investigate her other child's situation. How the Sharp family treated her son would determine exactly how she dealt with them.

At the airport exit, Paul, the Wells family's former driver, waited by the car. "Ms. Wells," he greeted respectfully. If Paul hadn't shown up at the hospital that day to spirit Juliana away, she and the baby would have ended up on the streets. Now, with Matthew safe and thriving, Juliana had at least that comfort.

She handed Matthew over with a few gentle instructions, then turned to Paul. "Keep an eye on him for me? I need to make a quick hospital run. I'll catch up with you both later."

Paul's honest face creased into a smile. "Don't you worry, Ms. Wells."

She watched Paul drive away, then headed to a different exit where the hospital's driver was waiting. As Juliana rounded a corner, someone small and soaking wet crashed into her arms—a child with a deathly pale face.

"Matty?" Juliana instinctively steadied the boy. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you leave with Paul?" She looked him over, alarm rising. "And where did these wet clothes come from? You're drenched! What if you catch a cold?!"

But the 'Matthew' in her arms didn't respond with his usual composure. Small hands desperately clutched her clothes as he buried his face against her, voice breaking with tears. "...I don't want shots... I don't want to see that woman... hide me..."

Juliana froze. Matty had never been afraid of needles. Her little man rarely showed this kind of fear. What happened? Her heart clenched as she gently rubbed his back, voice soothing. "Shh, it's okay. Mommy's here. No one's going to make you do anything you don't want to."

Damian Sharp went still in the warm embrace. Somehow, tears welled up in his eyes. Behind him, he could faintly hear bodyguards urgently communicating, still searching for him. Damian held her tighter. Something about this stranger felt instinctively safe, familiar. The word slipped out naturally.

"Mommy—"

The desperate plea melted Juliana's heart. She held him close, voice gentle and intimate. "Sweet boy, Mommy was just worried about you. If you didn't want to leave, you should have told me. Promise me you won't run off like that again, okay?"

A group of men in black suits rushed past, too focused on their search to notice the mother and child tucked in the corner. Damian's heart swelled with happiness. He didn't care whether Juliana was really his mother or not. He'd completely forgotten why he'd snuck away to the airport in the first place.

"Mommy, I'm hungry—"

Juliana tapped his nose playfully. "You were already complaining about being hungry earlier. Let's get you into dry clothes first, then we'll grab a sandwich. After that, you're coming with me to the hospital to meet someone, okay?" Thank goodness she'd packed spare clothes for Matty in her luggage.

Damian accepted his new name without question, completely absorbed in his mommy's gentle care. New Mommy good. Mean lady bad. Grandma bad. Daddy bad too. They never comforted him like this. When he was sick, they just called people in white coats to stick needles in his arm, locked him up, and yelled at him for not listening.

Juliana took the child to the restroom to change. Damian let himself be lifted, looking at his fresh, clean reflection in the mirror with pure delight before turning to plant a kiss on Mommy's cheek. Perched on Juliana's shoulder, he excitedly urged her toward the sandwiches.

What Juliana couldn't see was the way Damian's lip trembled when she wasn't looking—jealous of Mommy's real son, but mostly envious. Unlike him, with only a mean lady pretending to be his mother.

Damian got his wish—a simple tomato, egg, and ham sandwich that he devoured with gusto, none of his usual pickiness on display.

In the security office.

A row of men in black suits stood with heads bowed, silent as the grave. The tall, devastatingly handsome man sat on the couch, watching the monitor footage of his son eating without any semblance of proper manners. His brow furrowed in displeasure.

"I pay you to keep him safe. This is how you do your job?"

The lead bodyguard felt sweat trickle down his neck. "My apologies, sir. This was our oversight."

Lucas Sharp pinched the bridge of his nose, exhausted. "Bring him back."

"And... what about the woman?" the bodyguard ventured carefully.

Lucas's deep voice was ice-cold despite its pleasant timbre. "Call the police. Child abduction."