Chapter 2: The Sweetheart
Seraphina arrived the next morning in a white Valentino dress, looking like she'd stepped out of a magazine editorial.
"Oh! You must be the surrogate." She tilted her head, all wide eyes and glossy lips. "Thank you so much for doing this for us. You're so brave."
She reached out and took my hand like we were old friends. Her grip was ice cold.
Dominic appeared behind her, his arm circling her waist. The tenderness on his face was something I'd never seen directed at me. Not once.
"Sera insisted on meeting you," he said. "She wants to make sure you're comfortable."
Seraphina nodded eagerly. "I even brought you some homemade soup! I know the first trimester can be rough."
She held up a thermos, beaming. The same bitter smell hit me instantly. I smiled back.
"That's so thoughtful. Thank you, Miss Cole."
Her eyes flickered — just for a second — when I didn't flinch. Then the mask slid back into place.
"Please, call me Sera. We're practically family now."
Family. I nearly laughed.
Ten years ago, Seraphina Cole was a nobody. A girl from the same orphanage as me who happened to look similar enough to pass.
When the Laurent family fire killed my parents and left me with amnesia, Seraphina stepped into my life. She took my name. My inheritance. My identity.
By the time I recovered my memories at sixteen, it was too late. The Laurent board had already accepted her. My own family's lawyers called me a fraud.
I rebuilt from nothing. Created Laurent Medical under a shell company. Developed the trading algorithm that made Ashford Group billions. All in silence. All in shadows.
And Seraphina? She played the perfect heiress, spending my family's money while planning to marry into the Ashford dynasty.
"Dominic," Seraphina said softly, leaning into him. "The surrogate looks a little pale. Maybe we should increase her meals?"
"Whatever you think is best." He pressed a kiss to her temple.
She turned to me with a camera-perfect smile. "I'll have the chef prepare extra portions. We need our baby healthy and strong."
*Our baby.* Like I was an incubator with legs.
That afternoon, the family doctor came for my weekly checkup. Dominic sat in the corner, arms crossed, watching like I was livestock at auction.
"Well?" he said impatiently.
The doctor hesitated. "Mr. Ashford, the surrogate's hormone levels are... unusually low. Implantation hasn't occurred yet."
Dominic's jaw tightened. He looked at me like it was my fault. Like my body was defective.
"Then we go again tonight." He stood, already pulling out his phone. "And double her fertility medication."
After he left, the doctor leaned in close. "Miss, are you certain about this? Your body is showing signs of chemical interference. Something is suppressing your—"
"I know," I said quietly. "Don't put it in the report."
He stared at me. "If someone is tampering with your medication—"
"I said I know." I looked him dead in the eye. "And when the time comes, you'll testify to exactly what you've found. Every detail. Are we clear?"
He swallowed hard and nodded.
Good. Another piece on the board.
That night, as Dominic's timer counted down above me, I stared at the ceiling and made my calculations.
Seraphina was sabotaging the pregnancy. Dominic blamed me for the failure. The longer I didn't conceive, the more he'd punish me.
But if I let them think they were winning, they'd get sloppy.
And sloppy people leave evidence.
---
"Oh! You must be the surrogate." She tilted her head, all wide eyes and glossy lips. "Thank you so much for doing this for us. You're so brave."
She reached out and took my hand like we were old friends. Her grip was ice cold.
Dominic appeared behind her, his arm circling her waist. The tenderness on his face was something I'd never seen directed at me. Not once.
"Sera insisted on meeting you," he said. "She wants to make sure you're comfortable."
Seraphina nodded eagerly. "I even brought you some homemade soup! I know the first trimester can be rough."
She held up a thermos, beaming. The same bitter smell hit me instantly. I smiled back.
"That's so thoughtful. Thank you, Miss Cole."
Her eyes flickered — just for a second — when I didn't flinch. Then the mask slid back into place.
"Please, call me Sera. We're practically family now."
Family. I nearly laughed.
Ten years ago, Seraphina Cole was a nobody. A girl from the same orphanage as me who happened to look similar enough to pass.
When the Laurent family fire killed my parents and left me with amnesia, Seraphina stepped into my life. She took my name. My inheritance. My identity.
By the time I recovered my memories at sixteen, it was too late. The Laurent board had already accepted her. My own family's lawyers called me a fraud.
I rebuilt from nothing. Created Laurent Medical under a shell company. Developed the trading algorithm that made Ashford Group billions. All in silence. All in shadows.
And Seraphina? She played the perfect heiress, spending my family's money while planning to marry into the Ashford dynasty.
"Dominic," Seraphina said softly, leaning into him. "The surrogate looks a little pale. Maybe we should increase her meals?"
"Whatever you think is best." He pressed a kiss to her temple.
She turned to me with a camera-perfect smile. "I'll have the chef prepare extra portions. We need our baby healthy and strong."
*Our baby.* Like I was an incubator with legs.
That afternoon, the family doctor came for my weekly checkup. Dominic sat in the corner, arms crossed, watching like I was livestock at auction.
"Well?" he said impatiently.
The doctor hesitated. "Mr. Ashford, the surrogate's hormone levels are... unusually low. Implantation hasn't occurred yet."
Dominic's jaw tightened. He looked at me like it was my fault. Like my body was defective.
"Then we go again tonight." He stood, already pulling out his phone. "And double her fertility medication."
After he left, the doctor leaned in close. "Miss, are you certain about this? Your body is showing signs of chemical interference. Something is suppressing your—"
"I know," I said quietly. "Don't put it in the report."
He stared at me. "If someone is tampering with your medication—"
"I said I know." I looked him dead in the eye. "And when the time comes, you'll testify to exactly what you've found. Every detail. Are we clear?"
He swallowed hard and nodded.
Good. Another piece on the board.
That night, as Dominic's timer counted down above me, I stared at the ceiling and made my calculations.
Seraphina was sabotaging the pregnancy. Dominic blamed me for the failure. The longer I didn't conceive, the more he'd punish me.
But if I let them think they were winning, they'd get sloppy.
And sloppy people leave evidence.
---