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Bound By The Billionaire's Golden Leash
img img Bound By The Billionaire's Golden Leash img Chapter 5 5
5 Chapters
Chapter 7 7 img
Chapter 8 8 img
Chapter 9 9 img
Chapter 10 10 img
Chapter 11 11 img
Chapter 12 12 img
Chapter 13 13 img
Chapter 14 14 img
Chapter 15 15 img
Chapter 16 16 img
Chapter 17 17 img
Chapter 18 18 img
Chapter 19 19 img
Chapter 20 20 img
Chapter 21 21 img
Chapter 22 22 img
Chapter 23 23 img
Chapter 24 24 img
Chapter 25 25 img
Chapter 26 26 img
Chapter 27 27 img
Chapter 28 28 img
Chapter 29 29 img
Chapter 30 30 img
Chapter 31 31 img
Chapter 32 32 img
Chapter 33 33 img
Chapter 34 34 img
Chapter 35 35 img
Chapter 36 36 img
Chapter 37 37 img
Chapter 38 38 img
Chapter 39 39 img
Chapter 40 40 img
Chapter 41 41 img
Chapter 42 42 img
Chapter 43 43 img
Chapter 44 44 img
Chapter 45 45 img
Chapter 46 46 img
Chapter 47 47 img
Chapter 48 48 img
Chapter 49 49 img
Chapter 50 50 img
Chapter 51 51 img
Chapter 52 52 img
Chapter 53 53 img
Chapter 54 54 img
Chapter 55 55 img
Chapter 56 56 img
Chapter 57 57 img
Chapter 58 58 img
Chapter 59 59 img
Chapter 60 60 img
Chapter 61 61 img
Chapter 62 62 img
Chapter 63 63 img
Chapter 64 64 img
Chapter 65 65 img
Chapter 66 66 img
Chapter 67 67 img
Chapter 68 68 img
Chapter 69 69 img
Chapter 70 70 img
Chapter 71 71 img
Chapter 72 72 img
Chapter 73 73 img
Chapter 74 74 img
Chapter 75 75 img
Chapter 76 76 img
Chapter 77 77 img
Chapter 78 78 img
Chapter 79 79 img
Chapter 80 80 img
Chapter 81 81 img
Chapter 82 82 img
Chapter 83 83 img
Chapter 84 84 img
Chapter 85 85 img
Chapter 86 86 img
Chapter 87 87 img
Chapter 88 88 img
Chapter 89 89 img
Chapter 90 90 img
Chapter 91 91 img
Chapter 92 92 img
Chapter 93 93 img
Chapter 94 94 img
Chapter 95 95 img
Chapter 96 96 img
Chapter 97 97 img
Chapter 98 98 img
Chapter 99 99 img
Chapter 100 100 img
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Chapter 5 5

The private clinic smelled of expensive lavender and antiseptic. It was quiet, the kind of quiet that money bought to hide its sins.

Eveline sat on the crinkly paper of the exam table. The room was freezing.

Dr. Aris, a woman with a face as sharp as her needles, snapped on a pair of latex gloves.

Vance stood by the door, arms crossed. A sentinel.

"What are we testing for?" Eveline asked, her voice small.

"Standard panel," Dr. Aris said, tying a rubber tourniquet around Eveline's upper arm. "Lipids, iron, liver function. And Beta-hCG."

The pregnancy hormone.

Eveline tried to pull her arm back. "I have the right to refuse."

"Actually," Vance spoke up from the door. "Under the terms of the Horn Family Trust, Article 4, Section C: The beneficiary must maintain 'optimal physical health' to receive stipends. Refusal to comply with medical directives issued by the Trustee constitutes a breach of contract."

He recited it like a robot.

"It means," Vance clarified, "you refuse the test, you lose the money. Your mother loses the house."

Eveline slumped. The fight drained out of her.

She watched the dark red blood fill the vial. It looked like life leaving her body.

He's going to find out. And then he's going to make me get rid of it.

"Lie back," Dr. Aris commanded.

Eveline lay down. The cold ultrasound gel hit her lower abdomen, making her flinch.

She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to see the screen. She didn't want to see the tiny flicker of a heartbeat that would ruin her life.

Dr. Aris moved the wand around in silence. The machine hummed.

"Hmm," the doctor murmured.

Eveline's heart stopped. "What? Is something wrong?"

Before answering, Dr. Aris's gaze flickered to Vance, a microsecond of shared understanding that made the hair on Eveline's arms stand up. The doctor's professional mask was back in place instantly, but the shift had been there. She clicked a few buttons, printing out an image. She wiped the gel off Eveline's stomach with a rough towel.

"Get dressed. Wait in the hall."

The next twenty minutes were an eternity. Eveline sat in the plush waiting room chair, her leg bouncing nervously. She Googled "forced abortion laws New York" on her phone, her fingers numb.

Finally, the door opened.

Vance walked out. He held a manila envelope. His face was a blank slate. He didn't hand her the official-looking folder from the doctor's desk, but a single, crisp sheet of paper that had been folded and tucked into his inner jacket pocket.

Eveline stood up. "Well?"

Vance handed her the single sheet of paper.

Eveline grabbed it. Her eyes scanned the numbers frantically until she found the line labeled hCG.

< 5 mIU/mL.

Negative.

Eveline stared at the number. She blinked. Negative?

But the nausea. The missed period. The intuition.

"I'm... not pregnant?" she whispered.

"Apparently not," Vance said. "Stress can cause similar symptoms. False pregnancy."

A wave of relief crashed over her, so powerful her knees buckled. She wasn't pregnant. She wasn't carrying a child into this war zone.

But then, the relief was washed away by a strange, hollow ache.

And then, fear.

If she wasn't pregnant, she had no leverage. And worse-Fulton had no reason to hold back.

"Mr. Horn is downstairs," Vance said. "Let's go."

Eveline crumpled the paper in her hand. She had survived the medical check. But now she had to face the man who had ordered it.

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