Betrayed by Her Best Friend and the Billionaire at a Chicago Gala—She Disappeared Pregnant with His Baby, Only for Him to Hunt Her Down Seven Years Later!

""What do you mean, a camera crew?"" Mara turned sharply toward Leo.

""I mean there are three black SUVs parked right outside our loading bay, and a reporter from the Portland Tribune is already trying to interview the delivery driver about why the CEO of Calder Capital is standing in our kitchen,"" Leo said, casting a wary look at Reid.

Reid’s jaw tightened into a hard, dangerous line. He pulled a heavy titanium smartphone from his coat pocket, his thumb swiping across the screen with furious speed.

""It wasn't my PR team,"" Reid muttered, his expression darkening. ""My mother must have followed my security detail’s flight logs to Oregon. She’s trying to force a public spectacle so she can control the narrative before I can fix this.""

""Fix this?"" Mara laughed, though there was no humor left in it. ""Reid, you can't just 'fix' seven years of running away because your family thought I was a social climber! You can't just drop into my kitchen like a bomb and expect—""

""I didn't come here to play games, Mara,"" Reid interrupted, his voice dropping an octave, carrying an authority that had made corporate boards fold in minutes. ""I came here because I spent two thousand five hundred days wondering what happened to the only person who ever looked at me and saw something other than a bank account.""

He took a step closer, his eyes softening as he looked down at her.

""And then I walked through that door and saw my son.""

Mara’s breath hitched. She looked toward the storage room door, where a small shadow was cast against the frosted glass. Julian was still in there, listening.

""He’s not just your son, Reid,"" Mara said, her voice fierce, shaking with a mother’s protective fury. ""He’s mine. I raised him through the nights when he had colic and no one was there to help me. I built this bakery while carrying him in a sling against my chest. You don't get to just walk in and claim him because your mother decided to crash our lives again.""

""I’m not claiming him from you, Mara,"" Reid said quietly, his hand finally reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair away from her forehead. His touch was warm, steady, and terrifyingly familiar. ""I’m asking if you’ll let me help you protect him. Because my mother knows he exists now. And if we don't move fast, she’ll try to use her lawyers to tear your life apart just to punish me.""

Mara stared at him, her mind racing. The quiet, safe life she had built in Portland over seven years was suddenly standing on the edge of a cliff.