The Billionaire Helped a Pregnant Stranger — Unaware She Would Become His Greatest Love
Chapter 3
Ethan increased security without telling Claire.
Two guards remained outside.
Another monitored the driveway.
He also changed the house’s access codes.
Claire noticed immediately.
“You’re hiding something.”
Ethan looked up from his laptop.
“No.”
“You added security.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you received a threat.”
“I didn’t ask you to protect me.”
“No.”
“You’re doing it anyway.”
“Yes.”
Claire sighed.
“You’re stubborn.”
“So I’ve been told.”
She sat across from him.
“I need to leave.”
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You don’t control me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you saying no?”
“Because someone knows where you are.”
She became silent.
Ethan closed the laptop.
“You don’t have to tell me everything.”
Claire looked at him.
“But I need enough information to keep you safe.”
She hesitated.
“My name isn’t really Claire.”
Ethan waited.
“My name is Claire Wilson.”
She paused.
“And the baby’s father?”
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Okay.”
“You’re not going to ask?”
“No.”
She stared.
“Why?”
“Because you said you don’t want to talk about him.”
She looked down.
“Thank you.”
Ethan nodded.
Later that afternoon, Ethan contacted a private attorney.
He needed to know whether there was any legal reason someone might be searching for Claire.
Within a few hours, he got an answer.
There was no active warrant.
No court order.
No criminal record.
Nothing.
But there was one unusual item.
A sealed civil case from eight months earlier.
The file involved a company called Westbrook Medical.
Claire had worked there.
Ethan recognized the name.
Westbrook Medical was a biotech company partly owned by a competitor.
The case had been sealed by agreement.
He called Claire.
“What did you do at Westbrook Medical?”
She froze.
“Who told you?”
“No one.”
“You investigated me.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is looking for you.”
Claire stood.
“You promised no questions.”
“I promised I wouldn’t force answers.”
She looked hurt.
“I trusted you.”
“I know.”
He softened.
“I’m not trying to control you.”
“Then what are you trying to do?”
“Keep you alive.”
Silence.
Claire sat down.
She covered her face.
Then she finally spoke.
“I worked in clinical research.”
“What happened?”
“I found altered patient data.”
Ethan’s expression changed.
“You reported it?”
“Yes.”
“What did they do?”
“They told me I misunderstood the records.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Then they offered me money.”
“And you refused.”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“I was fired.”
Ethan waited.
“I found out someone had been approving false safety reports.”
“Who?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“But someone knows you found out.”
“Yes.”
She looked at her stomach.
“That’s why I left.”
Ethan understood.
The person looking for her wasn’t searching for a pregnant woman.
They were searching for a witness.
Then Claire said something that changed everything.
“The baby’s father worked there too.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Who?”
She hesitated.
“Daniel Westbrook.”
Ethan stared.
The Westbrook family owned the company.
And Daniel Westbrook had died in a car accident six months earlier.
Or so everyone believed.
