The Billionaire Helped a Pregnant Stranger — Unaware She Would Become His Greatest Love
Chapter 4
Ethan spent the night reviewing everything he could find about Daniel Westbrook.
The official story was simple.
Car accident.
Road conditions.
No suspicious circumstances.
But Ethan knew something about corporate investigations.
Simple stories were often the most dangerous.
The next morning, Claire found him asleep at his desk.
She smiled.
“You didn’t sleep.”
He looked up.
“You shouldn’t be awake.”
“Neither should you.”
She placed coffee beside him.
“You look terrible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
She sat down.
“Did you find something?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Daniel Westbrook didn’t die six months ago.”
Claire froze.
“What?”
“The accident happened.”
“He was in the vehicle.”
“Yes.”
“Then how?”
Ethan showed her an insurance document.
The body was identified through dental records.
But the records had been transferred from another medical facility.
There was a gap.
Four days.
Claire stared.
“Someone could have switched the identification.”
“Exactly.”
She whispered,
“Daniel is alive?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked at him.
“Then why is someone searching for me?”
“Maybe because you know something.”
She shook her head.
“I told you what I knew.”
“Maybe you don’t know everything.”
The door opened.
Ethan’s head snapped toward it.
One of the security guards entered.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“A vehicle has been parked two streets away for three days.”
“License plate?”
The guard gave it to him.
Ethan recognized the vehicle.
It belonged to a private investigator.
Not Westbrook.
A company that worked for them.
Claire looked frightened.
“I need to leave.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
“You said you’d help.”
“And I am.”
“Then take me somewhere they can’t find me.”
He stared at her.
Then he said,
“I have an island.”
Claire blinked.
“An island?”
“My family owns a private property several hours offshore.”
She almost laughed.
“You really are absurd.”
“Probably.”
“Is it safe?”
“Yes.”
She looked toward the window.
Then at her stomach.
“I don’t want my child born running.”
“You won’t.”
Two days later, they left.
The trip was quiet.
Claire sat beside Ethan on the boat.
For the first time, they talked without fear.
She told him about growing up.
Her mother.
Her career.
Her hopes.
Ethan told her about the years before wealth.
They discovered they had more in common than either expected.
Both had learned young that trust could be expensive.
Both had built their lives around independence.
And both had become good at pretending they didn’t need anyone.
As the island appeared, Claire looked toward the shore.
“It’s beautiful.”
Ethan smiled.
“You can stay as long as you need.”
Claire looked at him.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
She touched her stomach.
Then whispered,
“I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to.”
She smiled.
And Ethan felt something he hadn’t expected.
Peace.
Then Claire suddenly stopped.
Her face changed.
“Ethan.”
“What?”
“I think my water just broke.”
