My hands trembled as I counted the meager bills in my wallet for the third time. The total hadn't magically increased since the first count—sixty-three dollars and some loose change. Not even enough for a week's groceries, let alone rent.
Three days until my pregnancy test, and my entire world was crumbling around me. No job, dwindling savings, and a sister whose career hung by a thread. All because of one man: Kaelen Thorne.
I paced my tiny apartment, anxiety gnawing at my insides. Lyra had explained everything through tears—how the clinic discovered Kaelen Thorne's "elite donor" sample had been used without authorization, how security footage showed her accessing the storage room that day, and how her supervisor was launching a full investigation.
"This isn't right," I muttered to myself, staring out my window at the darkening sky. "Lyra wouldn't make that kind of mistake."
The truth was crystal clear to me: someone was setting her up. And while the clinic deliberated her fate, she was suspended without pay.
My phone buzzed with a text from Lyra: *Still no word from HR. Can't sleep. What are we going to do?*
I typed back quickly: *We'll figure this out. Try to rest.*
But as I set my phone down, a desperate plan began forming in my mind. If the clinic wouldn't listen to reason, maybe the man himself would. Kaelen Thorne had to understand this was all a terrible mistake.
Before I could second-guess myself, I grabbed my keys and jacket.
---
The Thorne estate loomed like something from another world—a massive stone mansion surrounded by towering iron gates and manicured gardens that stretched for acres. Security cameras tracked my movement as I approached the intercom.
My heart pounded in my ears as I pressed the button.
"State your business," a gruff male voice answered.
"My name is Seraphina Moon. I need to speak with Mr. Thorne regarding an urgent matter involving his... donation at Silvercrest Fertility Clinic."
A long silence followed.
"Mr. Thorne does not take unscheduled visitors."
"Please," I begged, hating how my voice cracked. "It's about my sister, Lyra Daniels. She's being blamed for something she didn't do. Five minutes is all I'm asking."
"Remove yourself from the premises," the voice replied coldly.
Desperation surged through me. "My sister's entire career is at stake! She didn't misuse his sample! Someone is setting her up!"
"Final warning. Leave now or we'll have you removed."
Tears of frustration welled in my eyes. "Please just tell him I'm here! Seraphina Moon! It's about the sperm bank mix-up!"
I waited, certain I'd be ignored, possibly arrested for trespassing. Then, surprisingly, the intercom crackled back to life.
"Wait there."
Ten excruciating minutes later, the massive gates swung open. A burly man in a black suit approached.
"Follow me. No sudden movements. You'll be searched before entering the house."
I nodded, relief and fresh anxiety warring within me.
After an uncomfortably thorough security check, I was led through a marble foyer larger than my entire apartment and into what appeared to be a study. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined the walls, and a massive desk dominated the space.
And there he stood—Kaelen Thorne—even more imposing than during our brief encounter with Jake. His suit was impeccably tailored to his broad shoulders, his dark hair perfectly styled. But it was those eyes that captured me again—piercing green, almost unnaturally bright.
"Miss Moon," he said, my name rolling off his tongue like he was testing its taste. "You've caused quite a commotion at my gate."
"Mr. Thorne, thank you for seeing me," I began, hating how small my voice sounded in this cavernous room. "I'm here about my sister, Lyra Daniels. She works at—"
"I know exactly who your sister is," he cut me off, his voice sharp as a blade. "The technician who accessed my private sample without authorization."
"That's just it—she didn't!" I stepped forward earnestly. "Lyra would never make that kind of mistake. She's meticulous, professional, and dedicated to her job. Someone else must have used her credentials."
Kaelen's expression remained impassive as stone. "And what evidence do you have to support this claim?"
I faltered. "I... I know my sister."
He made a dismissive sound, turning to pour himself a drink from a crystal decanter. "Blood loyalty is admirable but hardly compelling."
"Mr. Thorne, my sister is facing the end of her medical career over this. Please, if you could just speak with the clinic directors—"
"Your sister made a grave error," he interrupted, turning back to fix me with those unnerving eyes. "The sample she accessed was not meant for general use. It was stored under specific security protocols that she deliberately bypassed."
"There has to be an explanation," I insisted. "Maybe someone else used her login, or—"
"Miss Moon." His voice dropped low, commanding. "Did it not occur to you that you and your sister might be working together? That this 'accident' might be a calculated attempt to secure a wealthy man's genetic material?"
My mouth fell open in shock. "What? No! That's—that's insane!"
"Is it?" He stepped closer, his towering presence making me shrink back instinctively. "A clinic employee with access to restricted samples just happens to inseminate her sister with my sperm? The coincidence stretches credibility."
"It wasn't like that at all!" Heat rushed to my face. "I didn't even know it was your... your sample until after everything happened! This is all a horrible mistake!"
Kaelen observed me with clinical detachment. "If you're here seeking financial gain from this situation, you're wasting both our time."
"I don't want your money!" The words burst from me with unexpected force. "I just want my sister to keep her job—the job she's worked her entire life for! She didn't do this!"
For a fraction of a second, something flickered across his face—surprise, perhaps, at my vehemence. But it vanished so quickly I might have imagined it.
"Your sister made a serious mistake with serious consequences," he said coldly. "If she is indeed innocent of deliberate misconduct, that will be determined by the clinic's investigation."
"An investigation where your word carries all the weight," I replied bitterly. "You've already decided she's guilty."
His jaw tightened. "I've decided nothing. But the facts remain—my restricted sample was accessed without authorization and used in a procedure. Someone must be held accountable."
"And it can't possibly be a computer error or security breach, right?" I challenged, desperation making me bolder than I'd normally dare. "It has to be the hardworking doctor who's never had a single complaint in her career?"
A muscle twitched in his cheek. "This conversation is over."
He pressed a button on his desk, and immediately the door opened behind me. Two security guards entered.
"Please escort Miss Moon off the property."
"Mr. Thorne, please—" I began, but strong hands were already gripping my arms.
"Wait!" I called as they began pulling me toward the door. "What if I'm pregnant? What then?"
Kaelen's expression darkened, his eyes seeming to flash with an eerie light. "Then we'll have a very different conversation."
The guards marched me through the mansion and out to the gates. To my humiliation, instead of simply letting me walk to my car, they practically threw me onto the sidewalk. I stumbled, barely catching myself before I fell.
"Don't return," one warned before they retreated behind the closing gates.
I stood there, shaking with a mixture of anger and helplessness, staring at the imposing walls that separated Kaelen Thorne's world from mine.
---
The next morning, my phone rang at 7:30 AM. I answered groggily, not recognizing the number.
"Is this Seraphina Moon?" a shrill female voice demanded.
"Yes, who—"
"This is Elaine Woodward."
My stomach dropped. Mrs. Woodward was the other family I nannied for part-time.
"You have some nerve showing up at Kaelen Thorne's house causing a scene!" she hissed. "The entire neighborhood is talking about how you had to be forcibly removed by security!"
I sat up straight. "Mrs. Woodward, that's not what happened—"
"Mr. Thorne himself called to warn me about you!" she continued, her voice rising. "He said you're unstable and not to be trusted around children!"
My blood ran cold. "He what? That's completely untrue!"
"Consider yourself fired, Ms. Moon. I've already sent your final check. Do not contact us again."
The line went dead before I could respond.
I sat in stunned silence, clutching my phone. Not only had Kaelen Thorne rejected my plea, he'd actively reached out to destroy what little employment I had left. The cruelty of it was breathtaking.
How powerful was this man that he could ruin lives so casually? And how personally had he taken this sperm bank mix-up that he felt the need to crush both me and Lyra?
I spent the rest of the morning sending out desperate job applications, but my heart sank with each submission. Without references from my latest employers, who would hire me?
As if things weren't already bad enough, when I returned home I found a stack of bills in the mailbox and I didn't even recognize half the senders. I opened them one by one, feeling my confusion and disbelief grow by the minute.