The Billionaire's Forbidden Obsession

Chapter 17

The rain had finally stopped by sunrise, leaving behind a thick, heavy fog that blanketed the dense forest surrounding Adrian’s estate.

Inside the main dining room, the atmosphere was quiet, almost fragile. Leo and Liam sat at the grand mahogany table, contentedly swinging their legs while Mrs. Ellen served them warm pancakes shaped like small bears. Aurora sat beside them, cradling a mug of black coffee, though she hadn't taken a single sip. Her mind was trapped in the unsettling events of the previous night, replaying Damian’s frantic voice and his bizarre, probing questions about her sons.

Across the table, Adrian sat in his dark suit, completely unbothered by his untouched breakfast. His phone rested beside his plate, screen facing up, buzzing silently every few minutes with encrypted updates from Marcus. His posture was rigid, his sharp, dark eyes fixed entirely on his children. Every time Leo laughed or Liam reached for the maple syrup, Adrian’s expression softened just enough to reveal the raw, overwhelming devotion beneath his cold exterior.

A quiet chime echoed from the hallway entrance.

Marcus stepped into the room, his face pale and unreadable. He held a thick, leather-bound folder under his arm. He didn't speak immediately; instead, he waited until Adrian gave him a sharp, subtle nod.

"The library, Mr. Ashford," Marcus said softly, his eyes briefly flicking toward Aurora with a heavy, serious weight. "Whenever you're ready."

Aurora placed her coffee mug down with a sharp clink against the saucer. She looked at Mrs. Ellen. "Mrs. Ellen, could you please stay with the boys for a few minutes?"

"Of course, ma'am," the older woman replied warmly, immediately distracting Liam with another glass of orange juice.

Aurora stood up, not waiting for Adrian's permission. She walked straight past Marcus into the private library down the hall. Adrian followed close behind, his long strides silent against the oriental rug. As soon as the heavy double doors clicked shut, isolating them from the rest of the house, Aurora turned around to face Marcus.

"What did you find?" Aurora demanded, her voice cutting through the quiet room. "Why was Damian at the estate last night?"

Marcus looked at Adrian, who gave a brief, decisive nod. Opening the folder, Marcus laid three detailed medical reports and a collection of surveillance photographs onto the marble desk.

"Damian didn't come here to fight for corporate shares or revenge," Marcus explained, his tone measured and grave. "Eighteen months ago, Damian quietly married a woman named Camille Vance. She is the daughter of Arthur Vance, a major shareholder in European logistics."

Aurora frowned, stepping closer to the desk to glance at the top photograph. It showed a thin, striking woman with pale skin and dark hair, sitting in a wheelchair near a glass garden. "I've never heard of her."

"Because Damian kept the marriage entirely private," Marcus continued. "Camille suffers from severe, end-stage aplastic anemia coupled with rare bone marrow failure. Over the past six months, her condition has deteriorated rapidly. Her body is failing, and standard treatments are no longer working. She requires an immediate, specialized bone marrow stem cell transplant to survive."

The air in the library grew instantly cold.

Aurora felt her pulse spike, a terrible, nauseating realization dawning in her mind. "A donor match..."

"Yes, Mrs. Ashford," Marcus confirmed, his voice dropping. "Camille’s blood type and human leukocyte antigen profile are exceptionally rare. The international bone marrow registry has returned zero full matches. Her family has tested everyone in their immediate network—nothing. Two weeks ago, Camille’s lead oncologist suggested testing extended family lines, specifically those sharing rare genetic markers unique to the Ashford lineage."

"Damian tested himself," Adrian said. It wasn't a question; his voice was a flat, lethal growl from where he stood near the window, his back to the room.

"Damian was tested first," Marcus said, turning a page in the file. "He was only a partial, four-marker match—far too low for a safe procedure. His doctors informed him that full siblings or direct offspring carrying the primary Ashford strain would yield the highest probability of a compatible match."

Marcus looked up, his eyes locking onto Aurora’s pale face.

"Damian knew Adrian had no other children. But when news reached him that you had returned to the country with four-year-old twin boys... Damian realized they were the only living Ashfords left who could potentially save his wife's life."

Aurora stumbled back a step, her hand slamming against the edge of the desk to steady herself. The nausea in her stomach churned into pure, unadulterated horror.

"He wants my four-year-old sons to be bone marrow donors?" Aurora whispered, her voice trembling violently with a mix of rage and terror. "He came into this house, screaming about their medical history, because he wants to harvest my babies for his wife?"

"He believes they are Camille's only chance," Marcus said quietly.

Before Aurora could speak again, the library doors were pushed open without warning.

A house guard stood in the doorway, looking nervous. "Mr. Ashford... he’s back at the main gate. He didn't come alone this time."

Adrian turned around slowly. The murderous rage on his face was complete, absolute, and terrifying. "Throw him out."

"Wait!"

A frail, quiet voice echoed from behind the guard.

The security guard stepped aside, revealing Damian standing in the hallway. But behind Damian stood a tall, thin woman in a elegant navy coat, her face dangerously pale, her dark eyes hollowed out by pain and exhaustion. She leaning heavily on an IV pole attached to a portable medical unit carried by a private nurse.

Camille Vance.

Damian held her waist gently, his hands trembling as he supported her frail frame. The bitter, arrogant man who had terrorized Aurora years ago was gone; in his place stood a man consumed by frantic, desperate grief.

"Adrian... Aurora... please," Damian begged, his voice cracking, completely stripped of pride. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't threaten. He looked directly at Aurora, his eyes wet with unshed tears. "Just listen to us. Five minutes. That's all I'm asking."

Adrian took three heavy steps forward, his broad chest rising and falling dangerously. "Get her out of my house, Damian, before I throw both of you into the street."

"Adrian, don't!" Camille gasped, her voice frail, barely louder than a whisper as she reached out a weak, trembling hand toward him. "Please... he’s doing this for me. I begged him not to come... but I'm dying. I have weeks left."

Aurora stood completely still behind the desk, watching the scene unfold. She looked at Camille—a woman who looked like a ghost, desperately clinging to life—and then at Damian, whose entire world was clearly crumbling around him.

Yet, as pity tried to creep into her heart, the image of her healthy, innocent boys laughing at the breakfast table flashed in her mind.

Aurora stepped around the desk, her expression locking into an impenetrable mask of stone. She walked until she was standing side-by-side with Adrian, refusing to back down.

"You bring a sick woman to my doorstep to manipulate me," Aurora said, her voice dropping into a cold, terrifying calm that made even Damian freeze. "You think showing me her pain will make me hand over my four-year-old sons to be poked with needles and subjected to medical procedures for a woman they don't even know?"

"Aurora, it’s a simple blood test first—" Damian tried to plead, taking a step forward.

"Don't take another step!" Aurora snapped, her eyes flashing with pure fire. "You don't get to demand anything from me, Damian. You spent years treating me like property, and now you treat my children like medical resources!"

"I am begging you!" Damian cried out, his voice breaking completely as he dropped to one knee on the hard marble floor, holding Camille's hand tightly. "She is my wife! I will give you everything I have left—my shares, my assets, my name—just let them be tested! Please!"

Adrian looked down at his kneeling brother with absolute coldness, his hand coming up to rest firmly on Aurora’s waist, backing her authority completely.

Aurora looked at Damian kneeling before her, then down at the pale, terrified woman clinging to him. The power dynamics of the past had completely inverted, but the stakes had never been higher.

"You want my help?" Aurora asked, her voice steady and razor-sharp. "Then you explain everything. Every single detail, every medical record, every truth you've hidden for five years. And until I say so... you don't come within a mile of my sons."