the rootless ceo

The rain hammered against Kane Tower like bullets. I needed N2 million by midnight or my mother died. The hospital wouldn’t wait. Dialysis, surgery, drugs—they wanted cash. That’s how I ended up in Room 1801, wearing a borrowed red dress two sizes too small, waiting for a man I’d never met. My name is Lily Adebayo. 22. University dropout. Hotel cleaner. And tonight… I was selling myself. The door opened. Adrian Kane. 32. 6’3”. CEO of Kane Group. Net worth: N800 billion. Face like a god carved from ice. And the coldest eyes I’d ever seen. “You’re late,” he said, voice low, dangerous. His suit cost more than my mother’s life. “Take off the dress.” My fingers shook on the zipper. “Mr. Kane, I… I just need the money. For my mother’s surgery. Please, I’ll do anything else—” “I don’t do stories.” He threw a check on the bed. N2,000,000. Signed. “One night. No names. No emotions. No crying. We clear?” I stared at that check. My mother’s life on a piece of paper. My dignity on the floor. I chose my mother. The dress hit the carpet. His hands were cold. His mouth was merciless. He took me like a contract he was closing—fast, hard, no mercy. When it was over, he didn’t look at me. Just zipped up and said, “There’s cash for a cab by the door. Don’t contact me again.” I thought I could walk away clean after one night. I was wrong. Nine weeks later, I was back in Kane Tower. Not for money this time. I clutched a pregnancy test in my shaking hand. Two pink lines screamed back at me. The elevator doors opened to the 100th floor. Adrian Kane was waiting. With a contract. “You’re carrying my heir, Miss Adebayo.” His voice could freeze hell. “And in my world, Kanes don’t have bastards.” He slid the papers across his mahogany desk. Marriage Contract. “Sign. You’ll be my wife for 9 months. Play the part, deliver my son, and I’ll give you N50 million when it’s done. Try to run, and your mother pays the price.” Thunder shook the windows of Kane Tower. I looked at the contract. At the man who’d bought my body. At the baby growing inside me. I had just been tricked by the ruthless CEO. And my real nightmare was only beginning.