The Billionaire’s Surrogate Sin

Chapter 10: The Board’s Ultimatum

The morning after the gala felt like a fever dream. Elara woke up in her silk-sheeted bed, the ghost of Julian’s kiss still haunting her lips. But the romantic haze was instantly shattered when she stepped into the hallway. The mansion was buzzing with a frantic, nervous energy. Men in sharp gray suits—men who looked like they lived and died by profit margins—were streaming into Julian’s private study.

Julian was at the center of it all. He looked like he hadn't slept, his hair slightly disheveled and his tie loosened. When he saw Elara standing in the doorway, his eyes flickered with a brief, intense heat before turning back to the storm in front of him.

"You can't just kill the Sterling merger, Julian!" one of the older board members shouted, slamming a leather portfolio onto the mahogany desk. "The stocks are already dipping based on the rumors from last night. You threatened Arthur Sterling in front of half the city!"

"I threatened a man who insulted my guest," Julian said, his voice a low, dangerous growl. He didn't look at the board member; he looked at the coffee in his hand. "And the merger was built on sand. Arthur is bankrupt. I’m not tying Vane Enterprises to a sinking ship."

"We don't care about his personal debts! We care about the optics!" another woman snapped. "And then there’s her." She pointed a manicured finger directly at Elara. "The Vance girl. The daughter of the man who nearly liquidated this company five years ago. You have her living here? Using company resources for her 'sister's' medical bills?"

Elara felt the blood drain from her face. She felt like a specimen under a microscope.

Julian stood up slowly. The room went silent. When Julian Vane stood, the world tended to stop spinning. He walked around the desk, his presence filling the room until the air felt thin. He didn't stop until he was standing directly in front of the board member who had pointed at Elara.

"Her name is Elara," Julian said, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "And she is not 'the Vance girl.' She is under my personal protection. If any of you have a problem with how I spend my capital—or who I choose to house in my home—I suggest you sell your shares by noon. I will buy them at market price, and you can find another CEO to bully."

The room was paralyzed. No one moved. No one breathed. Julian had just offered to buy out his own board to protect her.

"Get out," Julian commanded.

The members scrambled, gathering their papers and fleeing the room like rats from a fire. Only when the heavy oak doors clicked shut did Julian allow his shoulders to drop. He turned to Elara, the mask of the ruthless CEO cracking just enough to let her see the exhaustion underneath.

"You shouldn't have done that," Elara whispered, stepping into the room. "They’re right. I’m a liability to your reputation. If you lose the board, you lose the company."

"The company is nothing without its soul, Elara," Julian said, walking toward her. He stopped just inches away, the scent of expensive coffee and cedarwood enveloping her. "I spent five years building this empire out of the ashes your father left behind. I didn't do it to be a slave to a group of nervous shareholders."

"But the contract—"

"Forget the contract for one second!" Julian grabbed her hands, his grip desperate. "Last night... that kiss... that wasn't part of the deal. And you know it."

Elara looked down at their joined hands. "It doesn't change who I am, Julian. Or what I’m doing here. I’m still just the girl carrying your heir so she can save her sister. Once the baby is born, I’m gone. That’s what we signed."

Julian’s jaw tightened. "Rules can be rewritten."

Before Elara could respond, a sharp, rhythmic clapping came from the doorway.

Isabella stood there, her eyes red-rimmed but her expression venomous. She held a tablet in her hand, the screen glowing. "How touching. The lion and the lamb. It’s almost a shame I have to ruin the moment."

Julian spun around, shielding Elara instinctively. "I told you to leave, Isabella."

"Oh, I'm going," Isabella sneered, tossing the tablet onto the desk. "But before I do, I thought the board might like to see the real reason Julian is so protective of his little surrogate. It’s not just revenge, is it Julian? It’s a payoff."

The screen showed a series of leaked bank transfers—massive sums of money moving from Vane Enterprises to a private offshore account in the name of Elara’s father, Robert Vance.

"You're funding the man who robbed you?" Elara breathed, looking at Julian in horror. "Julian... what is this?"

Julian’s face went pale. For the first time since Elara had known him, he looked truly cornered.

"It’s not what it looks like," Julian said, but the conviction was gone from his voice.

"It looks like you've been keeping her father alive and hidden while the rest of the world thinks he's in a foreign prison," Isabella laughed, a shrill, hysterical sound. "You didn't bring her here for a baby. You brought her here to keep her quiet about the fact that you’re complicit in her father’s crimes."

Elara stepped back, her world spinning. The man she was starting to trust—the man who had just defended her against his own board—was secretly tied to the father who had ruined her life.

"Is it true?" Elara’s voice was barely audible.

Julian reached for her, but she recoiled as if his touch was poison. "Elara, let me explain—"

"Is he alive because of you?" she shrieked, the pain of years of abandonment boiling over.

Julian didn't answer. His silence was the only confirmation she needed.