PREGNANT FOR MY COLD -HEARTED BILLIONAIRE NEIGHBOR BY MELLA

Chapter 3: The Price of Ice

The cool night air didn't feel like freedom; it felt like a countdown.

As I ducked behind a row of perfectly manicured hedges, the scent of damp earth filled my nose, clashing with the lingering aroma of Silas’s cologne that seemed to have bonded with my skin. I leaned my back against the cold brick wall of the Volkov estate, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I reached into the hidden pocket of my gown, my fingers trembling as they brushed the cold, hard edges of the flash drive.

I had it. This tiny piece of plastic was everything. It contained the private, unlisted donor files Silas kept under digital lock and key, the only thing that could save my father’s life.

But the victory felt hollow, stained by the heat still radiating from my palm where Silas had held me. The ghost of his voice, that low, dangerous rasp, seemed to echo off the stone walls. “I don’t like things I can’t place.”

I took a shuddering breath, trying to force my brain to focus. Father. I pictured him in that sterile hospital room, the machines hissing and wheezing, doing the work his weary body no longer could. Every second I lingered here, intoxicated by the memory of a monster’s touch, was a second I stole from my father’s life.

I couldn’t afford to be weak. Not tonight.

I began to move, sticking to the deep shadows cast by the moon. The Volkov estate was a fortress of glass and arrogance. Even though I had memorized the blueprints, the scale of the grounds felt different under the threat of pursuit. To my left, a fountain splashed a mocking, rhythmic sound that mimicked the ticking of a clock. To my right, the tall wrought-iron gates stood like frozen claws.

Suddenly, the heavy thud of a door swinging open echoed across the terrace.

"Search the perimeter. Block the west exit."

The voice was sharp and cold. It wasn't Silas, but one of his security details. My blood turned to ice. They already knew. I hadn't even reached the tree line, and the hounds were already being released into the dark.

I dropped into a crouch, the silk of my dress snagging on a thorn bush. I didn't care about the cost of the fabric; I ripped it away with a jagged motion. The sound of tearing silk felt like a gunshot in the quiet night. I scrambled toward the service gate, my heels sinking into the soft turf, threatening to snap my ankles with every desperate step.

If I stayed one second longer, I’d forget why I came. I wasn't just running from the guards; I was running from the terrifying realization that for a moment, in Silas’s arms, I hadn't wanted to leave. He was a black hole, and I was a star getting too close to the event horizon.

I reached the service gate just as a high-powered flashlight beam swept over the brickwork inches above my head. I pressed myself into a narrow recess in the wall, holding my breath until my lungs screamed.

"Anything?" a guard called out.

"Nothing. The boss is losing his mind. He’s never been this wound up over a guest."

"She wasn't just a guest," the first guard muttered, his footsteps fading. "She was the first person to walk away from him before he gave her permission. He doesn't take 'no' well."

I waited until the sound of their boots vanished. Silas didn’t need to be here, breathing down my neck. A man like him didn’t chase he sent the world after you. His dominance wasn't in his footsteps; it was in the way the entire estate seemed to tighten around me like a noose on his command.

I squeezed through the narrow gap in the iron bars, the metal cold against my bare shoulders. I hit the pavement of the narrow back road, abandoning my heels in the dirt. My car, a beat-up sedan, was parked a quarter-mile down the road under a weeping willow.

I ran, the gravel biting into my feet. As I reached the car and fumbled with the keys, I kept looking at the mansion. It loomed against the sky, a monument to his power. I threw the car into gear, the engine protesting with a loud whine as I tore away.

I pulled a discarded hoodie from the backseat and threw it over my gown, hiding the ruined silk. I needed to disappear. I needed to get this drive to the contact at the hospital before Silas found a way to stop me.

But as I pulled onto the main highway, a single set of headlights appeared in my rearview mirror. A black SUV, sleek and silent, maintained a perfect distance. It didn't pass. It didn't slow down.

My heart stalled.

I hadn't just escaped with a donor list. I had escaped with something Silas Volkov valued more than his secrets: his curiosity.

I pushed the accelerator to the floor, leaving the Ice King behind with nothing but a broken piece of silver and a mystery he wouldn’t forget. But as the black SUV maintained its predatory distance, I realized with a jolt of pure terror that the mystery was only just beginning.

He wasn't hunting for the drive.

He was hunting for me.