All Chapters of The Unexpected Surrogate for the Ruthless Billionaire : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The Fernandez Holdings boardroom came alive as Carlos strode in, a picture of calm determination. The rest of the board members fidgeted in their chairs, having heard the rumors that preceded Helix Innovations, their newest and most promising partner."Gentlemen," Carlos launched into his speech with great composure, "I've called this emergency meeting on account of the situation with Helix. We must get to the bottom of these allegations."As the conversation progressed, Isabelle meandered around the halls of the Fernandez mansion as her mind raced a mile a minute with all that she had uncovered. The weight of her discoveries sat heavily upon her shoulders, and in so many ways, she felt more alone than ever.Her phone buzzed, startling her. Dr. Kim's reply shone on the screen: "Meet me at the clinic. Come alone."Isabelle found herself sneaking out of the mansion, elusive of Carlos's security team's view, as her heart nearly raced out of her bony chest. The drive to the clinic felt en

Shadows of the PastThey took a deep sigh of relief when Rodriguez batched in, panting like a wounded lion. Carlos almost pulled the trigger.He quickly apologized for batching in that way. He thought he heard some cryptic sounds of people around the hallway entering a room.Hours later, as day break, Isabelle sat in a hospital bed, her hands protectively cradling her swollen belly. The twins were safe—the pain came from nothing other than contractions timed and squeezed into chaos by stress alone. Carlos paced across the room, his phone pressed to his ear, shouting orders at Rodriguez."I want every inch of that mansion swept," he growled. "And find out how they got past our security!"Isabelle watched him, noting the circles under his eyes and the stiffness in his shoulders. The attack had shaken them both, but Carlos seemed to be taking it particularly hard."Carlos," she said softly. He turned to her, his expression softening. "Come sit with me."He shrugged and dropped down besid

New Opportunities The California sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Carlos and Isabelle's new penthouse apartment in downtown Los Angeles. Isabelle rested one hand on her growing belly, propping herself up by one of the windows, while with the other she brought a mug of herbal tea up to her lips. The city lay below her—one that was peaceful, presumably, very much different from the New York skyline."Cared to share your thoughts?" Carlos spoke up from behind her.Isabelle half-turned to him, a faint smile in evidence. "Just that I mean, everything around here is so… different. It's… calm and peaceful."Carlos reached out to her and hugged her lightly, cradling her bump. "See, that was the point. New beginnings for us all."It is three weeks since they hastily moved to Los Angeles. The decision was fast, driven by the urgency to get away as quickly as possible from the building pressures and danger in New York. Here, they thought they would be safer until the twins i

Shadows of Corruption"Mrs. Fernandez?" The voice behind her drew her back to reality. Elena, the urban planner she had befriended weeks ago, came up to her, a look of concern etched on her face. "I think there is something you need to see."The California sun beat down relentlessly onto the site of Fernandez Holdings' newest project. Isabelle shielded her eyes, looking out over the activity, her hand unconsciously resting on her now-prominent baby bump.The heat and physical discomfort of advancing pregnancy couldn't detract her from the sense of purpose she felt here among the scaffolding and heavy machinery.Isabelle followed Elena to a quieter part of the site, away from all the noise and prying ears. "What is going on?" She noted the etched worry on her friend's face.Elena hesitated before she pulled out a folder. "I've gone over the bidding documents for this project, something doesn't feel right. Look at these figures."She wasn't halfway through the papers when her brow furro

Rising from the Ashes"Ready for another day in the trenches?" Carlos asked this time. With a wry smile on his face, he handed Isabelle a cup of herbal tea.The early morning sun casted long shadows across the Los Angeles skyline as Carlos and Isabelle Fernandez stood in their office, looking out at the city. Three weeks ago they blew the lid off the corruption inside their company; since then, all hell had broken loose. The stock price at Fernandez Holdings still tried to struggle its way from where it had been; the high-stake projects are now put on hold, and the media just wouldn't give them a break.Isabelle nodded, her free hand going to her ever-growing baby bump. "Always. We have so much work ahead of us to rebuild trust."A first meeting of the day with a group of community leaders and local non-profits, working to build relationships for them in connection with their new strategy to more meaningfully engage with communities impacted by their projects and demonstrate their co