Ashton's POV
I threw my phone across the room and watched it shatter against the wall.
It didn't help. Nothing helped. The lawsuit notice was still sitting on my desk. Fifty million dollars. Public humiliation. And worst of all—proof that I'd abandoned my pregnant mate.
"Mr. Cross?" My assistant knocked hesitantly. "The investigator is here."
"Send him in."
I'd hired the best private investigator money could buy. I needed to know everything about Kieran's life now. What he'd built. Who he'd become. And most importantly—whether those children were really mine.
Though I already knew the answer. Storm's gray eyes haunted my dreams.
The investigator entered—a middle-aged Beta named Collins who looked like he'd seen everything. He dropped a thick folder on my desk.
"That was fast," I said.
"It wasn't hard. Your... the Omega is very public now. Successful. Powerful." Collins flipped open the folder. "You might want to sit down for this."
I was already sitting, but I gripped the desk anyway. "Tell me."
"Kieran Vale. Age twenty-seven. CEO of Vale Pharmaceuticals, which he founded four years ago. Current net worth: approximately four billion dollars."
My mouth went dry. "Billion? With a B?"
"His company revolutionized Omega healthcare. They created new treatments for heat complications, safe pregnancy medications, hormone therapies. Every major hospital in the country uses Vale products." Collins pulled out financial reports. "He's not just rich, Mr. Cross. He's untouchable."
Four billion. Kieran had built a four-billion-dollar empire while raising our children alone.
"There's more," Collins continued. "He's not just successful. He's the hidden heir to the Vale Omega dynasty."
"The Vale dynasty?" I repeated stupidly. "That's a myth. A story people tell about ancient Omega families—"
"It's real." Collins showed me documents with official seals. "The Vale family is one of three founding Omega bloodlines that proved Omegas could rule empires six hundred years ago. They've been hiding in plain sight, testing their heirs by making them survive without the family name." He paused. "Kieran passed the test. He built everything himself. And last year, his grandfather officially recognized him as the Vale heir."
The room tilted. The "disgraced" Omega my mother had looked down on was actually from one of the most powerful families in existence. More powerful than the Cross family. More powerful than anyone.
"So when your mother called him 'inappropriate'..." Collins let the sentence hang.
"She was insulting royalty," I finished, feeling sick. "Oh God. My mother threatened the Vale heir."
"It gets worse." Collins pulled out more photos. "The children. Sage and Storm Vale. Born February 14th, four years ago. I have their birth certificates here."
He slid them across the desk. I stared at the tiny footprints, the baby information. Weight. Length. Time of birth: 3:47 AM.
Father's name: UNKNOWN.
That one word gutted me. Unknown. Like I didn't exist. Like I'd never mattered.
"I did the math," Collins said quietly. "Based on the birth date and typical Omega pregnancy length, they were conceived approximately nine months prior. Early May, five years ago."
I didn't need to check my calendar. I knew exactly when. The weekend before finals. Kieran and I had gone to a cabin in the mountains. It had been perfect—just us, no pressure, talking about the future. About maybe bonding officially after graduation.
That was the weekend I'd gotten him pregnant.
One week later, my mother gave me the ultimatum.
Two weeks after that, I destroyed him at the gala.
"The other Alpha," I said, my voice rough. "Darius Kane. Tell me about him."
Collins pulled out another file. "Darius Kane, age thirty-two. Self-made billionaire, CEO of Kane Enterprises. Lost his younger Omega sibling to suicide ten years ago—the sibling was bullied by Alphas and couldn't handle the pressure. Since then, Kane has been an activist for Omega rights." He showed me photos. "He met Kieran at a medical conference four years ago. They've been together ever since."
The photos showed everything I'd feared. Darius with the twins at the park. Darius teaching Storm to ride a bike. Darius holding Sage while she slept. They looked like a family.
A family that should have been mine.
"Are they married?" I asked.
"No. But Kane has been publicly courting Kieran for three years. He's proposed twice. Kieran said no both times."
Something flickered in my chest. Hope, maybe. "Why?"
Collins looked uncomfortable. "According to my sources, Kieran can't fully accept Kane because the mate bond with you never broke. He tried to reject it three times. It wouldn't take."
The mate bond. I'd felt it too—a constant ache, a wound that wouldn't heal. I'd ignored it, thinking it would fade eventually. But it hadn't. It had just gotten worse.
"So he's been in pain for five years," I said slowly. "Because of me. Because I abandoned the bond."
"Incomplete bond rejections are dangerous," Collins confirmed. "They can cause physical and emotional damage to both parties. You've probably felt it too—exhaustion, mood swings, inability to bond with other Omegas?"
I had. My arranged marriage had failed because I couldn't connect with my wife. Couldn't feel anything but emptiness when she wasn't Kieran.
"One more thing." Collins hesitated. "Your mother."
My blood went cold. "What about her?"
"She's been tracking Kieran since he left. She knew about the pregnancy within weeks. She's known about the twins for four years."
The world stopped. "What?"
"She paid doctors to spy, bribed hospital staff for records. She's been watching them, Mr. Cross. And recently..." Collins pulled out surveillance photos that made my stomach turn. "She's been following the children. To their preschool. To the park. To medical appointments."
The photos showed my mother in various disguises, always at a distance, always watching Storm and Sage.
"Why?" I whispered. "Why would she—"
"I don't know. But two days ago, she contacted her lawyers. She's planning something."
My phone—or what was left of it—buzzed on the floor. I picked up the broken pieces. One last message was visible on the cracked screen.
From Mother: "Meet me at the house. One hour. Don't be late. We need to discuss custody arrangements for your bastards."
Bastards. She'd called my children bastards.
I stood so fast my chair fell over. "I need to go."
"Mr. Cross, wait—there's more in the report—"
"Email it to me." I grabbed my jacket. "I need to stop my mother before she does something insane."
But I was already too late.
My phone rang—Marcus calling from his new number since I'd destroyed mine.
"Ashton," he said urgently. "Turn on the news. Now."
I pulled up the news on Collins's tablet. Breaking news banner.
My mother's face filled the screen. She stood at a press conference, looking perfectly composed.
"I'm here today to address the scandal surrounding my son and Kieran Vale," she announced. "Yes, those children are my grandchildren. Yes, my son made mistakes. But Mr. Vale has proven himself an unfit parent by using those innocent babies as weapons in a public revenge scheme."
No. No, no, no.
"Therefore," my mother continued, "I am filing for emergency grandparents' rights and custody. Those children deserve stability, proper education, and a family name they can be proud of. They deserve to be Crosses, not hidden away by an unstable Omega with a vendetta."
The reporters exploded with questions. My mother smiled serenely.
"Mr. Vale had his chance to do the right thing. He chose revenge instead. Now those children will pay the price—unless someone intervenes. I'm asking the courts to grant me temporary custody while my son and Mr. Vale work through their issues in a controlled, therapeutic environment."
She was trying to take my children. Not for me. For herself.
"Furthermore," my mother added, "I have evidence that Mr. Vale has been keeping the children from medical care, proper socialization, and educational opportunities. Evidence that will be presented in court."
Lies. All lies. But the media was eating it up.
My phone buzzed with a new text from an unknown number. I opened it with shaking hands.
It was a photo of Storm and Sage playing in a garden. Recent. Today, maybe.
Below it: "Your mother is outside the Vale Estate right now. Watching them. If you don't stop her, I will. And you won't like my methods. Choose a side, Ashton. Your mother or your children. You can't have both. -K"
I ran.