Free A Baby For The Billionaire by Evelyn Troy Page B

was,
despite her illness and age. “Unless he hurt you in some way, and I
mean physically hurt you, in which case I really want to know who
he is so that I can tear a few of his limbs off.”
     
    Alicia shook her head while she
answered, biting back the smile at the thought of her mother being
violent towards anyone. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just
complicated, mom, and it could cause more problems if he knew.”
Such as his wife divorcing him and her getting fired from the only
means of income she had—but she couldn’t tell her mother that.
“I’ll tell him if the opportunity ever arises or if I don’t think I
have any other choice. I promise.”
     

 
    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    …

 
     
    Her mother’s words kept praying on her
mind during her drive home. She knew her parent was right in what
she’d said; Chase did deserve to know about the baby. But how on
earth was Alicia supposed to tell him without him thinking that it
was either a ploy to get money out of him, or a way to break him
and Vanessa up so that she could stand a chance of being with him
herself.
     
    As much as she hated subterfuge and
deceit, her mind kept going back to one of her original plans when
she had first learned about her pregnancy. Maybe her only option
was to blackmail him. At least that way he would know she had no
designs on wrecking his marriage, and she would be sure of having
enough money to take care of the baby and her mother’s ever-growing
medical expenses.
     
    Alicia’s mind was in turmoil. Even
though she was relieved now that her mother knew about the
pregnancy, she knew she still faced an uphill battle with
everything else.
     
    As had become the norm these days, she
fell into bed that night physically and mentally exhausted. Yet
another restless night followed and she dragged herself out of bed
the following morning feeling even more tired than before. A little
extra makeup hid the shadows beneath her eyes and she plastered the
smile on her face as she made her way to the kitchen to find out
what the day ahead had in store for her.
     
    Julie greeted her cheerfully, then
looked at Alicia with a worried expression. “Don’t mind me saying,
honey, but you look like crap.” Alicia laughed at her friend’s
comment. “I can always count on you to be honest can’t I, Julie?”
Julie grinned and nodded her head. “I’m just tired, that’s all.
There’s nothing to worry about.”
     
    “Well here is a little bit of news
that will hopefully make you feel better. The Queen Bitch has gone
away again, and this time she is going to be gone for a full week.
Vacationing in Paris, no less.” Julie couldn’t keep the sarcasm
from her voice. “I might feel a little bit jealous, but it’s always
so much more peaceful around here when she is away.”
     
    “You’ve got that right.” The thought
of not having to worry about bumping into Vanessa for a whole week
perked her up immediately; at least she only had a Chase to worry
about for the next seven days.
     
    Alicia needn’t have been worried about
bumping into him that day. He was either out of the house on
business or making sure he avoided her, which suited her just fine.
The day went smoothly enough, with nothing too taxing to deal with,
although as the end of the workday neared Alicia found herself
becoming more and more tired.
     
    She was completing her last task,
sweeping and mopping down the main staircase. Her back felt as
though it was breaking in two and she paused to catch her breath,
holding onto the banister for support while she rested. She took
just a moment then went back to the job at hand, cursing under her
breath when the broom slipped from her fingers. She tried to grab
it, but as her hand darted out the back of her foot slipped off the
step she was standing on. Alicia cried out, her arms wind-milling
in the air as she tried to grab the banister to stop herself from
falling. And then everything went black.
     
    She wouldn’t know until