Chapter 1After Bearing the Alpha Billionaire’s Child, I Cried in Terror

The alpha billionaire, Damian Blackwood, was sterile. Desperate for an heir, he kept a hundred ‘canaries’ at his sprawling estate.

He made a public declaration: whoever bore him a child would receive a billion-dollar prize.

A year later, ten of the canaries gave birth in succession.

But every single one of them had their limbs hacked off and were buried alive. The reason given was infidelity.

A month after that, my own ten-month pregnancy came to term.

But one look at my newborn child, and I started sobbing in terror.

The children of the other women, the ones buried alive for their betrayal, were at least human. My baby… wasn't even human.

It was five tiny calico kittens.

* * *

The private physician who delivered them fainted on the spot.

Only my personal maid, Martha, was left, her eyes wide as she stammered, “Miss Monroe, what… what is this?”

What was this?

I wanted to know too!

How could a human being give birth to cats?

I pinched my thigh, hard, praying this was all just a nightmare. But the pain was sharp and real.

This was not a dream.

I was finished.

The gruesome fate of the first ten women flashed through my mind, and I collapsed onto the bed, too numb for tears.

A year ago, I was brought to this luxurious estate along with a hundred other young women from all corners of the country. That day, Damian Blackwood had announced his terms to all of us: the first woman to give him a child would walk away with one billion dollars.

And so, the race began. Pills, acupuncture, desperate prayers to any god who would listen… every trick in the book was tried, but no one got pregnant.

Until a month later, when the plainest of us all, a quiet girl named Jenna, suddenly announced she was expecting. Damian was ecstatic. He showered her with attention, a constant stream of jewels and fine things delivered to her room.

Over the next month, nine more canaries fell pregnant.

I was the last one to sleep with Damian. And it only happened because he was drunk, stumbled into the wrong room, and took me in a hazy stupor. I thought my chances were zero. But to my shock, the next month, I too tested positive.

Just as all the expectant mothers were praying for a smooth delivery, Jenna gave birth. It was a boy. Everyone envied her, believing the billion dollars was as good as hers.

Instead, her arms and legs were severed on the spot, and she was buried alive with her child.

The reason? Infidelity. The child wasn't Damian’s.

One by one, the other women gave birth. And one by one, they were accused of cheating, of borrowing another man’s seed, and were met with the same brutal end.

At first, I didn’t understand how Damian found out.

Not until my own labor began.

Damian stood guard outside the door himself, flanked by doctors and his personal security. The moment a child was born, a paternity test was performed. The first ten canaries failed that test, and their sentences were carried out immediately.

It was true they had risked everything, getting pregnant by other men for the money. But I hadn't!

So why did I give birth to five kittens?

Right now, Damian Blackwood and his entourage were waiting just outside my door.

What could I do? The other women at least had a baby that could be tested. But I had a litter of tiny, fluffy kittens. The second Damian saw them, he would have us all ground to dust.

As panic consumed me, Damian's cold voice cut through the door.

“What’s with the silence in there?”

His urgent footsteps approached…