Chapter 4After Bearing the Alpha Billionaire’s Child, I Cried in Terror

My hand trembled, and the bowl crashed to the floor.

Martha shrieked and dove behind me. “Miss Monroe! The cats… they turned into people!”

I swallowed hard. “I see them.”

One moment, they were five balls of fluff. The next, five chubby human babies. Right now, all five of them were staring at me with wide, round eyes, repeating in their tiny, singsong voices, “Mama, hungry, eat-eat.”

Oh, God, are you trying to kill me with shock? Giving birth to kittens was one thing. But now the kittens were turning into babies?

“Martha! The door! Lock the door, now!” I practically threw myself at the door, fumbling with the lock. Then I took a deep breath and walked back to the cushion.

Hesitantly, I reached out and poked the cheek of the nearest baby.

It was soft.

Warm.

A real, living human.

“You… you can talk?” I asked in disbelief.

The baby I’d poked nodded vigorously and held out his little arms. “Mama, hold.”

The other four immediately started whining. “Mama, hungry, eat-eat.”

Oh, my God. Not only had they turned into people, but they could talk from birth? What in the world had I given birth to?!

After the shock wore off, a strange wave of maternal instinct washed over me. Looking at their adorable, chubby faces, my heart melted. I didn't care if they were cats, demons, or humans. They were my children now.

I snapped into action, picking them up one by one to nurse them. Perhaps because they were cats at their core, their appetites were small. They were all full in no time.

The following days were a whirlwind of chaotic baby care in the shed. The five little ones spent most of their time as cute, well-behaved infants. They only transformed back into kittens when they were scared, usually when I scolded them.

They grew at an astonishing rate, changing almost daily. Within two weeks, they could walk and even jump. I had warned them sternly never to leave our room, and they were obedient, so we avoided any close calls.

While life inside the shed was a peaceful bubble of secrecy, outside, the story of “Ava Monroe’s ten-month pregnancy that produced a giant turd” had become the joke of the entire city. The estate buzzed with mockery.

“Did you hear? That Ava Monroe was so desperate for money she was rubbing a belly full of crap and calling it her son!”

“I heard the doctor fainted from the smell! He was so traumatized he quit on the spot!”

“Now the whole city knows our estate has a woman who was pregnant with poop for ten months!”

“And get this, she’s gone crazy in that shed. People hear her talking to herself, calling out for her ‘babies’ all day!”

Martha would stomp her feet in anger whenever she heard the gossip, but I let it roll off my back.

What did they know? I had five shape-shifting, talking babies! Whatever their origin, their intelligence was clearly superior to that of any drooling, ordinary infant.

I even started to feel like it was a blessing in disguise. No more competing for favor, no more backstabbing. Life was a little poorer, but guarding my five precious secrets, it was also quite fulfilling.

The only downside was the shed’s terrible condition. It was cold and drafty, and our daily meals consisted of leftovers from the main house. For five growing babies, cold scraps were barely enough to fill their tiny stomachs.

One evening, I was staring at our empty bowls, wondering what to do, when I turned around and saw their cushion was empty!

All five babies were gone!