Just A Vessel: The Surrogate's Escape

Alex POV

He didn’t break the door down.

Instead, the ultimatum arrived in silence the next morning—a heavy cream envelope slid beneath the wood.

*The Twins' Birthday Gala is Saturday. You will organize it. You will attend. You will smile. If you embarrass me in front of the Families, I will burn that bakery on Elm Street to the ground with you inside it.*

It wasn't a request. It was a royal decree.

I stared at the paper for a long time before I finally turned the handle.

I opened the door.

I emerged, pale and thin, looking like a ghost haunting the corridors of my own life.

And I did as I was told. I organized the Gala.

I ordered the flowers—white lilies, Iliana's favorite, stark and funereal against my own preferences.

I approved the menu. I hired the orchestra.

But then I noticed the date on the invitation.

*Celebrating the 6th Birthday of the Heirs & The Birthday of Iliana Dudley.*

He was combining them.

He was publicly elevating her to the same pedestal as his children. He was placing her on the throne.

The night of the Gala, the estate grounds were transformed into a wonderland of lights and silk, a glittering mask over the brutality beneath.

The entire underworld elite was there. The Russos, the Gambinos, the Yakuza representatives.

I wore a simple black dress. High neck, long sleeves. It was mourning attire in everything but name.

Gavyn stood at the entrance, Iliana on his arm.

She wore red. A plunging neckline, diamonds dripping from her ears. She looked like a queen surveying her conquest.

I stood in the shadows near the kitchen entrance, making myself small while checking the catering staff.

"Champagne, Mrs. Dunlap?" a waiter asked, pity in his eyes.

"Water," I said softly.

I watched from a distance as Iliana held court. She laughed, touching Gavyn's arm, stroking Kennith's hair with a possessiveness that made my stomach turn.

The guests whispered behind raised flutes.

"Is that the ex?"

"She's back in the picture?"

"What about the wife?"

"Look at her. She's fading away. Poor thing."

I felt a hand on my arm.

It was Iliana.

She had cornered me on the lakeside terrace, away from the crowd and the prying eyes.

"You did a wonderful job, Alex," she said, swirling her wine. "The flowers are exquisite. You really do have a talent for... service."

"Enjoy it while it lasts, Iliana," I said quietly.

"Oh, it will last." She stepped closer, her perfume cloying and sweet. "Gavyn is bored of you. You're too... vanilla. He needs a woman who understands the darkness. Like me."

"He needs a therapist," I said. "And you need a conscience."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You think you're clever? You're nothing. You were a rental."

She looked down at her wrist. She was wearing a diamond bracelet Gavyn had given me for our first anniversary. He must have taken it from my jewelry box.

"Nice bracelet," I said, my voice hollow.

Iliana smiled, a wicked, jagged thing.

"Oops," she said.

She unclasped the bracelet and flung it over the stone railing.

It splashed into the dark, freezing water of the lake below.

"My bracelet!" she screamed, her voice shrill and theatrical. "Help! She threw my bracelet!"

The chatter on the lawn stopped instantly.

Gavyn appeared seconds later, flanked by security.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Alex!" Iliana sobbed, pointing a shaking finger at me. "She ripped it off my wrist! She said if she couldn't have it, no one could! She threw it in the lake!"

I stood still. I didn't defend myself. What was the point?

Gavyn looked at me. His eyes were black holes, void of any recognition.

"Did you do this?"

"Check the cameras," I said.

"I saw it!" Kennith shouted, running up. "I saw Mommy—I mean, Alex—throw it! She's mean!"

"Me too!" Kaelynn chimed in. "She's a witch!"

My own children.

Bearing false witness against me to please the new queen.

Gavyn didn't ask for the security footage.

He looked at the lake, then at me.

"That bracelet cost fifty thousand dollars," he said.

"It was mine," I said. "You gave it to me."

"It belongs to the Family," he corrected icily. "And you just threw Family property away."

He pointed to the lake.

"Get it."

The air went silent.

"Gavyn," I whispered. "It's November. The water is freezing."

"You threw it. You fetch it."

He crossed his arms.

"Go. Or I let the guards throw you in."