The Billionaire’s Sister

Part 1: The Hospital Encounter

Chapter 1: The Waiting Room

The fluorescent lights of the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City hummed with a low, headache-inducing frequency. I, Maya Lin, sat in the plastic chair of the OB-GYN waiting room, clutching a worn-out purse that contained my entire life: a phone with a cracked screen, a bottle of prenatal vitamins, and a bank card with exactly forty-two dollars on it.

I was seven months pregnant. I was alone. And I was terrified.

The clinic was crowded. Women with husbands, women with mothers, women with joy radiating from their faces. I pulled my oversized thrift-store coat tighter around me, trying to hide the bump. I wasn’t ashamed of my baby. I was ashamed of the world I was bringing him into.

“Maya Lin?” a nurse called out.

“Here,” I whispered, struggling to stand up. My back ached constantly these days.

“Dr. Evans is running about thirty minutes late,” the nurse said apologetically. “Emergency C-section. You can wait here or grab a water.”

“I’ll wait,” I said. I couldn’t afford the cafeteria water.

I sat back down. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the sterile smell of antiseptic.

Then, the automatic doors slid open.

The atmosphere in the room shifted. You know when money walks into a room. It changes the air pressure. It smells of expensive cologne and entitlement.

I opened my eyes.

And my heart stopped.

Walking toward the reception desk was a man I had spent six months trying to forget. A man whose face was etched into my soul.

Liam Sterling.

He was thirty-two, the CEO of Sterling Tech, and currently number ten on the Forbes list. He was wearing a charcoal suit that fit him like a second skin. His dark hair was perfectly styled, his jawline sharp enough to cut glass.

He looked exactly the same as the last time I saw him—the night I ran away from his penthouse without saying goodbye.

But he wasn’t alone.

Clinging to his arm was a woman.

She was stunning. Tall, blonde, dressed in a cream cashmere dress that screamed “old money.” She was glowing. And she was visibly, undeniably pregnant.

My stomach dropped to the floor.

He moved on, I thought, a wave of nausea washing over me. Of course he did. It’s been six months. He found someone suitable. Someone from his world.

I shrank into my coat. I pulled my scarf up over my nose. Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.

Liam was talking to the receptionist. He looked serious, protective. He kept glancing at the blonde woman, ensuring she was comfortable.

“We have an appointment for Ms. Sterling,” I heard him say. His voice was deep, smooth—the voice that used to whisper promises in my ear.

Ms. Sterling? They were already married?

I felt tears prick my eyes. I had to leave. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t watch the father of my child fuss over another woman carrying his “legitimate” heir.

I stood up, intending to bolt for the exit.

But I was clumsy. My foot caught the leg of the chair. I stumbled. My purse fell, spilling its contents across the linoleum floor. Keys, lipstick, loose change… and the ultrasound photo I carried everywhere.

The noise drew attention.

Liam turned.

He saw the mess. He saw the woman scrambling to pick it up.

And then, he saw my eyes.

Chapter 2: The Envelope

Time froze.

Liam’s face went blank. The color drained from his cheeks.

“Maya?” he whispered. The word carried across the quiet room.

I grabbed the ultrasound photo, shoving it into my pocket before he could see it. I scrambled to my feet.

“I have to go,” I muttered, turning toward the door.

But the blonde woman was faster.

She let go of Liam’s arm. She waddled toward me with surprising speed for someone in her third trimester. She blocked my path.

She looked at me. She looked at my cheap coat. She looked at my terrified face.

Then, she did something insane.

She reached into her Hermes bag. She pulled out a thick white envelope.

“Here,” she said, shoving it into my hand.

“What?” I blinked, confused.

“Take it,” she commanded. Her voice wasn’t mean. It was urgent. “There’s ten thousand dollars in there. Cash.”

“I… I don’t understand,” I stammered. “Who are you?”

“Don’t ask questions,” she hissed, glancing back at Liam, who was walking toward us like a man in a trance. “Just take it. You look like you need it. And honestly? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“Why are you giving me money?” I asked, backing away. “Is this… is this hush money? Did he tell you about me?”

The woman laughed. It was a loud, barking laugh that didn’t fit her elegant appearance.

“He doesn’t talk about anything,” she said. “He’s an emotional vault. But I know who you are. I saw the photo in his safe.”

“Photo?”

“The one he stares at when he thinks no one is looking,” she rolled her eyes. “God, he’s dramatic.”

Liam reached us. He looked at the woman, then at me.

“Chloe,” Liam said, his voice warning. “What are you doing?”

“I’m engaging in philanthropy, Liam,” the woman, Chloe, said. “She looks hungry.”

“Maya,” Liam ignored her. He reached for my arm. “Maya, wait. Please.”

I flinched away from his touch. “Don’t touch me, Liam. Go back to your wife.”

Liam frowned. “Wife?”

Chloe burst out laughing again. She grabbed Liam’s arm and shook him.

“She thinks I’m your wife! Oh, this is rich. This is priceless.”

“I’m not his wife, honey,” Chloe said to me, wiping a tear from her eye. “I’m his sister.”

Chapter 3: The Truth in the Hallway

I stopped. The world stopped spinning for a second.

“Sister?” I whispered.

“Twin sister, actually,” Chloe said, pointing to her nose. “Can’t you see the resemblance? We both have the same arrogant chin.”

I looked at Liam. I looked at Chloe. The eyes were the same. The jawline… yes.

“But… you said ‘Ms. Sterling’,” I said.

“I kept my maiden name,” Chloe shrugged. “My husband is a nobody. I like the brand.”

Relief washed over me so powerful I almost collapsed again. He wasn’t married. He wasn’t having a baby with someone else.

But then, the fear returned.

He was here. And I was pregnant. And I was hiding it under a coat that was suddenly feeling very warm.

“Maya,” Liam said, stepping closer. “Why did you run? Six months ago. You just… vanished. I looked for you. I hired investigators.”

“I couldn’t stay,” I said, looking at the floor. “Your mother…”

Liam’s expression darkened. “What did Victoria do?”

“She came to see me,” I whispered. “The day before I left. She told me… she told me I was a distraction. She offered me money to leave. I didn’t take it, Liam. I swear. But she said… she said if I stayed, she would ruin your merger. She said I was the reason the stock was dropping.”

“She lied,” Liam said, his voice cold as ice. “She manipulated you.”

“I didn’t want to ruin you,” I said. “I loved you too much to be your downfall.”

“You were never my downfall,” Liam said fiercely. “You were the only real thing in my life.”

He reached out and took my hand. His grip was firm, desperate.

“Come with me,” he said. “We need to talk. Not here.”

“I have an appointment,” I said weakly.

“Cancel it,” Liam said. “I’ll buy the hospital if I have to. Just… talk to me.”

“Liam, stop,” Chloe interjected. She was looking at me closely. She was looking at my midsection.

The coat had slipped open slightly.

Chloe’s eyes went wide. She looked at my belly. She looked at the ultrasound photo that was sticking out of my pocket—the one I had dropped earlier.

She snatched the photo before I could stop her.

“Hey!” I shouted.

Chloe looked at the picture. She looked at the date.

“Seven months,” Chloe whispered. She looked at Liam. “Liam. Do the math.”

Liam looked at the photo. He looked at me.

He saw the bump.

The silence in the hallway was deafening.

“Maya?” Liam’s voice was barely a breath. “Is that…”

I closed my eyes. There was no hiding it now.

“Yes,” I said. “It’s yours.”

Chapter 4: The Billionaire’s Reaction

I expected anger. I expected him to ask why I hid it. I expected him to call his lawyers.

I didn’t expect him to fall.

Liam Sterling, the man who stared down boardrooms and hostile takeovers, dropped to his knees on the hospital floor. He didn’t care about his suit. He didn’t care about the people staring.

He wrapped his arms around my waist. He pressed his face against my coat, right over the baby.

“A baby,” he sobbed.

He was crying. Shoulders shaking, silent, racking sobs.

“Liam?” I touched his hair, shocked.

“I thought I lost you,” he choked out. “And now… you gave me this?”

“I was scared,” I said, tears streaming down my face. “I thought you wouldn’t want it. Your mother said…”

“My mother knows nothing!” Liam looked up. His eyes were red, fierce. “This is my child. You are my family. Nothing else matters.”

Chloe sniffled loudly. “Okay, this is very touching, but can we get off the floor? People are filming.”

Liam stood up. He looked different. The cold CEO mask was gone. He looked… alive.

“We’re leaving,” Liam said. “I’m taking you home.”

“I don’t have a home,” I admitted. “I was evicted last week.”

Liam’s jaw tightened. “You have a home. You have a penthouse on 5th Avenue. And you have a country house in the Hamptons. Take your pick.”

“Liam, I can’t just…”

“You are carrying my heir,” Liam said. “And you are the woman I love. You are coming with me.”

He turned to Chloe.

“Can you handle Mom?”

Chloe grinned. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy handling Mom. She’s going to have a stroke when she finds out she’s a grandmother to a ‘commoner’s’ baby.”

“Here,” I held out the envelope Chloe had given me. “Take this back. I don’t need it now.”

Chloe pushed my hand away. “Keep it. Buy the baby something ridiculous. Or buy yourself a new coat. That one is hideous.”

I laughed. It was a wet, shaky laugh.

Liam put his arm around me. He held me like I was made of glass.

“Let’s go,” he said.

We walked out of the hospital. I left my fear in the waiting room.

But as we got into his limousine, I knew the battle wasn’t over. Victoria Sterling was still out there. And she wouldn’t let her son—or her grandchild—go without a fight.

Chapter 5: The Golden Cage

The penthouse was exactly as I remembered it. Cold, modern, expensive. But Liam changed the temperature the moment we walked in.

“I’m hiring a chef,” he said, pacing the living room. “And a nutritionist. And a masseuse. You need to rest.”

“Liam, I’m pregnant, not dying,” I said, sitting on the velvet sofa.

“You were evicted,” he said, his voice cracking. “You were alone. Eating… God knows what. While I was sitting here drinking scotch and feeling sorry for myself.”

He knelt in front of me again. He took my shoes off. He rubbed my swollen ankles.

“I am going to spend the rest of my life making this up to you,” he vowed.

“Just be here,” I said. “That’s all I need.”

“I’m here.”

For a week, it was paradise. Liam didn’t go to the office. He worked from the dining table. He watched me like a hawk.

Then, the doorbell rang.

It wasn’t the doorman. It was Victoria Sterling.

She breezed in past the security, looking impeccable in Chanel. She held a cane, though she didn’t need it. It was for pointing.

“So,” Victoria said, looking at me with disdain. “The stray cat came back.”

“Mother,” Liam stood up. “Be careful.”

“And she’s pregnant,” Victoria pointed the cane at my stomach. “How convenient. A trap baby.”

“It’s his,” I said calmly.

“Is it?” Victoria sneered. “Or is it some waiter’s? We need a paternity test. Immediately. Before you try to claim a cent of the trust.”

“We don’t need a test,” Liam said. “I trust her.”

“You are a fool, Liam!” Victoria shouted. “She wants your money! She left you, remember? She took the payoff I offered and ran!”

“I didn’t take a dime!” I shouted back. “You never offered money to leave. You threatened me!”

“Details,” Victoria waved her hand. “The point is, she is not suitable. And that child… if it is yours… we will take it. We will raise it properly. Away from her influence.”

I stood up, my protective instincts flaring. “You will never touch my child.”

“I have lawyers,” Victoria smiled cruelly. “I have judges. I can prove you are unfit. You were homeless, weren’t you? Unemployed? A danger to the child.”

I looked at Liam.

This was the test.

Liam looked at his mother. He looked at the woman who had controlled him his whole life.

“You’re right, Mother,” Liam said. “You have lawyers.”

Victoria smiled triumphantly. “Exactly.”

“But,” Liam continued, walking over to her. “I have something better.”

“What?”

“I have the leverage.”

Liam pulled out his phone.

“Chloe told me everything,” he said. “About the Cayman accounts. The ones you used to hide Dad’s pension fund. The ones you didn’t declare to the IRS.”

Victoria went pale. “Chloe… that little traitor.”

“If you try to touch Maya,” Liam said, his voice low and dangerous, “or my child… I will send the files to the FBI. You won’t see your grandchild. You’ll see the inside of a federal prison.”

Victoria stared at him. She saw the resolve in his eyes. She saw that she had lost him.

“You would send your own mother to jail?” she whispered.

“To protect my family?” Liam put his arm around me. “In a heartbeat.”

Victoria looked at us. She looked old suddenly. Defeated.

“Fine,” she spat. “Keep her. Keep the brat. But don’t expect me to knit booties.”

She turned and marched out.

Liam let out a long breath. He slumped against me.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I just fired my mother,” he said. “I feel… great.”

He kissed me.

“Now,” he said. “Let’s go buy a crib. A really expensive one.”

End of Part 1