Page 25 of Claimed and Bred By the Bratva

When Zara finally decides to investigate IVF to have the baby she's always wanted, I strike with surgical precision.

One forged signature. One substituted sample. One perfect deception.

Now the woman who thinks she's carrying a stranger's child is growing my heir. I'm exactly where I want to be—close enough to protect what's mine, patient enough to let her fall for menaturally, ruthless enough to eliminate anyone who threatens our future.

ZARA

I've always dreamed of being a mother, but dreams don't pay for fertility treatments. Working double shifts at the coffee shop barely covers rent, let alone the thousands I need for IVF. Then suddenly, everything changes—an anonymous benefactor covers my entire treatment, and I'm finally getting the family I've always wanted.

The timing couldn't be more perfect. I'm two months from graduation. I'm pregnant with the baby I've dreamed of, and I've met someone incredible. Nikolai is everything I never knew I needed—protective, generous, and patient with my chaotic life. He appeared right when I needed him most, like some kind of guardian angel.

I should have known angels don't come with neck tattoos and hands that have clearly seen violence.

I should have questioned the coincidences, the perfect timing, the way he always knows exactly what I need before I ask.

But when you're drowning, you don't question the lifeline. You grab on and hold tight.

Now I'm living a fairy tale—financial security, a loving partner, and a baby growing inside me. I have everything I've ever wanted.

Until I discover that my mysterious benefactor and perfect boyfriend are the same man.

"Sometimes the best gifts come wrapped in beautiful lies."