促銷資訊載入中...
Sold to the Don as a Sacrifice, Claimed by His Baby as Mama
Novelix
已完結
They offered me $100,000 to nanny the Ashford heir. I should've asked why the last six girls never came back.The moment I signed, they tied me to an altar and called me the sacrifice. Then a voice exp...
章節（6）
第1章
The Ashford family put out a hundred grand for someone to look after their baby.
I thought God finally threw me a bone.
Then I walked in and found out every nanny before me was dead.
I wasn't the replacement.
I was the next sacrifice.
A dagger's at my chest and I'm about to die when this whiny little voice explodes inside my head.
【Ugh, why are they killing her? She's not even supposed to die for like sixty more years!】
I grab onto that like it's my last breath on earth.
I snatch up the baby's pudgy little hand and start rubbing it, sweet as I can manage with a blade at my heart.
"Oh wise and powerful little one. You clearly know everything. Any chance you could peek at my love life? Maybe my future?"
His tiny mouth scrunches up.
【Fine, I looked. You're gonna marry some crazy powerful guy. Stupid rich. Runs this whole city. And you'll have a genius kid. The dad's last name is...】
He stops.
His eyes go wide, locked on something behind me.
I turn.
A man is walking toward us across the courtyard. Black suit. Cold face. The kind of guy who makes the whole room shut up just by showing up.
My heart is pounding so hard I can barely think. I push my luck.
"And the son? Who's the son?"
The baby squeezes his eyes shut. Like he's in actual pain.
Then his little mouth opens, soft and helpless:
"...Mama."
A dagger is pressed against my chest, and I finally get it.
The Ashford family didn't pay a hundred grand for a nanny.
They paid for a body.
Mine.
An hour ago I walked into the Ashford Estate looking for a job.
Mrs. Kovac didn't ask if I knew anything about babies. She asked if I had family.
When I told her my parents were dead and I didn't know a single person in this city, she pulled out a contract on the spot. A hundred thousand dollars.
Six nannies before me, all dead. Nobody else would take the gig.
But I had nothing. No money, no roof, no one. So I signed.
The second I walked through the gates, they grabbed me.
Tied my hands behind my back. Dragged me down to the chapel beneath the estate.
Kovac ripped my contract in half right in front of my face.
She was smiling the whole time.
"An orphan with nobody," she said. "No one's even gonna report you missing."
"Once you're gone, the whole city's gonna believe it. The kid's cursed. Everyone who gets close to him dies."
So the money was never a paycheck.
It was bait.
I keep my face blank.
Behind my back, I slide the silver pin out of my sleeve and start sawing at the rope.
Slow. Quiet. So nobody sees.
I don't know if I'm getting out of here.
But I am not kneeling here waiting to die.
Father Voss stands over me in black robes, silver dagger already drawn.
He reads something in Latin. Loud and dramatic, playing it up for the men along the wall.
Then he lifts the blade over my heart.
"This woman's soul is pure light," he announces. "She gives herself as a vessel to draw the shadow of death from the child."
He tightens his grip.
And drives it down.
【STOP!】
A voice. Tiny and furious. It rips through my head like a fire alarm.
【She's got like sixty years left! You kill her now, do you know how bad that's gonna screw me?! I'm trying to earn my way back upstairs and you morons are tanking my score!】
Everything in me freezes.
Who the hell is that?
I whip my head around.
Voss is still coming at me. Kovac is grinning. The altar boys don't even flinch.
Nobody heard it.
【Hello?! Stop looking around! I'm RIGHT HERE!】
My eyes snap to the bassinet beside the altar.
A baby. Six months old, maybe. Pink cheeks. Big dark eyes.
His mouth isn't moving. Not a sound.
But he's staring dead at me.
Every hair on my body stands up.
I've lost my mind. I'm hearing a baby talk inside my head.
The baby kicks both legs like he's throwing a fit.
【Are you SERIOUS right now?!】
【Your pin's almost through the rope! MOVE or you're gonna get stabbed! Come ON, lady!】
My heart slams.
How does he know about the pin? It's behind my back. There's no way he can see it from that bassinet.
I stare at him.
He stares right back.
Chubby little face all scrunched up, looking at me like I'm the dumbest person he's ever met.
【I'm Azrael, okay?! Angel of Death! I know when people are about to die and right now that's YOU! So MOVE!】
This is real.
This is actually happening.
I can hear this baby's thoughts.
And he says he's the Angel of Death.
第2章
No time to think about any of that.
Voss lunges. His blade tears through my collar.
And right at that second, the rope snaps.
I throw myself sideways.
The dagger catches my shoulder instead of my heart. Blood soaks through my sleeve, hot and fast.
Voss's face twists. "Get her!"
Two of his guys rush me.
I rip the loose rope off my wrists and whip it across the first one's face. He stumbles back, grabbing his eyes. I snatch a short blade off the altar and slash at the second one. He scrambles away.
"Don't let her near the child!" Kovac shrieks.
Too late.
I'm already at the bassinet. I scoop the baby up and press him against my chest.
"Nobody moves!"
He doesn't cry. Doesn't fight me. Two pudgy fists grab my shirt and hold on tight.
His voice hits me again, fast and urgent.
【The bell! Hit the bell!】
【My idiot dad just got home! Get him down here NOW!】
I follow his eyes.
There's a heavy iron bell on a post near the edge of the altar. Old. Massive. The kind you hear three blocks away.
I run for it with the baby locked against me and slam the blade into iron with everything I've got.
CLANG.
The sound tears through the courtyard.
Kovac goes white. "Stop her! Somebody stop her!"
Two of Voss's guys charge me.
I swing backhanded.
CLANG.
Second ring. This one carries over the walls.
Footsteps. Running hard. From the front of the estate.
Something ugly flickers across Voss's face.
"Kill her." Quiet. Calm. Like he's crossing a name off a list. "Both of them. Before Ashford gets here."
Every man in the room pulls a weapon.
I back up against the bell post. One arm around the baby. One hand on a blade that suddenly feels like a toy.
The kid who was calling himself a deity ten seconds ago is shaking against my chest.
【Put me down! Run!】
【They want me, not you! GO!】
I hold him tighter.
"Shut up."
"You think I'm gonna drop a baby and save myself?"
He goes still.
Voss steps through his men. Dagger up. Eyes flat and patient, like a man who does this for a living.
"Then you die together."
He brings the blade down.
I can't dodge. Not with the baby. So I do the only thing I can.
I turn around. Curl my whole body over him. Cover him with everything I am.
A gunshot splits the air.
BANG.
Voss's dagger flies out of his hand and skids across the stone.
The chapel doors blow off their hinges.
A man walks through the smoke.
Black three-piece suit. A face that could freeze hell over. Pistol raised, barrel still smoking.
He sees the blood on my shoulder. Then the baby pressed against my chest.
The room goes dead silent. Nobody breathes. Nobody moves.
Kael Ashford lowers the gun.
"I was gone half a day."
His voice is quiet. Almost soft. That's what makes it terrifying.
"So who wants to tell me why there's blood on my floor?"
第3章
Every man in the room drops to his knees.
The baby sees Kael and reaches both arms toward me.
【Pick me up! Pick me up!】
【This moron's been gone half a day and the whole place almost burned down!】
So this is Kael Ashford. The Don of the Ashford family. The baby's father. At least on paper.
Voss gets his story out first.
"Mr. Ashford, this woman came out of nowhere. Grabbed the child, attacked my men. She's here to make a move on the family."
Kovac jumps right in.
"We never hired her! She broke in on her own!"
My stomach drops.
The contract is already in shreds on the floor. Every person in this room works for them.
I have no way to prove I was brought here.
The guards close in around me, guns drawn.
Kael looks at me.
"Drop it."
I'm still gripping the silver pin. It's nothing against a room full of guns, but it's all I've got.
Let go of this, and what's stopping Voss from finishing what he started?
The baby's voice cuts through my head, fast and urgent.
【Just do it! He's dumb but he's not gonna shoot you!】
I grit my teeth and let the pin fall.
Kael walks up to me and holds out his hands.
"Give me the boy."
I hand Ezri over.
The second he lands in Kael's arms, the kid twists around and grabs my shirt with both fists. Won't let go.
Kael looks down at him. Then at the blood still running down my shoulder.
Voss opens his mouth again.
"Sir, this woman is dangerous and she can't be—"
"When I walked in," Kael cuts him off, voice flat and cold, "you had a dagger at her back."
"If she wanted to hurt the boy, she wouldn't have turned around and used her own body to cover him."
Voss's face twitches.
Kael turns to me.
"What happened."
"They lured me in with a job. A hundred grand to look after the baby. The second I signed, Kovac tied me up, dragged me down here, and told me I was the sacrifice."
I look straight at Kovac.
"She's the one who ripped up my contract."
Kovac's voice goes shrill. "She's lying!"
"Then pull the security footage," I say. "Check who came through the gates today. Who signed what. Easy enough to verify."
I turn to Voss.
"If I came here to hurt the kid, why would I ring the bell and bring Ashford running?"
"When the blade came down, I could've used the baby as a shield. I didn't. I covered him with my own body."
Voss has nothing.
Kael's eyes drop to the blood soaking through my sleeve.
His face goes very, very still.
第4章
Voss pulls a document from inside his coat. Heavy paper. Official seal. Signatures across the bottom.
"I'm here on Commission orders," he says. "Everything I did today was to protect this family."
Kael doesn't even look at the paper.
"They sent you to bless the house. Not to kill people in it."
His voice could freeze the air.
"I'll be taking this up with the Commission myself."
"Now get out."
Voss grips the document tight. His eyes slide over to me. Slow. Cold. The kind of look that says this isn't over.
"You're protecting her today, Mr. Ashford."
"I hope you don't regret it."
He turns and walks out. His men follow.
Kovac tries to slip out behind them.
"I told him to leave," Kael says without turning around. "I didn't say a word about you."
Two guards slam Kovac face-first into the floor before she gets another step.
She's white as a sheet.
"Please! I was only following Father Voss's orders!"
"Take her downstairs."
He doesn't wait for the rest. Kovac's screaming as they drag her out.
Then he turns to me, the baby still in his arms.
"Name."
"Isla Morrow."
"Until I've verified who you are, you don't leave this estate."
The knot in my chest that had just started to loosen pulls right back.
"You still think I'm a threat?"
"I believe what I can confirm."
He glances down at Ezri, who's still got a death grip on my sleeve.
"Starting today, you stay in the east wing and take care of him. You don't step off this property without my say-so."
That's not a job offer.
That's house arrest with a nicer room.
But I'm surrounded by his men. I don't have a better play.
"...Fine."
They escort us to the east wing. The second the door closes, I shove the window open.
That look Voss gave me on the way out is still crawling up my spine. Kael's only keeping me alive because the baby's okay. Next time Voss sets a trap, I might not walk away.
Leave now, or stay here and wait to die?
A fat little hand grabs my sleeve.
【Hey! Where do you think you're going!】
I turn around.
Ezri is trying to climb out of his crib. Both legs tangled in the blanket, stuck halfway over the rail, wiggling like a turtle on its back.
【I just saved your life and you're already ditching me?!】
"You've got Ashford watching over you. I've got nobody."
【I'll watch over you!】
I look at the tiny creature currently losing a fight with a blanket.
"Climb out of the crib first. Then we'll talk."
His face turns bright red.
I turn back toward the window. His grip on my sleeve goes tight. When he speaks again, his voice is small.
【You're the only person who can hear me.】
【All the nannies before you died. If you leave and someone comes for me again, I won't even have anyone to call for help.】
My feet stop.
"...Alright. Then let's make a deal."
"You spot the danger. I keep you alive. We figure out who's behind all this, collect the payout, and then we go our separate ways."
He puffs his little chest out immediately.
【A mere mortal. Bargaining with the Angel of Death. You've got nerve.】
"You're really the Angel of Death?"
【I can tell good people from bad. I can sense when someone wants to kill. I know when danger's coming.】
"Can you do any actual magic?"
He looks away. Suddenly very interested in the wall.
【I am... temporarily stuck in a mortal body. That's all.】
I bite back a smile.
"Then how about you read my fortune? You can do that much, right?"
He makes a big show of pinching his chubby fingers together and squinting at nothing.
【You're gonna marry a super powerful man. Like, runs-the-whole-city powerful. And you'll have a genius kid. The husband's last name is...】
The door opens.
Kael is standing in the doorway.
Ezri's voice cuts off like someone hit mute.
I look at Kael. Then back at the baby. And push my luck.
"And the son? Who's the son?"
Ezri squeezes his eyes shut like he wants to disappear.
Then he reaches both arms toward me, and his little mouth opens, and out comes one word, soft and clear:
"...Mama."
Dead silence.
It's the first word this child has ever spoken.
Kael is staring at me like I just pulled a miracle out of thin air.
第5章
That one little word saves my life.
"Mama."
Kael tells me I'm staying.
Five grand a month. Keep the boy safe, and there's an apartment downtown with my name on it.
I grab Ezri and hug him so tight he squeaks.
"You have my word, Mr. Ashford. From today on, me and this baby are a package deal."
Ezri scrunches his nose.
【Wow. Sold out just like that. Mortals really will do anything for money.】
Says the guy whose arms are wrapped around my neck like a little koala who won't let go.
That evening, I discover that Kael Ashford — the most feared Don in New York — has absolutely no idea how to feed a baby.
He scoops up a massive spoonful of baby cereal and aims it straight at Ezri's mouth like he's loading a catapult.
Ezri doesn't dodge fast enough. Half of it smears across his cheek.
【EXCUSE ME?!】
【Are you TRYING to kill me?! What is WRONG with you?!】
Kael can't hear any of that. All he sees is a baby with his lips sealed shut, refusing to eat.
"Open your mouth."
【Make me!】
I snatch the bowl out of his hands. "That's not how you feed a baby."
"The family doctor showed me how."
"Your family doctor taught you how to feed a grown man, not an infant."
I scoop up half a spoonful, blow on it, and hold it up to Ezri's lips.
He opens his mouth with the most offended look I've ever seen on a six-month-old.
【I'm only eating this because SHE made it. Don't get it twisted.】
One bite. Two bites.
The bowl's empty in three minutes.
Kael stares at the empty bowl like it just betrayed him.
"...Do that again."
Here's the thing about Kael. Ezri isn't really his son.
The boy's real father was Kael's older brother. Killed in a turf war two years ago. The mother didn't survive the birth.
Kael took the baby in. Put him under his own name. Told the world this was his kid.
He loves this boy. He just has no clue how to show it.
After the cereal I pull out a little silver rattle and shake it at Ezri.
【Oh PLEASE. This is so beneath me.】
I shake it left. His head follows.
I shake it right. His eyes track it.
I stop.
Both pudgy hands shoot out to grab it.
【I am conducting a scientific investigation into why it makes that sound! That's ALL!】
I'm laughing so hard I can barely sit up.
Ezri gets mad and tries to chuck the rattle at my face.
Except he's got zero arm strength. The rattle drops on his own foot and he jumps so hard he almost rolls off the cushion.
The corner of Kael's mouth lifts. Just barely.
I catch it.
"Was that a smile?"
His face goes flat. "No."
Ezri looks at him. Then at me. Then lets out this long, exhausted sigh.
【Like father like son. Both of them, hopeless.】
At dinner, Kael has the staff set an extra place at the table. Right next to him.
I look at the spread. Then at him.
"I'm just the nanny."
"Ezri only eats when you're the one feeding him. He trusts you. That's good enough for me."
His voice drops half a notch. "Sit."
Something warm shifts in my chest. I sit.
The door slams open.
"Kael! I heard you were back!"
A woman sweeps in with two assistants behind her. Red-soled heels. Chanel jacket. Hair blown out like she's walking into a charity gala, not a dining room.
Serena Langley. Kael's cousin. And according to every person in this household, the future Mrs. Ashford.
She's all smiles when she walks in. Then she sees me sitting at the table and the smile drops off her face like a mask.
"Who the hell is this?"
She takes in my plain clothes. The baby cereal stain on my sleeve. Her upper lip curls.
"The nanny is eating at the table now?"
She flicks her fingers at me like I'm a stain on the furniture.
"Get out. The grown-ups are eating."
第6章
I set down my fork, nice and calm.
"Mr. Ashford told me to sit here and take care of Ezri. Where I sit is his call, not yours."
Serena walks up to the table, eyes narrowed.
"He feels sorry for you one time, and suddenly you think you can use his name to talk down to me?"
She looks me up and down. Doesn't bother hiding the disgust.
"Do you even know what you are? Some nobody off the street playing nanny. You really think just because the baby likes you, you're somebody now? You think you're gonna Cinderella your way into this family?"
Ezri's little face goes tight. He slams his palm on the table.
【Who let this loud mouth in here?!】
【Shut UP, lady! You're giving me a headache!】
He slaps the table so hard his whole body tips sideways. He's about half a second from face-planting into the mashed potatoes.
I catch him just in time.
He straightens up like nothing happened. Clears his throat. Puts on his serious face.
Sure, buddy. Very dignified.
Serena watches him cling to me, and her expression gets even uglier.
"Ezri has never let a stranger hold him. What did you do to him? What kind of tricks are you playing?"
She reaches for him.
Ezri whips around, wraps both arms around my neck, and buries his face in my chest.
"Ezri, sweetheart. It's your Auntie Serena."
She grabs at him harder.
"Come on, let Auntie hold you."
Ezri's had enough. He shoves her face away with one fat little hand, turns to me, and wails:
"Mama!"
Serena's hand freezes in midair.
I bite down on a laugh and shift Ezri back into my arms.
"Looks like he's not really in the mood."
"Don't get cute with me!"
Serena's face goes red.
"He's a baby! He doesn't know any better! Of course he's going to fall for some conniving little gold digger who bats her eyes at him all day!"
"Kael's mother personally picked me to marry into this family. The second I walk through that door as his wife, the first rule I'm making is that no random woman off the street gets anywhere near this child!"
I tilt my head.
"Oh, you're already his wife?"
Serena lifts her chin. "Obviously."
"That's funny. I've been here for days now, and Kael hasn't mentioned an engagement once."
The smugness on her face cracks.
I keep going.
"No ring. No date. No announcement. But here you are, marching into his house, making rules like you own the place."
"People who know you might say you're childhood sweethearts. People who don't might think the Langley girl can't find a husband, so she's showing up uninvited trying to claim the position."
The staff around the room suddenly find the floor very interesting. A couple of shoulders are shaking.
Serena's face goes from red to purple.
"You little bitch. You think you can talk to me like that?"
"I'm just stating facts."
"You—"
She snaps.
Her hand comes flying at my face.