Chapter 22: The Claim

**Bael’s POV**

Bael had investigated him after that first night.

Of course he had.

The omega who’d approached him at Eclipse Bar, drunk and reckless, eyes dark with something that looked like self-destruction, who’d followed him back to the hotel, desperate and willing as Bael fucked him over and over.

Bael had needed to know who he was, what he wanted, if this was a setup.

The report came back within hours.

Li Runze, twenty-two years old, Omega, third son of the Li family.

Feifei’s younger brother.

The connection had been... inconvenient.

Bael had already agreed to the engagement by then, already signed preliminary partnership agreements, the wedding was being planned, merger discussions underway, everything set in motion.

And he’d fucked his future wife’s brother.

Wonderful.

The investigator’s report had been thorough, the architecture student, dropped out third year, three years of tuition wasted, string of arrests over six months for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, fighting. Tabloid photos with headlines like "Li Family’s Wayward Son."

No documented romantic relationships, no history of heat partners.

Virgin before that night, according to the records Bael’s investigator had accessed through channels that weren’t exactly legal.

Which meant the tightness, the shock of pain that dissolved into pleasure, the way Runze had trembled and gasped when Bael first knotted him...all of it made sense.

After their second encounter at Eclipse Bar, after Bael had threatened him and fastened the watch around his wrist, he’d ordered a more detailed investigation.

The results confirmed it: Runze had never spent the night with anyone before that hotel room, no previous sexual partners, no history of promiscuity despite the tabloid narrative.

That first night had been his only encounter before Bael.

And after? The engagement party bathroom, the heat at Bael’s estate, both times Bael had taken him, knotted him, and filled him.

But the conception...that had been the hotel five weeks ago.

The timeline was precise and undeniable, the child was his.

Bael’s eyes stayed locked on Runze kneeling on the floor, blood dried on his face, tears streaking through the grime. Even beaten, even terrified, Runze hadn’t given them Bael’s name.

He’d kept silent even while his mother kicked him, screamed at him, and demanded answers.

Obedient.

The kind of omega who knew when to keep his mouth shut, who understood consequences, who would do what he was told.

Useful.

A shame Bael was about to ruin all that discretion.

If Runze had been smarter, he would have come to Bael the moment he found out, before his family discovered it. Bael could have hidden him away somewhere discreet, paid for private care, kept everything quiet until after the birth.

Clean and simple, no complications.

But this...

This actually worked better.

His father’s will sat in Bael’s mind like a contract carved in stone, every clause memorized from years of legal review.

*Wuchen Bael must marry and produce a legitimate heir before his thirtieth birthday, or controlling interest in Wuchen Group will transfer to his uncle, Wuchen Ming.*

Bael was twenty-eight years old, he would turn twenty-nine in exactly two months.

The engagement to Feifei had been arranged specifically for this, the wedding date chosen to coincide with his birthday. Marry her, then handle conception through medical means...clinical insemination, no intimacy required. Produce an heir within the year.

It was practical. A business arrangement that would satisfy his father’s requirements and secure his inheritance.

Feifei understood what this was, an arranged marriage for strategic purposes. She knew it would be loveless, knew they’d maintain separate lives after the legal requirements were met, knew she’d have freedom to pursue her own interests as long as appearances were maintained.

The contract had been negotiated between Bael and Li Chen. Feifei had simply agreed to the terms.

It would have been... tolerable.

But now there was already an heir.

Already growing inside Runze, five weeks along according to those test results Li Chen had been reading.

Five weeks now meant birth in approximately seven and a half months.

Perfect timing.

Better than perfect, actually. The will required marriage and an heir by age thirty. With Runze already pregnant, Bael wouldn’t need to wait for conception after the wedding, the child would be born well before the deadline, with months to spare.

Far better than the original plan with Feifei...marry, then clinical conception, then nine months of waiting, that timeline would have been dangerously close to his thirtieth birthday.

This was already done.

The will didn’t specify which omega he had to marry.

And Runze was Feifei’s brother.

The family alliance would still hold. The Li family still needed Wuchen Group’s capital infusion to save their failing textile business. The partnership his grandmother had negotiated was contingent on marriage, yes...but switching which Li omega wouldn’t fundamentally change the arrangement.

If anything, it simplified matters.

No waiting, no clinical attempts at conception, no months of uncertainty.

The problem was already solved.

And in one month, Xue Lian would return.

Runze didn’t need to know about Xue Lian.

Nobody did.

Runze would be his legal spouse, the omega who carried his heir, a means to an end.

Nothing more.

A solution to a problem.

Bael studied Runze now, his hands shaking as he knelt there, eyes wide with terror, lips trembling.

The room was completely silent, everyone was waiting, watching Bael.

His grandmother had turned toward the door, ready to leave but Bael had stopped her. "We’re not leaving."

She stopped, turned back to look at him. "Bael, this isn’t our..."

"We’re not leaving," he said again.

Grandmother Wuchen frowned. "What are you doing?"

Bael didn’t answer her.

He kept his gaze locked on Runze, this was the opportunity right here, right now.

Announce paternity, marry Runze instead, fulfill the will, and keep the business.

Bael made his decision.

Then he spoke, voice calm and clear, cutting through the tension like a blade.

"I’m the father."

The words detonated.

Grandmother Wuchen went rigid beside him, her breath stopping entirely, her hand flew to her chest. "...What did you just say?"

Li Meifeng’s face went blank with shock, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly, she shook her head slowly, like she couldn’t process the words.

Li Chen stood frozen, his expression completely empty, like his brain had simply stopped working.

Feifei made a small, broken sound, her face crumpled, tears spilling over, but she didn’t move, didn’t speak, just stared at Bael like he’d become a stranger.

But Bael only looked at Runze.

Runze’s eyes were huge, panicked, his whole body trembling, his hands shook where they pressed against the floor.

Bael held his gaze steadily.

Let him see the decision had already been made.

Let him understand there was no taking this back.

"Tell them the truth, Runze," Bael said quietly, voice perfectly controlled. "You seduced me quite thoroughly that night. Isn’t that right?"