The Surrogate He Discarded

At the Aioryx Tower, Isobel entered Morgan’s office, her excitement barely contained as she unveiled the latest projects she had been working on.

It was a prototype and it captivated Morgan’s attention.

Isobel carefully lifted a stuffed puppy from a tote bag. She had been working on that in the quiet of her bedroom.

At first glance, it looked ordinary—a plush toy covered in rough, unfinished synthetic fur. Then it moved.

The puppy tilted its head curiously, its glassy eyes blinking with surprising realism. It barked softly, wagged its tail, and trotted across the table with movements so fluid and natural that it seemed alive.

”I’m pretty sure babies would love this,” Isobel said, unable to hide her enthusiasm. ”They get all the joy of having a fluffy pet without the risk of bites, scratches, or allergies.”

Morgan watched as the puppy responded to her voice, turning toward her when she called its name and sitting obediently when instructed. The prototype’s appearance was crude, clearly unfinished, but that wasn’t what fascinated him.

It was the intelligence behind it.

The responsiveness, the adaptive behavior, the way the toy seemed to interpret commands and react to human movements—it was astonishingly sophisticated. Had it been wrapped in higher-quality materials, anyone might have mistaken it for a living animal.

A slow smile spread across Morgan’s face.

”You are a genius, Isobel.”

His voice carried genuine admiration as his eyes remained fixed on the robotic puppy.

”When did you start working on this?”

”About three months ago,” she replied calmly, though the pride in her eyes was impossible to miss. ”It started as a simple app called Baby Buddy. But then I noticed how much Kit and Kat loved their plush toys, and that gave me the idea to combine the two concepts.”

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke about her creation.

Isobel opened her personal laptop and showed him the AI application that powered the stuff toy. It was designed to monitor and track a baby’s development. Sleek and intuitive, the app displayed real-time data on growth milestones, sleep patterns, feeding schedules, and vital signs. As she explained its features, Morgan could already see its potential to revolutionize infant care.

”The app continuously records the baby’s temperature, heart rate, and other vital signs,” she explained. ”If anything unusual is detected, it immediately sends alerts to the parents or caregivers.”

Morgan looked from the app interface to the animated puppy, his mind already racing with possibilities. What she had created wasn’t merely a toy or a monitoring application—it was an entirely new approach to childcare technology.

Without taking his eyes off the prototype, he turned toward his assistant.

”Jack.”

The sharpness in his tone immediately drew attention.

”Arrange an emergency meeting with the R&D division. Now.”

Jack blinked in surprise before quickly nodding.

”Yes, sir.”

As the assistant hurried away, Morgan glanced back at Isobel. The admiration in his gaze had only deepened.

He wasn’t looking at an employee anymore.

He was looking at a visionary.

...

By late afternoon, the western sky had transformed into a breathtaking canvas of crimson, gold, and deep violet, the fading sunlight casting a warm glow across the estate.

That’s when Morgan returned, Isobel was still seated beside him in the car. Instead of heading directly to the third floor as he usually did after work, he accompanied her toward the nursery.

Katherine had only recently awakened from her afternoon nap when she heard a commotion outside the nursery. Stretching lazily, she glanced toward the doorway, walked toward it and opened it just as Morgan and Isobel entered together.

The sight instantly wiped away the last traces of sleep from her eyes.

A sly smile slowly curved her lips.

Well, well...

Her gaze darted between the two adults. Morgan’s attention was entirely on Isobel as they discussed something seriously, neither of them noticing the little observer watching from across the room.

Katherine’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

”Sis,” she muttered under her breath, suppressing a giggle, ”let’s see if you can still stay calm after this.”

With the determination of a tiny schemer, she quietly slipped from her room and headed for the staircase.

One small plan was already beginning to form in her mind.

And if it worked, the evening was about to become far more interesting.

...

Inside the nursery, Morgan carefully placed the small white Maltese into the oversized crib where Kristofer and Kirsten were playing.

The fluffy puppy let out a cheerful bark before trotting around the crib with surprising agility. Despite its lifelike movements, it expertly avoided the babies, weaving around them as if guided by an invisible awareness.

Kristofer and Kirsten immediately burst into delighted giggles.

”Dah gaa!” Kristofer squealed, reaching toward the puppy with tiny hands.

Kirsten’s bright eyes widened with fascination as she stretched out her tiny fingers, trying to catch the wagging tail.

The puppy responded by sitting down and tilting its head, earning another round of happy laughter from the twins.

Standing beside the crib, Morgan and Isobel watched closely.

At first glance, their attention seemed fixed on the children and the robotic puppy. In reality, both were studying the tablet in Morgan’s hands. Streams of data flowed across the screen as the AI monitored the twins’ reactions, movements, and vital signs in real time.

They stood close together, discussing the results in low voices.

It was that exact scene that greeted Katherine and Kristine when they entered the nursery.

Kristine froze.

She had spent time in this room before.

More than once, she had sat in the rocking chair by the window, bottle-feeding Kirsten while the little baby gazed up at her with complete trust and affection. Those moments had become precious to her, in the last three days.

Now, seeing Morgan and Isobel standing together beside the crib stirred something uncomfortable inside her.

A sharp sting pricked her eyes. Her chest tightened.

Why hadn’t Morgan come to see her first? Why was he here with Isobel?

From where she stood, they appeared far too close. Their shoulders nearly touched, and every now and then they leaned toward the same screen, their heads almost brushing together.

An unpleasant knot formed in her stomach.

Kristine pressed a hand against her chest. For a moment, breathing felt difficult.

Calm down. She told herself.

Don’t overthink this.

The words repeated in her mind like a desperate mantra.

Calm down. Don’t overthink this.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t silence the memory of Katherine’s warning from earlier.

”I told you, Sis. Isobel is no good. She’s doing everything she can to seduce my brother-in-law.”

Kristine had dismissed those words at the time. Now they returned with cruel clarity.

Then a small bark echoed through the nursery.

Her gaze snapped toward the crib.

The moment she spotted the dog inside with the twins, alarm and irritation surged through her emotions.

Before she could say a single word, Katherine beat her to it.

Her eyes widened dramatically.

”Oh my God!” she shouted.

”What the hell is a dog doing inside the crib with the babies?!”