Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire’s Secret Heirs : Kabanata 121 - Kabanata 130

~CELINE'S POV~The cleaning rag shook in my hands as I stood frozen in the marble hallway, my mind a tempest of Hunter's promises from the night before. His voice echoed in my memory….raw, desperate, certain…as he'd spoken of marriage, of forever, of making me his wife despite a world chosen to tear us apart."I'm going to marry you, Celine Brown, and no one…not my mother, not society, not God himself…is going to stop me."I wanted to believe him with every fiber of my being. Wanted to trust that the man who'd held me like I was precious, who'd whispered declarations of love against my skin, would fight for us. But Eleanor's words slithered through my thoughts like poison: ‘Men like Hunter don't choose women like you for keeps.’The sound of Caesar's laughter drifted from the gardens where he played with Caroline, pure and innocent, oblivious to the storm brewing around us. That sweet sound made my chest constrict painfully. How could I destroy his happiness? How could I rip him a

~HUNTER'S POV~I woke up mixed up, my body heavy with exhaustion and the lingering effects of fever. The afternoon sun streamed through my bedroom windows, casting long shadows across the floor. A glance at my bedside clock made me blink in disbelief…. noon. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept past sunrise, let alone into the afternoon.Sitting up slowly, I ran a hand through my disheveled hair, wincing as the movement sent a dull ache through my skull. The events of the past few days crashed back with brutal clarity….Caroline's devastating confession, Celine's tears, and the way I had pushed away the only woman I had ever truly loved when she needed me most.My gaze drifted to the nightstand where an empty soup bowl sat alongside a small bottle of fever medication. Celine had brought them to me yesterday, despite everything. Despite my cruelty, my coldness, my cowardice…she'd still cared enough to ensure I ate and took my medicine.‘God, what kind of monster had I become

~CELINE'S POV~The fluorescent light in the dingy motel room flickered like a dying heartbeat, casting erratic shadows across the water-stained walls. I sat curled on the threadbare carpet, my knees drawn to my chest, watching the muted television screen where some late-night infomercial promised to change lives for three easy payments of $19.99.If only it were that simple.The digital clock on the nightstand glowed 3:47 AM in harsh red numbers. In just over three hours, Caesar and I would board the 7 AM bus that would take us even further from everything we'd ever known. Further from Hunter. Further from the life that had briefly felt like a fairy tale before crumbling into this nightmare.Caesar stirred on the narrow bed, his small fist clutching his beloved stuffed dinosaur….Rex, as he'd named it. Even in sleep, tear tracks stained his cherubic cheeks. He'd cried for hours at the bus station, then here in this godforsaken room, his little voice breaking as he kept asking when

~HUNTER'S POV~The gas station attendant's face twisted with anger the moment he saw me approaching the counter again. His weathered features bore the expression of a man who had already answered these questions and had no patience for repeating himself."Look, buddy, I already told your investigator guy everything I know," he said before I could even open my mouth. "Lady with a kid, bought gas, seemed upset. That's it."I pulled out the photograph anyway, my hands trembling slightly as I slid it across the scratched counter. The image of Celine and Caesar smiled back at me….a picture taken just weeks ago in the mansion's garden, when Caesar had insisted on showing me his "dinosaur dance" while Celine laughed in the background.Back when we were still a family."Please," I said, my voice rougher than I planned. "Just look one more time. Anything you might have remembered since talking to my investigator?"The attendant….Mike, according to his name tag…glanced at his watch with obvio

~HUNTER'S POV~The Sunset Lodge looked like something pulled from a fever dream….cracked asphalt parking lot littered with cigarette butts, neon sign flickering weakly against the darkening sky, paint peeling from every surface like old skin. This was where my family had been hiding? This dump was where Celine had brought my son?I sat in Vincent's Ferrari for a moment, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles went white. My phone buzzed against my leg."Tell me you're not sitting in that parking lot overthinking," Vincent's voice cut through the static when I answered."I'm here," I said, my voice hoarse from the drive and the weight of everything unsaid. "Vincent, what if they're not here? What if this is just another dead end?""Then we keep looking. But Hunter, you need to prepare yourself for whatever you're about to find in there. That ambulance call... it could mean anything."The line went dead, leaving me alone with my spiraling thoughts. An ambulance. Someone had be