All Chapters of His hidden heir : Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

The rain started again just before midnight.New York looked different from the penthouse windows now. Harder. Colder. Like the city itself was waiting for something terrible to happen.Alicia stood beside the glass holding a cup of untouched tea while sirens echoed somewhere far below.Behind her, Aiden slept curled against Zara on the couch, finally exhausted after two straight nights of panic attacks and police questioning.Alex walked out of the study, loosening his tie slowly. His face looked tired in a way sleep couldn’t fix.“They confirmed it,” he said quietly. “Mercer’s gone.”Alicia didn’t turn around. “Dead?”“No.”That almost felt worse.She closed her eyes briefly. “How?”Alex walked closer. “The convoy transporting him got hit crossing the bridge into Queens. Professional team. Military precision. Three agents were injured. Mercer disappeared before backup arrived.”Alicia let out a bitter laugh. “Of course he did.”Alex rested his hands on the back of the sofa. “Reyes i

The wedding happened six months later.Not because Alicia suddenly became sentimental.Not because Alex pressured her.Actually, the proposal itself had been a disaster.Alex planned something private on the beach behind the estate. Candles. Dinner. Music.Then Aiden accidentally found the ring box two days early and loudly announced at breakfast:“Papa’s hiding jewelry in his sock drawer!”Zara nearly choked on her coffee laughing.Alex looked like he wanted the earth to swallow him whole.Alicia laughed so hard she cried.So by the time the actual proposal happened later that night, they were both already smiling too much for it to be dramatic.“You know this is less romantic now,” Alicia teased while they walked along the shoreline.Alex muttered, “I’m aware.”“And your son ruined the surprise.”“Our son,” Alex corrected automatically.That hit her harder than the proposal itself.He stopped walking then.The ocean moved quietly behind them while warm wind pushed against Alicia’s d

And Alicia felt it the second his composure cracked.Not fear this time.Not grief.Not survival instinct.Pure happiness.Upstairs, Aiden suddenly yelled:“WHY IS EVERYONE CRYING LATELY?”Alicia burst out laughing immediately.Alex laughed too, still holding her like he never planned to let go again.##The first snow of December fell over New York sometime after midnight.Alicia stood by the bedroom window watching it collect along the estate gates, quiet and slow beneath the streetlights. For once, there were no sirens. No reporters hiding outside. No federal agents parked across the road.Just silence.Real silence.Behind her, Alex slept with one arm stretched across the empty side of the bed where she should’ve been.She stared at him for a long moment.After everything that had happened, she still sometimes woke up shocked he was there.Not chasing her. Not lying to her. Not leaving.There.A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.“Alicia?” Zara’s voice came quietly through the d

The ice rink was crowded, loud, and freezing.Aiden loved every second of it.He skated badly and confidently, which Alicia was learning was apparently a permanent part of his personality.“Papa! Faster!” he yelled, wobbling dangerously across the ice.“Aiden, slow down before you kill me,” Alex called after him.Too late.Aiden crashed directly into Alex’s legs, and both of them nearly went down.Alicia laughed so hard she had to grab the railing.Alex pointed at her accusingly. “You’re supposed to help us.”“You’re doing amazing by yourselves.”“That sounds like abandonment.”Aiden giggled from the ice. “Mama’s scared!”“I am not scared.”Alex smirked. “Then come out here.”Absolutely not.Alicia stayed exactly where she was.Until Aiden stuck out his little hand toward her.“Please?”That tiny word destroyed every defense she had.Five minutes later, Alicia was on the ice regretting every decision she’d ever made.“I hate both of you,” she muttered as Alex steadied her carefully.“

Christmas Eve arrived quietly.Just snow.The estate looked completely different beneath a blanket of white. The old iron gates were dusted silver. The trees sparkled beneath strings of lights. Even the house itself seemed softer somehow.Alicia stood on the front porch with a mug of coffee in her hands and watched the sunrise.For years she'd spent every holiday waiting for disaster.This was the first one she wasn't afraid of.The front door opened behind her.Alex stepped outside carrying a blanket."You disappeared."She smiled."I was thinking.""That's usually dangerous."He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders anyway.Alicia leaned into him automatically.The gesture felt natural now.Comfortable.Like they had finally stopped fighting what had always been there.Inside the house, a crash echoed from somewhere upstairs.Then Aiden's voice.Followed immediately by Zara's.Then another crash.Alex sighed."Should we be concerned?""Definitely."Neither of them moved.Twenty m