All Chapters of His hidden heir : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Alicia didn’t answer immediately.Because for one horrible second, she couldn’t remember.Her mind blanked completely.Then—“Garden,” she whispered. “He was in the garden with Zara.”Alex was already moving.He stormed past them, down the hallway and through the back door so fast the screen slammed against the frame. Alicia followed, heart pounding hard enough to hurt.“Aiden!” Alex shouted.The garden was empty.The swing moved slightly in the evening breeze.One abandoned soccer ball sat near the fence.But Zara was there.And Aiden was gone.Alicia felt the world tilt. “No.”Zara spun around, panicked. “He was just here. Alicia, I swear to God, he was right here—”“When?” Alex snapped.“Two minutes ago. Maybe less.” Zara’s face had gone white. “He said he wanted water. I went inside for literally thirty seconds—”Alex vaulted over the porch steps and scanned the property line. “AIDEN!”No answer.Alicia’s breathing turned sharp and uneven.Not again.Not him.Not her son.Then she

The house didn’t feel safe after that.Even after the police sweep.Even after Reyes stationed two officers outside the gate.Even after Keith was transferred to a psychiatric holding unit three counties away.Something had changed.Not in the locks.Not in the walls.In them.Aiden slept in Alicia’s bed for the next four nights.He didn’t ask permission. He just climbed in quietly after midnight, small hands clutching his stuffed bear, eyes too wide for a seven-year-old.Alex never complained.He’d simply make room beside them and leave the hallway light on.The three of them slept like survivors after a storm. Close enough to make sure nobody disappeared overnight.On the fifth morning, Alicia woke to low voices downstairs.Sunlight spilled weakly across the room. Aiden was still asleep against her side.She carefully slipped out of bed and followed the voices toward the kitchen.Alex and Reyes stood near the counter, both holding coffee neither of them were drinking.“She talked?”

The darkness lasted less than a second before backup lights flickered on across the hallway.But for Alicia, it was enough.Enough to bring back Dubai.The docks.The hospital corridors.Every moment where safety vanished without warning.“Aiden!” she shouted.Alex was already moving. He took the stairs two at a time while Alicia followed close behind, heart slamming painfully against her ribs.Another sound echoed outside.Car tires on gravel.Fast.Alex reached Aiden’s room first and shoved the door open hard.Aiden sat upright in bed, terrified, clutching his stuffed bear against his chest. “Mama?”Alicia rushed to him immediately. “We’re here, baby. We’re here.”Alex moved to the window and pulled the curtain aside just enough to see outside.His expression changed instantly.“Alex?” Alicia asked sharply.“Black SUV.”Her stomach dropped.Not again.Security lights flashed across the estate grounds. Somewhere below, guards shouted into radios.The SUV stopped just beyond the front

The first shot shattered the front windows.Glass exploded across the foyer.Aiden screamed.Alex moved instantly, grabbing him and dragging both him and Alicia behind the overturned couch as bullets tore through the walls. Reyes and the federal agents stormed through the front entrance at the same time Kessler’s guards opened fire from the staircase.The house became chaos.“DOWN!” Reyes shouted.One of Kessler’s men dropped immediately, hit in the shoulder. Another disappeared behind the dining room wall, firing blindly toward the entryway.Alicia held Aiden against her chest so tightly he could barely breathe. His whole body shook.“It’s okay,” she whispered desperately. “It’s okay, baby, I’ve got you.”But nothing was okay anymore.Alex crouched beside them with his gun drawn again, eyes sharp, calculating exits. “Reyes!” he shouted over the gunfire. “BACK HALLWAY!”“I SEE IT!”Another deafening burst of bullets ripped through the room.Kessler never flinched.Even in the middle o

New York smelled like rain, gasoline, and saltwater.The second Alicia stepped off the plane, the memories came back hard enough to hurt.Her grandfather’s laugh.Long drives through Manhattan at night.The harbor lights stretch across black water at night.And Henry Dickson’s voice saying: Some doors only open once.Alex walked beside her through the private terminal, one hand carrying their bags, the other resting lightly against her back. Reyes was already ahead of them arguing with Port Authority police over the phone.“We’ve got maybe six hours before every agency connected to those Harbor files realizes where we’re headed,” Reyes said. “If there’s something at Pier Nineteen, we get in and out fast.”“And Aiden?” Alicia asked immediately.“Zara’s keeping him at the hotel,” Alex said gently. “He’s safe.”Alicia nodded, though the guilt still sat heavy in her chest.Aiden had started having nightmares again after the shooting.Last night he’d whispered: Bad people keep following us