บททั้งหมดของ The Alpha's Hidden Heir: บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

The alarm is silent.Finn would not have known anyone had reached the estate if the guards had not begun moving below his window.One moment, the grounds are still beneath the gray morning sky, dark trees dripping from the night’s rain and mist hanging low over the long driveway. The next, two guards cross the front terrace while another vehicle turns away from the main house and heads toward the gates.Finn stands beside the bedroom window with Dr. Bishop’s cup of tea cooling between his hands.Owen is still asleep in the adjoining room. Everett left before sunrise after Finn turned away from him, and Finn has spent the hours since trying not to remember the silence that followed his accusation.Being protected in secret still feels like being hidden.Everett had found no answer.A knock sounds at Finn’s door.He stiffens. “Who is it?”“Dean.”Finn opens the door only after checking the lock twice.Dean stands in the corridor wearing the same dark suit as the night before, though the

The word hangs in the receiving room long after Vera finishes speaking.Rightful.Finn feels it settle over his skin like something dirty.Vera has not said baby. She has not said pregnancy. She has not said Stone heir, custody, or bloodline contract. She does not need to. Her gaze has already dropped to Finn’s stomach, and the careful emphasis in her voice has turned every missing word into a threat.She knows enough.Perhaps she does not know how far along he is. Perhaps she has no medical confirmation. Perhaps the Lawsons are still guessing from the clinic, his illness, and Everett’s disappearance.It does not matter.They know where to strike.Everett’s dominance surges through the room with enough force to make the chandelier tremble.The fire behind the glass flares. One of the guards outside shifts closer to the doorway, and Dean steps between Owen and the pressure before Everett notices what he is doing. The Alpha’s face has become frighteningly still, his eyes fixed on Vera w

The lock turns beneath Finn’s hand with a quiet click.He keeps his fingers wrapped around it for several seconds after the sound fades.On the other side of the bedroom door, Everett says nothing.That silence follows Finn across the room.He reaches the bed and sits carefully, every part of him still burning from the argument in the hallway. Vera’s voice remains inside his head, smooth and polished as if cruelty becomes acceptable when spoken softly enough.Fragile.Confused.Rightful heirs.Finn presses both hands against his face.He had thought the Stone estate would give him time to breathe. Instead, Vera had walked through the front doors and looked at him as though he were already a problem being discussed around a family table.Worse, she had looked at his stomach.She knew exactly where to hurt him.The bedroom is warm, beautiful, and safe enough that Finn should be able to rest. The fire glows behind glass. Clean water waits beside the bed. Dr. Bishop’s medicine sits on the

Andrew Stone asks to see Finn before noon.The request comes through Dean, which makes it sound more formal than it should. Finn is sitting near the bedroom window with a plate of toast he has barely touched when Dean appears at the open door and says Andrew would like a private conversation in the downstairs library.Finn almost laughs.Private conversation.That is apparently what powerful men call negotiations when they believe the outcome has already been decided.Owen looks up sharply from the chair beside the bed. “You do not have to go.”Dean’s expression remains neutral. “No. He does not.”That matters more than Finn wants it to.He looks at Dean. “Did Everett send you?”“No.”“Does Everett know his father wants to speak to me?”A pause.“Not yet.”Finn’s stomach tightens.There is probably wisdom in refusing. Andrew Stone has already called him a liability, a claimant, and legal exposure without ever speaking directly to his face. Finn does not owe him an audience.But avoidi

Finn sees the statement on Owen’s phone.That makes it worse.He is sitting near the bedroom window with a bowl of plain oatmeal cooling in his lap when Owen walks in from the adjoining room, his face already wrong. Too careful. Too pale. The clean phone is in his hand, screen glowing.Finn knows before Owen says anything that something has happened.“What?”Owen hesitates. “Maybe you should eat first.”Finn sets the bowl aside.“What happened?”Owen comes closer but does not hand over the phone immediately. “Stone Group released something.”A cold pressure gathers beneath Finn’s ribs.“Give it to me.”“Finn—”“Please.”Owen finally passes him the phone.The statement is short.Professional.Polished enough that someone has clearly spent time deciding exactly how little truth the public needs.Stone Group confirms that Everett Stone and Vera Lawson remain committed to the previously announced engagement schedule. Recent adjustments to Mr. Stone’s public appearances are related to priv