The Billionaire’s Secret Heirs (Celine and Hunter) novel Chapter 124

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Chapter 124

Chapter 124

-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 become?”

I forced myself to stand and walk to the window, pulling back the heavy curtains. The sudden flood of light made me squint, but I welcomed

the discomfort.

I deserved it.

I deserved every ache, every moment of misery for how I’d treated her.

Turning back to survey my room, I was confronted with the aftermath of my breakdown. Broken glass littered the floor near the dresser where I had hurled a crystal decanter.

Books lay scattered, their pages torn and crumpled. Picture frames…most containing photos of Celine and Caesar…lay face–down, their glass cracked beyond repair.

With a heavy sigh, I began picking up the larger pieces, placing them carefully in the wastebasket.

Each piece seemed to mock me, reflecting my fractured soul at me in jagged pieces. This destruction was nothing compared to what I’d done to my relationship with Celine and Caesar.

As I worked, my mind replayed our last encounter with sickening clarity. The way Celine had looked at me…her beautiful brown eyes filled with pain and disbelief.

The way her voice had broken when she’d screamed that she hated me. The sound of her tears as she’d fled my room.

“Thate v

you.”

you for making me believe in fairy tales,” she’d said. “I hate you for making me think someone like me could n

someone he

But that was the cruelest irony of all, she was everything that mattered to me. She and Caesar were the only light in my dark, suffocating world.

Yet when faced with the truth about Caroline’s manipulation, I’d retreated into the cold, emotionless shell that had protected me for so long.

I’d acted exactly like the monster everyone expected a field to be

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The truth about that night four years ago had shattered me in ways I couldn’t fully explain. Not because Caroline had orchestrated out meeting…deep down, I was grateful she had.

No, what destroyed me was realizing how much pain Celine had endured because of my family’s dysfunction

Her dreams crushed, her future detailed, her life turned upside down–all because my cousin thought she could play God with our hearts.

I’d stood outside Celine’s door after Caroline’s confession, listening to her break down, hearing the anguish in her voice as she’d realized how herlile had been used.

The knowledge that I was partly responsible for her suffering had nearly brought me to my knees

Caroline’s voicemails had piled up–fifteen increasingly desperate messages begging for forgiveness, explaining her intentions, pleading with me to understand.

But how could I be angry with her?

Caroline had been like a sister to me, the only family member who’d ever truly understood my struggles. She’d acted out of love, misguided

though it was.

I’d kept my fertility issues from her precisely because I knew how she’d react. Caroline was a fixer, always trying to solve everyone’s

problems.

When she’d learned about my low sperm count diagnosis, her brilliant mind had immediately started scheming

The bitter irony was that I’d never particularly cared about having biological children. The Reid name was a curse, not a blessing.

Nothing good ever came from being a Reid–we destroyed everything we touched, ruined everything pure and beautiful in our wake.

Just as I’d ruined Celine.

“She must hate me,” I thought, sinking onto the edge of my bed. ‘Of course, she hates me. I’ve been nothing but a source of pain and disappointment.”

But even as the thought tormented me, I knew I couldn’t leave things as they were. I had to make amends–to both Celine and Caesar

I had to spend whatever time I had left proving that I was worthy of their love,

e, even if it took the rest of my life.

After a quick shower and shave, I dressed in fresh clothes and made my way downstairs.

The staff looked shocked to see me….

… My self–imposed isolation had been the subject of considerable gossip.

Sally, the head maid, immediately bustled over, her weathered face creased with concern and relief,

“Mr. Reid! Thank goodness,” she exclaimed, reaching up to touch my cheek with motherly affection. “You gave us all such a fright. Look at you–you’re nothing but skin and bones!”

Despite everything, her genuine care brought the first smile to my lips in days. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Sally.”

“Well, you should be,” she scolded, though her eyes were kind. “I’m going to make it my mission to put some meat back on those bones, young man. Can’t have you wasting away on my watch.”

I squeezed her hand gratefully, “I’d appreciate that. But first, I need to….”

My words died as I scanned the main Hallway, suddenly realizing what was missing.

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Or rather, who was missing?

Usually by this time of day, Caesar would be racing through these halls, his laughter echoing off the marble walls, Cefine would be nearby watching him with that soft smile that never failed to take my breath away

But the mansion felt eerily quiet.

“Where are Celine and Caesar? Lasked, trying to keep the growing unease from my voice.

Sally’s expression shifted, becoming worried. “They haven’t come out of their quarters all morning, Mr. Reid. Not even for breakfast, which is

unusual for little Caesar

From across the hallway, Ana’s voice cut through the air with its typical venom

“Probably too lazy to get out of bed. Some people think just because they spread their legs for the boss, they don’t have to work anymore”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees as both Sally a and I turned to stare at Ana

The young maid’s face went pale as she realized she’d crossed a line, but the damage was done.

“Get back to work,” said quietly, my voice carrying enough ice to freeze hellfire.

“Now”

Ana scurried away like the rat she was, but her words had planted a seed of dread in my chest.

It wasn’t like Celine to avoid her duties, and Caesar was naturally an early riser who preferred the outdoors to being cooped up inside.

“I’ll go check on them,” I told Sally, who nodded with obvious reliel.

The walk to their quarters felt endless, each step weighted with growing suspicion, Something was wrong–I could feel it in my bones.

As I approached their door, I hesitated, my hand hovering over the wood. The last time I’d seen Celine, I’d been cruel and cold, pushing her away when she’d tried to care for me.

What if

What if she refused to see me? What if Caesar had finally given up hope that his “Daddy Hunter” would come back to him?

Taking a deep breath, I knocked softly. “Celine? Caesar? It’s me.”

Silence

I knocked again, harder this time. “Celine, I know you’re upset with me, and you have every right to be. But we need to talk. Please.”

Still nothing

Achill ran down my spine as I reached for the door handle. It turned easily…unlocked. That was strange. Celine was always careful about security, especially with Caesar.

I stepped inside, immediately struck by the unnatural quiet.

“Celine? Caesar?”

My voice echoed in the space, answered only by silence. I moved through the small living area, noting that everything appeared normal at first glance.

But as I looked closer, details began to register–drawers left slightly open, a few toys scattered haphazardly, as if someone had been packing

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quickly.

My heart began to race as thurried to Caesar’s ro

Empty.

Groom. His bed was made, but when I opened his wardrobe, my vorst feard were confirmed.

Every tiny shirt, every pair of little jeans, every beloved stuffed animal–gone.

“No, no, no,” I whispered, stumbling toward Celine’s room.

Her wardrobe told the same devastating story. Empty hangers swayed gently, mocking me with their bareness.

The dresser drawers hung open, cleaned out. Even her art supplies, the few precious items she’d managed to keep from her old life were

gone.

Ifrantically searched every corner of the quarters, looking for some sign, some clue that this wasn’t what it appeared to be. But the evidence

was undeniable.

With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone and dialed Celine’s number.

The automated message that greeted me felt like a dagger to the heart: “The number you have dialed is no longer in service

I tried again, desperate hope making me believe I’d misdialed. Same message.

Again. And again.

“Fuck!” I roared, hurling the phone against the wall with all my strength.

it exploded into pieces, the sound of its destruction echoing my own shattered heart.

How could she leave? How could she take Caesar and just disappear? After everything we’d been through, after all the promises, after the love we’d shared… how could she abandon what we had?

But even as the questions tormented me, a small, honest voice in the back of my mind whispered the truth i didn’t want to face: “You drove her away. You became exactly what she expected you to be..cold, cruel, impossible to love.”

I stumbled out of their empty quarters, my vision blurred with unshed tears and rage. The staff scattered as I stormed through the hallways, probably sensing the dangerous energy radiating from me.

Sally called my name, but I ignored her, heading straight for my study.

I needed help. I needed someone who could find them, bring them back, fix what i’d broken with my stupidity and pride.

Slamming the study door behind me, I grabbed the landline and dialed a number I knew by heart. Vincent answered on the string

“Hunter?

? What’s wrong? You sound…”

“Find her,” interrupted, my voice raw with desperation “Find Celine Brown. Find my son, Find them and bring them home.”

The silence on the other end stretched for several heartbeats before Vincent spoke again, his tone suddenly all business.

“How long have they been gone?”

“I don’t know. Hours? Days? I’ve been…” I swallowed hard, shame washing over me. “I’ve been an idiot, Vincent. I pushed her away, and now

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she’s taken Caesar and disappeared.”

“I’m on my way,” he said without hesitation.

“And I’m calling Derek right now….he’ll start tracking them immediately. Don’t do anything stupid until I get there. We’ll find them, Hunter |

promise.”

The line went dead, leaving me alone with the crushing weight of my failures. I sank into my leather chair, staring at the phone as if it might ring with news of Celine and Caesar’s return.

But deep down, I knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

I’d lost them through my cowardice and cruelty. Getting them back….if that was even possible…would require me to become the man they deserved.

The m

man I should have been all along

“Please, I prayed to whatever gods might be listening

*Please let me have another chance. I’ll do anything…give up everything….just let me make this right!

But the only answer was the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner, counting down the seconds since the two most important people in my world had walked out of my life.

Possibly forever.