<b>Chapter </b><b>138 </b>


    CELINE POV-


    Caesar’s screams woke me from the first real sleep I had had in days.


    I shot up from the leather couch where I had finally copsed, my heart racing as I heard my son’s terrified cries echoing through the


    penthouse.


    The sound was raw, primal–the cry of a child lost and afraid.


    “Caesar!” I ran toward the bedroom where Hunter had put him, my bare feet sliding on the polished floors.


    “Baby, I’m here!”


    I found him sitting up in the massive bed, his face red and streaked with tears. His small hands clutched at the expensive sheets as if they might anchor him to reality.


    “Mama!” Heunched himself into my arms, his small body shaking with sobs. “I had a bad dream! I dreamed Papa was angry and you were crying and we couldn’t go home!”


    My heart shattered. “Oh, sweetheart…”


    “Where are we, Mama? This isn’t home. This isn’t Papa’s house. Why does it smell different? Why are there no pictures of us?”


    I held him tighter, pressing my face into his soft hair.


    How could I exin to a Three–year–old that we were prisoners? That the father he adored had be our captor?


    “We’re… we’re staying somewhere new for a while,” I managed.


    “But I want to go home! I want to y with my toys and sleep in my bed!” His voice rose to a wail.


    “I want Papa to read me a story like he used to!”


    The doorbell chimed through the penthouse, its elegant tone cutting through Caesar’s sobs. My blood turned to ice.


    Who could be here this early in the morning?


    “Stay here, baby,” I whispered, settling Caesar back onto the bed. “I need to see who’s at the door.”


    padded to the front door, my bare feet silent on the cold marble. Through the peephole, I saw a middle–aged woman in a white coat, carrying a medical bag.


    She had kind eyes and graying hair pulled back in a professional bun.


    My heart began to race.


    The medical examination that Hunter had promised. The one that could reveal the secret I had destroyed the evidence of, the secret that


    could never see the light of day.


    I considered not answering, but she rang the bell again, and I knew Hunter would find out if I refused to let her in.


    “I’ming,” I called out, my voice shaking slightly.


    I opened the door trying topose myself. “Yes?


    “Mrs Brown? I’m Dr. Martinez. Mr. Reid sent me to check on you”


    I stepped back reluctantly, “I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with me.”


    Dr. Martinez smiled gently as she entered, setting her bag down in the foyer. “Mr. Reid was very concerned about the hospital incident. He just wants to make sure you’re healthy.”


    “Mama,” Caesar appeared in the hallway, his face still streaked with tears. “Mama, were you sick? Is that why we had to go away?<i>” </i>


    “No, baby, I wasn’t sick. I was just… tired.”


    Dr. Martinez’s trained eyes moved between Caesar and me, taking in our messy appearance, my defensive posture, and the obvious tension in the room.


    “Why don’t we start with some basic questions? Then we can do a simple examination.”


    I backed toward the window, wrapping my arms around myself. “I said I’m fine. I don’t need an examination.”


    “Mrs. Brown, I understand you might be feeling anxious, but Mr. Reid was very clear about his instructions. He’s concerned about your health after the fainting episode.”


    The way she said it–the careful way she watched my reaction–made my stomach clench with fear.


    There was something in her expression, a knowing look that made me wonder if she suspected more than she was letting on.


    “What exactly did Hunter tell you?” I asked carefully.


    Dr. Martinez consulted her notes.


    “He mentioned you’d been experiencing nausea, fatigue, and had a fainting spell that required hospitalization. He wants to make sure there’s no underlying condition causing these symptoms.”


    I felt my face drain of color. The symptoms she listed–were textbook signs of early pregnancy.


    And the way she was looking at me, with that gentle but knowing expression, told me she had put the pieces together.


    “I’m not….” I started, then stopped myself.


    I couldn’t say the words without lying, and something told me this doctor would see right through me.


    “Mrs. Brown,” Dr. Martinez said softly, “I’ve been practicing medicine for twenty years. I’ve seen every kind of situation you can imagine. Whatever you’re going through, I’m here to help, not to judge.”


    Caesar tugged at my pajama pants. “Mama, what’s wrong? Why do you look scared?”


    I knelt to his level, trying to keep my voice steady. “Nothing’s wrong, sweetheart. The doctor just wants to make sure Mama is healthy.”


    Dr. Martinez watched this exchange with growing concern.


    “Mrs. Brown, if you’re pregnant, it’s important that we monitor your health. Early prenatal care is crucial for both mother and baby.”


    The word ‘pregnant‘ hung in the air like a bomb waiting to explode.


    I felt my hands instinctively move to my still–t stomach, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by the doctor.


    “I’m not pregnant.” I said desperately. “There’s no baby.”


    But even as I said it, I could feel the lie crumbling.


    The morning sickness I had been attributing to stress, the exhaustion, the emotional vtility–it all added up to a truth I had been trying to deny.


    Dr. Martinez’s expression grew even more concerned.


    “Mrs. Brown, denial isn’t umon in early pregnancy, especially under stressful circumstances. But if you are carrying a child, avoiding medical care could put both you and the baby at risk.”


    “There’s no baby!” I shouted, causing Caesar to flinch away from me. “Tell Hunter there’s no baby!”


    The doctor’s eyebrows rose, and I saw understanding dawn in her eyes.


    “Mr. Reid doesn’t know, does he? He suspects, but he didn’t ask me to test for pregnancy specifically.”


    The room spun around me.


    My outburst had confirmed what she had already suspected. I had just given her the bullet that could destroy what little control I had left over my life.


    “Please,” I whispered, sinking into a chair. “Please don’t tell him. Not yet.”


    Dr. Martinez moved closer, her voice gentle but firm.


    “Mrs. Brown, I need to take a blood sample. It will tell us definitively whether you’re pregnant or not. If you are, that baby needs medical care. If you’re not, then we can rule it out and focus on whatever else might be causing your symptoms.”


    “No.” I shook my head frantically. “I won’t let you.”


    “Mama, you’re scaring me,” Caesar whispered, crawling into myp.


    The doctor sighed. “Mrs. Brown, I can see you’re in a difficult situation. But running away from the truth isn’t going to change whatever’s happening in your body. If you’re pregnant, that baby deserve’s the best possible care.”


    I looked down at Caesar’s worried face, saw the confusion and fear in his eyes. My son needed me to be strong, to be the adult in this situation.


    But I also knew that the moment Dr. Martinez confirmed what I already knew in my heart, my life as I knew it would be over.


    Hunter would never let me go if I were carrying his child. <fn134e> Checktest chapters at find(?)ovel</fn134e>


    He would have two reasons to keep me prisoner, two lives to control and manipte.


    “Mama,” Caesar said softly, “are you going to have a baby?”


    The innocent question broke something inside me.


    I looked at my son—this beautiful, pure child who deserved so much better than the broken adults who were supposed to protect him.


    “I don’t know, baby,” I whispered. “I don’t know anything anymore.”


    Dr. Martinez stood slowly.


    THU, ZABO 00


    “I’ll give you a few minutes to think about it. But Mrs. Brown, I need you to understand–whether Mr. Reid knows or not, if you are pregnant, that baby needs medical attention. Is that something you want to risk?”


    After she stepped into the hallway to make a phone call, I sank deeper into the chair, Caesar still in my arms.


    The morning sun was streaming through the windows, making the city below look deceptively peaceful.


    “Mama,” Caesar said quietly, “if you’re having a baby, will it be my brother or sister?”


    I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of secrets and lies pressing down on me like a physical force. “I might be, sweetheart.”


    “Will Papa be happy? He always said he wanted more kids.”


    The question hit me like a knife to the heart. Once upon a time, Hunter and I had talked about having more children.


    We had nned a future together, dreamed of a houseful of kids who would grow up knowing they were loved and wanted.


    Now, the thought of bringing another child into this nightmare made me sick.


    “I don’t know if Papa will be happy,” I admitted.


    Caesar was quiet for a long moment. Then he looked up at me with those serious blue eyes that looked so much like his father’s.


    “Mama, why don’t you and Papa love each other anymore?”


    The question shattered what remained of myposure.


    I buried my face in his hair and let the tears fall, knowing that no matter what I said, no matter how I tried to protect him, Caesar would bear the scars of our broken family for the rest of his life.


    “We do love each other, baby,” I whispered. “Sometimes grown–ups love each other so much it hurts, and they don’t know how to fix it.”


    “Can’t you just say sorry?”


    If only it were that simple. If only love could heal the damage we had done to each other, the trust we had shattered, the wounds we had


    inflicted in our desperation and pain.


    “Sometimes sorry isn’t enough,” I said softly.


    From the hallway, I could hear Dr. Martinez’s voice as she spoke quietly on the phone. I caught fragments: “…possible pregnancy… patient seems distressed… may need additional support…”


    My heart sank. Even if she didn’t tell Hunter directly, she was documenting everything.


    There would be a record, a paper trail that would eventually lead to the truth.


    Outside, the city hummed with life and possibility.


    But inside this golden cage, with my son in my arms and the secret of his father’s child growing in my womb, I felt more trapped than ever.


    Dr. Martinez would be back soon, and with her woulde the choice that would seal my fate forever.


    Hunter Reid would never let me go.


    Not now.


    Tha Thu LáNG ??U


    Not ever.


    田


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