Chapter 100
Raphael and Fleur were quietly talking when a sharp knock broke the silence of the room. A moment later, Lea slipped through the door, her face a mask of frantic worry.
"Raphael!" she gasped, her eyes locking onto his bandaged frame as she rushed to his side. In her relief, she threw her arms around him, forgetting his injuries.
"Ah—ouch!" Raphael winced, a sharp hiss escaping his teeth.
"Oh, God, I’m so sorry, Raphael!" Lea stammered, quickly pulling back with a face full of regret.
Raphael managed a strained chuckle, easing back against the pillows. "No worries. I’m fine. It’s just that a few of these marks and deep cuts are a little sensitive to the touch. Otherwise, I’m as solid as stone," he teased, drawing a pair of clean smiles from both women.
"How are Chloe and Gabriel?" Fleur asked, her protective motherly instincts immediately shifting to her pups.
"They’re perfectly fine. I got them safely off to school before heading over here," Lea replied, setting down a tote bag. "I brought you a fresh change of clothes and some food, Fleur. If you need to stay at the clinic with Raphael today, don’t worry about the office. I can handle our current design projects."
Fleur smiled with deep gratitude. "Thank you, Lea. I think I do need to stay. We have to coordinate with the authorities to file a formal complaint against Vincent Hupper."
"Vincent Hupper?" Lea’s eyes widened in utter shock. "The real estate mogul?"
"He’s the one who contracted the mercenaries to kidnap Raphael," Fleur said, her voice turning cold and resolute.
Lea swallowed hard, shaking her head in disbelief. "Fleur, Hupper is a heavyweight in the corporate world. He’s got half the regional politicians and even the governor in his pocket. Trying to bring him down legally is going to be a nightmare. Even with Raphael’s star power, getting the police to actually arrest a man like Hupper feels almost impossible."
"I don’t care who he has in his pocket," Fleur declared, her inner strength flaring. "I won’t sit back and let him get away with this. Hupper is going to pay for what he did, even if I have to drag him to court myself."
"Then I’m right behind you," Lea said, offering a supportive squeeze of Fleur’s hand. "We’ll fight him together."
Raphael watched them with a soft, touched expression, deeply moved by the solidarity of the two women standing up for him. Though his own family possessed more than enough influence to crush Hupper quietly, he chose to keep that to himself, simply appreciating their loyalty.
Suddenly, Lea’s phone began vibrating violently, a relentless barrage of push notifications lighting up the screen. With a frustrated sigh, she pulled the device from her blazer pocket. She had planned to head straight to the firm after the visit, and her professional suit felt slightly out of place in the clinical room. She glanced down to mute the alerts, but the flashing red headlines made her freeze. Her eyes widened in absolute horror.
"Fleur... you need to look at this," Lea whispered, her voice suddenly trembling with a mixture of awe and fear. "It’s everywhere."
Sensing the sudden shift in the air, Fleur stepped closer. "What is it?"
Lea’s fingers shook as she tapped the screen, opening a major news broadcast. "It’s about the kidnapping. The entire network is going wild."
With a confused frown, Raphael grabbed the bedside remote and turned on the wall-mounted television. The local news anchor’s grave voice instantly filled the sterile room, demanding everyone’s absolute attention.
"...We are bringing you breaking news regarding the sudden disappearance of Hollywood star Raphael Dumas. In a stunning turn of events, real estate mogul Vincent Hupper has been confirmed dead. Shortly before his body was discovered, a self-recorded video confession was sent to major media outlets. We must warn viewers, the contents of this video are highly disturbing."
The broadcast cut to a disheveled, utterly terrified Vincent Hupper. The powerful billionaire looked like a shell of a man, his eyes hollow and his voice shaking as he stared directly into the camera.
"I am recording this to confess to my crimes," Hupper whispered, his hands trembling visibly on screen. "I orchestrated the abduction of Raphael Dumas and intended to have him killed. Fearing the inevitable exposure and the consequences of my actions, I am choosing to end my own life rather than face a tribunal or rot in a cell. I also admit to multiple targeted attempts to ruin and physically harm Fleur Swann. To Miss Swann and Mr. Dumas, I offer my final, desperate apology. This is my only atonement."
The screen flashed back to the news desk. "Authorities have confirmed that Vincent Hupper’s body was found in his high-rise penthouse shortly after the video was sent. Forensic teams have ruled the death a suicide. We will keep you updated as this shocking story develops..."
The television faded into a commercial, but the room remained suffocated by a stunned, heavy silence.
"How...?" Lea’s voice faltered, her throat dry. "I can’t believe a man that arrogant would just... give up. To take his own life?"
Raphael shook his head slowly, his eyes reflecting a deep, knowing gravity. "A shameless corporate predator like Hupper doesn’t just confess and commit suicide out of guilt. He was invincible in the human courts. This doesn’t make sense."
Fleur, however, remained completely silent. Her heart was pounding a wild, frantic rhythm against her ribs as a single, towering image dominated her mind: Christian Wayne.
Christian didn’t play by human laws. He didn’t wait for court dates, evidence, or trials. He was the judge, the jury, and the executioner. He had found the man who threatened his mate and his pups, and he had quietly, ruthlessly erased him from the face of the earth, staging it perfectly so his family would never have to step foot in a courtroom.
The sheer scope of his absolute power should have terrified her. Her cold, lethal husband was a monster capable of driving a billionaire to a staged suicide in the span of a single night. Yet, as she stared at the television screen, Fleur didn’t feel fear.