Chapter 439

Celine sat up. "Troy, Finline... the baby and I are both fine," she said, her voice firm. She would never let anything happen to her child. The one reason she had any complications was the stress from the kidnapping.

Ivory studied her carefully. "Vrline, you're still carrying Adam's child. Are you really not going to tell him?"

She coiled her lips into a slightly mocking smile. "You saw it yourself, Perry. Adam had no hesitation choosing between me and Carly. He chose her without a second thought. Telling him won't change anything. It's better if he never knows. I can raise this baby on my own just fine."

Perry sighed. He didn't push the issue, but he knew that, no matter what Celine said, Adam's abandonment had deeply hurt her.

At that moment, Robin and Hailey rushed in. Both immediately ran to Celine and placed their hands on her stomach. "Orline," they asked, "How's the baby? Is everything okay?"

Celine smiled. "Everything's fine."

Robin scowled. "That bastard, Adam! Is he insane? He left his own child behind and picked that snake, Carly, instead? Ugh, kid, when you grow up, don't bother acknowledging that deadbeat dad. Let him stay tied to Carly forever!"

Hailey frowned. "Adam went too far this time. I'm calling him right now to curse him out."

Celine quickly stopped her. "Hailey, Robin, forget it. The loved ones can act recklessly; I'm just the unloved one. If you call him and yell, it'll only make me look pathetic."

Hailey and Robin exchanged glances, then reluctantly dropped it.

"Fine, Celine," Hailey said, "that man isn't worth it. The baby has two amazing godmothers. We'll spoil this little one rotten."

Celine nodded and gently stroked her still-flat stomach. "Exactly. We don't need that father anyway."

With her best friends by her side, Celine visibly relaxed, and her mood lifted. That was what real friendship was for.

Perry smirked. "Celine, I had my people look into that scarred man. Guess what we found?"

Celine's clear, sharp eyes turned to him. "I don't know who he is, but I do know one thing—Carly hired him."

Perry raised an eyebrow. "How did you figure that out?"

Celine let out a cold laugh. "I know Carly too well. If she were truly kidnapped, she would have been terrified. But when we were held together, she wasn't afraid at all. If anything, she looked like she was enjoying the show. When the scarred man forced Adam to choose between us, it only confirmed my suspicions."

Perry nodded. "You're absolutely right. The scarred man was hired by Carly for a hefty price. This whole kidnapping? Carly staged it herself."

Celine's lips curled into a smirk. "Well, now that her act is over, it's my turn to take the stage. Perry, get in touch with Adam's people. Tell them I couldn't make it to the gala. But tomorrow, I'll be paying Carly a visit at the hospital."

Perry chuckled. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

Yes. Tomorrow was going to be a show worth watching.

Perry hesitated before adding, "By the way, Celine, Adam's still looking for you. Do you want to—"

Robin cut him off immediately. "Hell no! What's the point of Adam looking for her now? He made his choice already!"

Hailey crossed her arms. "Exactly! Let him run around like a lost puppy. He doesn't deserve a response."

Adam stepped into the hospital room. Carly had been clinging to him nonstop, whining about her hurting heart, making sure he stayed by her side every second.

Just then, Leo entered. "Mr. Alvarez, we still haven't found Ms. Celine. There's been absolutely no movement on her end."

Adam frowned. Where the hell had she gone?

Carly scoffed. "Adam, Celine knows you're looking for her. She's just doing this on purpose, playing hard to get. What a scheming little brat."

Someone added dismissively, "Mr. Alvarez, stop worrying about Celine. She's not going to die."

Leo glanced at the cold-hearted Tate family members. Honestly, he was starting to doubt whether Celine was really their biological relative. He turned back to Adam. "Mr. Alvarez, I do have one piece of good news."