Chapter 79 Daddy
It was Charles!
He wore a custom-tailored black coat, its hem billowing from the violent airflow as he burst through the entrance. His stern face wore no expression, only the furious flames of wrath capable of consuming everything burned in the depths of his eyes!
He'd just stepped off his private jet when his phone powered on, instantly flooding him with emergency location signals and distress calls that pierced his heart like daggers!
He hadn't even had time to verify whether those signals were genuine or an elaborate trap. Fear had already seized him completely. He couldn't risk it, not even for a second!
He'd mobilized his most elite security team at breakneck speed, following the GPS coordinates straight to this warehouse!
Following close behind him, several equally formidable shadows moved like phantoms into the warehouse. Professional tactical flashlights instantly locked onto their targets as cold gun barrels rose in unison!
"Nobody move!"
"Drop your weapons!"
The cold, authoritative commands rang out like death's pronouncement, instantly freezing the entire warehouse in place!
The two kidnappers were completely stunned!
One moment, they'd been "successful criminals" holding ten million dollars; the next, they were like chickens caught by the throat!
The knife clattered to the cold concrete floor, and the iron pipe slipped from trembling hands with a harsh metallic clang.
Staring down the dark gun barrels and the imposing man at the doorway, their faces drained of all color as their bodies shook like leaves in the wind.
They were finished!
Charles's gaze swept through the chaotic lighting like a scanner, instantly piercing through the confusion to land precisely on the two small figures huddled in the corner. Ethan desperately shielded Emma, their tiny bodies pressed tightly together.
The moment he saw they were alive, pale and clearly traumatized, but apparently without serious injury. Charles's suspended heart finally began to settle!
A wave of indescribable relief crashed over him, followed immediately by towering rage!
He was relieved that they were alive, but furious that anyone had dared to harm his children!
The paternity test results from the most authoritative institution abroad lay tucked inside his coat pocket at this very moment!
Ethan and Emma were his children—his biological children!
"Charles!" Emma's voice broke through her suppressed tears the instant she recognized his silhouette, her cry echoing with raw emotion.
Charles felt his heart clench painfully, a mix of ache and tenderness flooding through him.
Without sparing another glance at the two worthless criminals cowering on the ground, he strode across the warehouse in several long steps, dropped to one knee, and pulled both children into his arms with desperate urgency!
"Don't be afraid! It's over! I'm here! Everything's okay." His deep, hoarse voice carried a tremor and underlying terror he didn't even realize was there. He repeated these simple words over and over as his warm embrace drove away their cold fear.
Now wasn't the time to reveal their true relationship.
Feeling the two small, trembling bodies in his arms, Charles was overwhelmed by a surge of paternal love and protective instinct that completely obliterated his rational thought.
What did status matter? What did careful planning matter? In this moment, none of it was significant.
These were his precious treasures!
These were the people he would die to protect!
Charles's arrival completely drained the children of their remaining strength.
The massive relief following such intense terror, combined with Charles's warm, secure embrace, caused Emma to practically melt into sobbing exhaustion in his arms.
Ethan's body also relaxed, but the extreme tension followed by deeper fatigue made his eyelids impossibly heavy.
However, two things still weighed on his mind: he needed to deflect any questions about Emily, and he had to contact Jasper!
As Charles checked them for injuries, Ethan's small hand moved almost imperceptibly within Charles's broad embrace, his fingertip tracing a tiny arc to press precisely on the inconspicuous signal device disguised as a button beneath his collarbone.
Almost simultaneously, Jasper, hidden behind the oil drums outside, felt his wrist device vibrate twice with subtle pulses.
This was the safety signal he and Ethan had agreed upon: two vibrations meant he and Emma were safe, rescue successful, no need to expose his position!
Jasper's nerves, stretched to their absolute limit, instantly relaxed. His body slid down against the cold barrel wall as he sat heavily on the ground, his back soaked with cold sweat, breathing in great gasps.
'Success! Ethan and Emma are saved! Charles... this time he hasn't been too late!'
Even though he'd seen Charles lead the charge into the warehouse, even though he'd heard the kidnappers' wails of defeat, he couldn't rest easy until he personally confirmed Ethan and Emma's safety.
Now, finally, he could breathe again.
Inside the warehouse, Charles carefully lifted Emma, who had cried herself into near-unconsciousness, while protecting the equally exhausted Ethan, who seemed to have fallen asleep. He wrapped them both in his coat.
His movements were exquisitely gentle, a complete contrast to his earlier decisive ruthlessness.
"Charles, I'm so tired."
Ethan was afraid Charles might question them about their mother, so he decided to feign sleep entirely.
Charles pulled the two children closer, "Sleep now. I'm here. You're safe. You're exhausted, get some good rest."
He stood with them in his arms, his gaze sweeping over the two kidnappers being held down by his security team, their faces ashen with defeat. His expression instantly turned cold.
"Take them away! Send them to the police station. Tell the officers to investigate this case at any cost." Charles's voice held no emotional inflection, but it carried a chilling coldness.
Anyone who dared touch his children deserved worse than death!
He didn't even spare another glance at the chaotic mess inside the warehouse. Cradling the children who had fallen into deep sleep, he strode toward the warm, extended Rolls-Royce waiting outside under heavy security escort.
The car door closed, shutting out the cold night.
Charles looked down at the two exhausted, innocent sleeping faces in his arms, his expression complex beyond measure.
His children had been right beside him all along, and what had he been doing all this time?
All those past indulgences toward Clara now felt like blades turning against himself!
His hand gently brushed across the children's slightly cool cheeks, his gaze deep as the ocean.
'Emily, won't you tell me the truth even now?'
The Rolls-Royce glided smoothly toward the Windsor Manor.
Ethan and Emma had initially only pretended to cry and sleep to avoid Charles's questions, but gradually drifted into genuine slumber.
No matter how intelligent they were, they were still just two children who had faced death.
At the same time, that dilapidated van sat abandoned beside the cold warehouse.
Behind the oil drums, Jasper waited until Charles's convoy had completely disappeared before silently slipping out.
He quickly straightened his clothes, wiped the dirt from his face, and pulled an ultra-thin phone from his pocket.
Finding his mother's contact in the directory, he placed the call.