Chapter 148 Like Father, Like Son
Max explained, "Mom had opened some trading accounts before. I took over two of them and made them my own, and the operations went smoothly. When Bitcoin was hot, I invested in it. Later, predicting Bitcoin would crash, I sold early and took that money to invest in the metaverse."
Metaverse concept stocks had been incredibly hot over the past two years.
Initially, many people remained on the sidelines, but Max was young and bold. At his age, he didn't have as many reservations. Since he'd started playing the stock market almost as a game, he invested several hundred million in concept stocks.
A few months later, the metaverse surged dramatically. His net worth doubled, then tripled, jumping from hundreds of millions to over ten billion—an explosive wealth increase.
After that, Max reduced his metaverse holdings and moved massive amounts of capital into multinational corporations. His largest investment was Crest Corporation.
Crest Corporation's stock performance was remarkably stable. While market volatility was normal, few sectors showed Crest Corporation's consistent long-term growth potential.
After all, Crest Corporation operated across an incredibly diverse range of industries.
Max kept increasing his position, and now he was Crest Corporation's third-largest shareholder. Excluding Alexander's private holdings, he was effectively the second-largest shareholder.
Alexander's shock was beyond description.
Max—eight years old—had accumulated such enormous wealth through his investment instincts alone.
Max smiled elegantly. "So when I said I'd bankrupt you, I was partly bluffing. But as Crest Corporation's second-largest shareholder, any move I make would seriously damage the company. If I pulled out all my capital, the stock market would definitely crash."
He paused, then reached up with his small hand to pat Alexander's shoulder, his wise eyes carrying an unmistakable threat. "I'd advise you not to oppose me, don't make me angry, and don't try to steal my mom. Mom is mine."
Alexander couldn't help but laugh.
He slowly stood up and ruffled Max's hair. "You really are my son."
Max's face suddenly turned an odd shade of red, and he glared at Alexander with conflicted eyes. "Don't flatter yourself! I haven't acknowledged you as my father yet!"
Alexander replied, "Whether you acknowledge me or not, you're my son. That's an unchangeable fact."
Max remained defiant. "Sure, we share DNA, but if you want my acknowledgment, you need to earn my approval first!"
Alexander asked, "What would it take to earn your approval?"
Max said, "You wronged my mom first, made her suffer all these years. Have you thought about how to make up for that?"
Alexander's brow furrowed slightly.
Max continued righteously, "Seven years ago, you were the one who wanted the divorce. You initiated it, and now you want to remarry. Mom isn't someone you can summon and dismiss at will! So many people want to be my dad—why should Mom choose you? If it weren't for you, my brother wouldn't still be missing."
Alexander asked, "If I find him, would that earn your approval?"
Even if Max hadn't made this demand, he would still search for that child.
Max was stunned. "You can find him?"
Alexander replied, "Dead or alive, I'll keep searching until I find him."
He paused, then continued slowly, "What happened seven years ago—I was wrong. I won't deny that."
He'd never been one to shift blame. If he'd treated Grace properly back then, at least she wouldn't have spent seven years hiding from him in fear.
If only he'd taken the time to truly understand Grace, perhaps he wouldn't have decided to divorce her.
But it was too late for regrets now.
The only thing he could do was find that child as quickly as possible.
From the bedroom, Liam pushed open the door and poked out his little head. Seeing Alexander had returned, he called out sweetly, "Daddy!"
Alexander turned to see Liam running toward him with open arms, beaming with joy.
"Daddy!"
Alexander picked up Liam, who wrapped his arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek before eagerly asking, "Where's Grace?"
Alexander replied, "Grace is tired. She's resting at the hotel. I'll bring her home tomorrow."
The hotel...
Something in Max's little brain seemed to snap, alarm bells going off as he demanded, "Why did you take my mom to a hotel?"
Alexander raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. Seeing Max's suspicious stare, he found it amusing.
That look was like he'd caught them in adultery.
Alexander said, "I took her there to sleep."
Max's face grew even more suspicious. "You slept with Mom?"
Alexander countered, "Haven't you ever slept with Mom?"
This question genuinely stumped Max.
He answered somewhat guiltily, "I have..."
Alexander became even more self-righteous, asking methodically, "If you can sleep with Mom, why can't I?"
Liam perked up, saying enviously, "I want to sleep with Grace too."
Max flicked him on the forehead and glared at him before turning back to Alexander. "That's different!"
Alexander asked with interest, "How is it different?"
Max's face reddened. "It just is!"
Alexander's eyes took on a playful gleam.
Max seemed to understand quite a lot.
Though that made sense.
At barely eight years old, he could manipulate the stock market and capital markets with ease. He was far more mature than other children his age, and he understood far too much.
Alexander wondered what other "surprises" this child might be hiding.
Alexander felt an intense curiosity about Max. This seemingly miraculous son apparently harbored many more secrets he didn't know about.
---
Night had fallen.
Alexander arrived at the hotel with dinner.
Grace had slept all afternoon and felt somewhat better by evening, though her back and legs still ached. When he entered the room, she was lying in bed, looking like she'd just woken up.
Alexander sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "Did you sleep all afternoon?"
Grace nodded. "Mm-hmm..."
Alexander leaned down to kiss her lips, asking tenderly, "Completely exhausted?"
Grace's face burned as she pushed him away. "You have the nerve to ask? If I'd known..."
If she'd known he had such stamina, she would have been more careful.
Yesterday she'd been caught off guard, but she wouldn't fall for his tricks again today!
Grace set down her phone. When she'd woken up, she'd discovered she'd been removed from the company group chat.
The company had unilaterally fired her.
She'd also learned some inside information.
Amelia had died...
The news was too sudden; she wasn't prepared for it and felt a wave of melancholy.
Apparently, Amelia's injuries had been too severe. She'd been in the ICU on life support, which cost hundreds of thousands each month.
This amount might have been nothing to the Thomas family before, but Joshua was completely overwhelmed now. Offending Alexander had dire consequences—the Hayes family's retaliation was crushing him.
Currently, he could barely protect himself, let alone care for the wife who'd caused him all this trouble.