Chapter 7 Irrefutable Evidence of Her Motherhood
Seeing Alexander holding a stack of documents with an increasingly dark expression, Max urged impatiently, "Can you please return my mommy to me first?"
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you want to see your mommy?"
Max nodded. "Yes."
"Fine." Alexander's lips curved into a sinister smile. "I'll take you to see her right now!"
Alexander stood up, scooping Max into his arms with one hand.
Seeing the man's menacing demeanor, Zara worried for Max's safety and immediately stepped forward to block Alexander's path, spreading her arms wide. "What are you doing? Where are you taking Max?"
Alexander shot her a cold glance and said icily, "Please escort this lady out of Crest Corporation."
Two bodyguards immediately rushed in from outside, flanking Zara and lifting her.
Zara panicked. "What... what are you doing?"
Max said coldly, "Be gentle with Zara! Otherwise, for every time you repair Crest Corporation's security system, I'll attack it again!"
The bodyguards hesitated, looking to Alexander for direction.
Alexander looked down at the clearly adorable yet precocious Max, still finding it hard to believe that Crest Corporation's security network had collapsed because of him. "Did you really attack Crest Corporation's security network?"
Max replied, "The Quella virus code that attacked Crest Corporation's network was written by me. Even if you spend millions rebuilding and maintaining it, the virus will remain dormant in the system's deep layers—I can activate it anytime!"
After a pause, Max smiled elegantly. "However, as long as you return my mommy to me, I can permanently seal the virus."
Quella! Anyone in tech had heard of the Quella virus.
A few months ago, Quella had swept through financial markets. In just three days, it infected hundreds of thousands of computers, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Quella destroyed host systems and executed malicious code. Within three days, countless client records were wiped clean. In one week, numerous financial giants suffered unprecedented losses, yet the virus mysteriously vanished without a trace.
Hacker alliances worldwide had been speculating about which genius hacker could have created such a devastating virus.
Alexander couldn't believe that the mastermind behind this virus code was a seven-year-old child.
Jeremy whispered nearby, "We've already called in engineers for repairs. It's definitely the Quella virus, and the engineers are completely helpless. All of Crest Corporation is paralyzed."
"Whether you believe it or not, I always keep my word! As long as you return my mommy to me safe and sound, otherwise, you'll regret it!" Max snorted defiantly.
Alexander smirked. "You just want to see your mommy, right? Fine, I'll grant your wish."
The Hayes Manor.
Grace lay in bed, drowsy and half-asleep.
Sudden heavy footsteps echoed from outside.
"Mr. Hayes, you're back!"
"Mr. Hayes, the child you're carrying is..."
The door was suddenly pushed open forcefully.
Grace jolted awake, sitting up abruptly in bed and looking toward the door. However, upon seeing Max in Alexander's arms, her face instantly drained of all color.
"Max!"
"Mommy!" The moment Max saw her, his eyes welled up and reddened, but seeing that she was safe and unharmed brought him some relief.
Grace was terrified, thinking Alexander might hurt Max. "Alexander! What are you doing!" She frantically scrambled out of bed, not bothering with shoes, and rushed barefoot toward him to snatch Max away.
But Alexander slightly sidestepped, and she lunged into empty air.
"Grace, you haven't explained about the child yet." He looked down at her condescendingly, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Didn't you say you never had children?"
With that, his gaze fell on Max's face, and he raised his hand, his long fingers gently brushing across the boy's cheek. "Whose child is he?"
Grace's lips trembled violently as she stared anxiously at Max.
She thought Alexander had uncovered everything and didn't know how to make excuses.
If he knew the truth, what would happen?
Would he hate her for secretly carrying his child yet concealing it from the Hayes family?
The premature birth, the other child who died—she hadn't been able to save him, and the guilt had haunted her ever since. Because of this, she had poured all her love into Max.
If Alexander took custody of Max, she wouldn't even have the resources to fight him in court.
Just as Grace's face flushed red with no words to respond, Alexander said coldly, "What's wrong? Don't know what lie to tell now?"
Grace stammered, "I..."
"In the hospital forms you filled out, the father's name listed was Henry. What's your relationship with this man?" Alexander pressed further.
Grace's mind went blank.
When she was pregnant and needed to register, the screening process was quite strict, so she had asked her college friend Henry to sign for her.
Alexander then demanded, "Is this child yours and that man's?"
Grace was completely stunned.
Max looked at Alexander, then at Grace.
With intelligence far beyond his years, even surpassing many adults, he immediately understood the situation and said to Alexander, "Anyway, you're not my biological father, so you have no right to question my parentage!"
Grace covered her mouth, instinctively wanting to explain, but then realized that if she revealed Max's true parentage, custody would definitely be taken by the Hayes family!
She would rather bear the shame of adultery than watch helplessly as she lost Max.
Grace bit her lip and said, "Anyway, he's not your son!"
The man's icy voice cut through the air above her, "So you actually dared to betray me?"
Grace's face went deathly pale as she looked up, instinctively reaching for Max.
Max threw himself into her arms, and Grace held him tightly, trembling as she faced Alexander.
Alexander said angrily, "Back then, when I was severely injured and in a coma, you agreed to marry a man in a vegetative state—were you coveting the Hayes family fortune? Were you planning to use this child to pose as mine and inherit my estate?"
Grace replied, "I never had such thoughts! Don't judge others by your own low standards! Alexander, we're already divorced. Who I have children with is none of your business!"
She looked at Max and said, "This child was an accident between Henry and me!"
She was someone who had never been good at lying; whenever she lied, her face would turn red.
However, in Alexander's eyes, this only confirmed that she was feeling guilty and panicking!
"An accident?" Alexander sneered. "You make adultery sound so noble!"
Grace said, "Alexander, our marriage was always a sham. Since we're divorced, can't we just leave each other alone? I have nothing to say to you."
Alexander's brow furrowed with cold fury. "So what about Liam? Is that child really yours or not?"
Grace replied, "I only have Max. I haven't had any other children."
Alexander said, "Grace, how many true words come out of your mouth? You claim you haven't lied to me, yet you're full of lies!" He naturally wouldn't trust Grace's words easily. "I've already ordered my people to conduct a paternity test. The results will be ready by tomorrow at the earliest. If I find out that Liam is your child and that you abandoned him, you'll pay dearly for it."