Chapter 48 Did You Fight with Ms. Foster?
When Grace was pregnant with Max, the father's name on the medical records was listed as Henry.
Mia had actually managed to dig up information about Henry.
Grace said, "You should spend your energy managing your own affairs instead of meddling in mine. I've cut all ties with the Foster family. Max's parentage is none of your business!"
Mia replied, "I can see you're too ashamed to discuss it! A bastard child like that is a permanent stain on your reputation—one that will never wash away!"
Grace snapped, "Max is not a stain! Stop spreading these rumors. Max is..."
She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering the listening device.
She'd almost forgotten about it and nearly revealed everything about Max's origins.
On one hand, she didn't want Max to bear the stigma of being illegitimate, but on the other hand, she was terrified of Alexander discovering Max's true parentage.
This fear felt more like reverence for power, combined with dread of an uncertain future.
Grace felt deeply conflicted.
Mia pressed, "What's wrong? Too guilty to speak?"
In the study, Alexander held his earpiece, listening intently to the transmission from the bug.
This Mia was truly relentless, but her mention of Max's parentage made Alexander acutely aware that Grace was being evasive about the boy's origins, refusing to say a word about it.
Who exactly was Max's biological father? What was she trying to hide, and what unspeakable identity did this man possess?
These questions began forming in his mind.
Grace's voice came through: "He's my son, and he has my blood running through his veins. Why should I feel guilty or ashamed because of who his father is? I'm proud to have such a smart and thoughtful son like Max."
Mia shot back, "He's the product of your betrayal of marriage!"
"He is not!" Grace said angrily. "Mia, if you insult Max again, I won't be so polite!"
Mia was momentarily intimidated by her fierce demeanor, but still puffed out her chest defiantly. "What do you mean, not so polite? You wouldn't dare hit me, would you?"
The sound was crisp and resounding.
Mia clutched her face, staring in disbelief with wide eyes.
Grace found her reaction amusing. "What made you think I wouldn't dare hit you? Move your car out of my way! If you block my path again, I'm calling security!"
"You...!"
"Move it!" She pulled out her phone and dialed the property management office. "Should I have security tow your car away?"
"This is a Maserati! You wouldn't dare!"
Grace replied, "You're blocking the road here, preventing other cars from leaving. Do you have any idea what kind of people live in this apartment complex? How dare you obstruct traffic?"
Mia was actually cowed by her indomitable presence and scrambled back to her car in a panic, sheepishly reversing to clear the way.
Grace returned to her car and instructed the driver, "Tony, let's go."
"Yes, Ms. Foster."
Grace arrived at Horizon Group headquarters right on time.
She had prepared thoroughly, so despite the particularly demanding interview questions, she handled them with ease and smoothly passed the interviewer's assessment.
Six candidates were interviewing together. One was connected—reportedly some executive's daughter—and the interview was just a formality for her guaranteed position. Of the remaining five, aside from Grace, all were elite graduates from prestigious universities with golden résumés, though they lacked work experience and didn't perform as well as Grace in the interview.
Grace had employed a small strategic move for the interview.
She had dressed herself from head to toe in designer brands.
The interviewer's first impression of her was excellent.
Indeed, clothes make the person. With the boost from luxury brands, she eliminated the other four candidates and received a job offer with an annual salary of $500,000 on the spot.
The interview was a success!
Grace couldn't wait to share this wonderful news with Max.
When she returned home, the housekeeper immediately approached her. "Ms. Foster, Mr. Hayes is in the study. He said since Liam will be getting out of school soon, he'll pick him up, so you don't need to go."
Grace said, "But I promised to pick up both Max and Liam from school together." Was he preventing her from going?
Did he really think she might kidnap Liam?
Was this another example of his paranoia?
She suddenly felt the listening device in her pocket, frowned slightly, and walked toward the study.
At the study door, she knocked.
"Come in."
Grace pushed the door open and entered.
Alexander was reviewing financial reports. She walked to his desk and slammed her hand down hard.
The loud sound captured Alexander's complete attention.
He slowly looked up to see Grace placing the listening device on his desk, saying with obvious displeasure, "Alexander, you don't need to plant these things on me. If you have concerns about me, you can speak up directly. If you're worried about entrusting Liam to my care because you think I might harm him somehow, don't you think putting this listening device on me is going too far?"
Alexander's face showed no surprise as he asked, "You discovered it early on?"
Grace replied, "This thing was so obvious—it would have been hard not to notice!"
Alexander chuckled softly.
Was she the Princess and the Pea? Even such a tiny listening device couldn't escape her detection.
Alexander said, "Since you discovered it early, does that mean everything I heard through the bug was you putting on an act?"
He had also noticed that Grace seemed to have reservations—knowing she was bugged, she immediately stopped talking and chose to avoid the topic when Max's parentage came up.
Grace was momentarily speechless. "What exactly were you hoping to spy on? Whether I was secretly abusing Liam?"
Alexander replied, "It's difficult for me to trust someone who has betrayed me before."
Grace shot back, "Trust is mutual. If you don't trust me, why should I trust you?"
Alexander said, "People are different. Your trust isn't worth much."
Such an arrogant statement was exactly the kind of thing Alexander would say.
Grace was getting angry. "In your eyes, am I not even as trustworthy as a hired nanny?"
Alexander set aside his financial reports and said to her, "The nannies I hire are all gold-standard professionals from agencies, and there's third-party insurance coverage. We don't have any such guarantees between us."
Grace was practically trembling with rage. "Alexander, you're being completely unreasonable! If you don't trust me to pick up Liam, then I don't trust you to pick up Max either! You go get your son, and I'll go get mine."
With that, she spun around and stormed out of the study.
This woman was truly impossible to reason with.
Alexander suddenly heard the front door slam shut.
He walked out of the study to find the housekeeper standing bewildered in the foyer. "She went out?" he asked.
"Yes, she said she was going to pick up Max from school."
Alexander checked his watch. "It's still early. Why would she leave so soon?"
The housekeeper explained, "Ms. Foster said she didn't want to ride in your car for pickup—she was going to take the subway instead. She was probably worried about hitting rush hour traffic on the subway, so she left early."
After a pause, she asked cautiously, "Mr. Hayes, did you and Ms. Foster have a fight?"