Chapter 45
"Daddy, you have to take the initiative!" Seeing his father's lack of reaction, Damian was beside himself with worry. "You need to send Mommy flowers, take her to the movies, buy her delicious food! Otherwise she'll really run off with someone else!"
Lucas looked at his son's face full of disappointment and was silent for a moment. Then he closed the document and made a phone call.
"Look into Juliana. Everything about her seven years abroad—every last detail. Especially the people around her, particularly that Joshua. I want all the information in my inbox before dawn."
"Yes, sir."
Damian watched his father's slick operation, a bit dazed. So this was... how adults pursued someone? It seemed way more hardcore than flowers and movies.
Relieved, he patted his chest and went back to find Mommy to sleep.
In the study, only Lucas remained. He didn't look at the documents anymore, just stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, staring out into the heavy darkness.
At four in the morning, his phone pinged with a new email notification. The email contained an exhaustive report about Juliana's past seven years—her brilliant resume, achievements in the medical field, published papers. Lucas only scanned through these quickly, his finger scrolling directly to the 'Personal Relationships' section.
Joshua Lynd, heir to the Lynd Group, nephew of Juliana's mother. Confirmed cousin relationship.
Reading this, the inexplicable anger in Lucas's chest eased somewhat.
At the end of the report were several attached photos. He casually clicked on the first one. The photo was taken on a sunny afternoon in what looked like a park. Juliana wore a simple white T-shirt and jeans, smiling as she pushed a child on a swing.
Lucas's gaze suddenly froze on the child in the swing.
That straight nose, those thin lips, those dark eyes with their hint of aloofness...
This face was unmistakably identical to Damian's.
Lucas didn't sleep all night.
At five AM, he strode toward the guest room. Juliana had just woken when he raised his hand and threw the printed photo directly at her.
"Where did this child come from?"
She picked up the photo, and seeing its content, fury at the invasion of her privacy surged through her.
"You investigated me?"
"Answer my question." Lucas looked down at her from his full height.
The photo showed her and Matty playing in the park.
"Lucas, what right do you have to investigate my private life?" Juliana was so angry her voice shook.
But Lucas acted as if he hadn't heard her question. "Seven years ago, when you left the country, you took a newborn baby with you."
Juliana's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected him to dig up even this.
Lucas saw her momentary panic and knew he'd guessed correctly.
"So you adopted him here before you left." His tone was certain.
Adopted?
Looking at Lucas's confident expression, an absurd thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Did he think... Matty wasn't her biological child?
This realization made Juliana feel both incredulous and ridiculous. She remained silent, and he took it as speechlessness after her secret had been exposed.
He straightened up, his face expressionless. "You went to such lengths to adopt a child who looks exactly like Damian. What exactly are you planning?"
"Get out!"
Lucas looked at her deeply but didn't press further. He turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
He lit a cigarette and suddenly heard someone call from behind. "Daddy?"
"Daddy, what are you doing here?"
Lucas turned to look at Damian. He was about to say it was nothing when inspiration suddenly struck. He crouched down, bringing himself eye-level with his son, pulled out his phone, brought up that photo, and held it in front of Damian.
"Dami, tell Daddy—have you ever seen this boy?"
Damian looked at the photo of the boy who looked exactly like himself, his small body visibly stiffening. He nervously clenched his little fists and shook his head forcefully.
"No. I don't know him."
Lucas immediately caught his nervousness. "You really have never seen him before?"
Damian's heart leaped into his throat. He remembered his brother's serious face, carefully instructing him: "This is our secret." He shook his head again, even more forcefully.
"Don't know him."
Lucas studied him for a long moment but didn't question further. "Go back to the room and keep her company." Then he turned and left.
Damian watched his father's retreating figure until it disappeared at the end of the hallway. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, realizing his back was drenched in cold sweat.
He closed the door and ran into Juliana's room. She was still sitting on the bed, hugging her knees.
"Mommy..." Damian carefully climbed onto the bed and hugged her from behind. "Don't be sad anymore. Daddy's just a jerk. We won't pay attention to him."
He pressed his little face against her back and said softly, "Mommy, I'll protect you forever."
Those words snapped Juliana back to reality. Right—she had to protect her son. She couldn't let Lucas take him away! Absolutely not!
Although Lucas had discovered Matty's existence, he currently didn't seem to think Matty was connected to him—only that it was an ordinary case of looking alike.
She grabbed her phone, wanting to call her cousin Joshua immediately, to have him take Matty far away, somewhere the Sharp family could never find.
But her finger hovered over the screen, unable to press down.
Where could she take Matty? Lucas's influence spread across the globe. If he wanted to find someone, he could dig them up from the ends of the earth. Running would only make her look more guilty.
Only by staying put and maintaining it was just a coincidence could she get through this crisis. She needed to calm down and think carefully about what to do next.
---
Damian told Matthew everything about the previous night. Matthew keenly sensed something was wrong, and the two agreed not to switch identities for the next few days.
Before school ended, Damian had drunk too much water. "I'm going to the bathroom."
Matthew grinned. "Then I'll head home first!"
When Damian came out of the bathroom and was walking toward the school gate, he caught sight of something in his peripheral vision—a familiar black Bentley that had just pulled up.
That was... the Hale family's car.