Chapter 176: Is Elias My Son?
"Say something!" The man roared, growing bolder as Evelyn remained silent. He lunged forward, his rough hands reaching for Elias. "Give me my son back! You fake, lying woman!"
"Don't touch me!" Elias screamed, kicking and punching at the man’s legs. "Mommy, help! Uncle Ryan, help me!"
"Stop acting!" The man’s face twisted into a snarl. His large, calloused hands clamped onto Elias’s small arms, jerking the boy toward him with brutal force. "You’re coming home with me!"
Elias wailed in pain, his face pale with terror.
Evelyn went frantic. She clawed at the man’s fingers, her nails digging deep into the back of his hands until blood drew. "Let go of him! Let go or I’ll kill you!"
The camera flashes intensified, and the reporters' questions became a sharp, deafening cacophony.
"Miss Bell, is your silence a confession?"
"Did you really kidnap a child just to build your charitable image?"
"Explain the DNA report!"
Just as Evelyn reached her breaking point, ready to scream the truth to the world, a thunderous engine roar tore through the street outside. A screech of tires followed immediately.
Before anyone could react, a dark figure crashed through the circle of reporters like a wrecking ball.
Thump!
Damian Green’s boot connected squarely with the man’s chest.
The force was incredible. The man was sent flying, skidding across the marble floor several yards away. He curled into a ball, clutching his chest and moaning in agony.
"Who gave you the balls to touch him!"
Damian’s eyes were bloodshot, the veins in his forehead bulging. He radiated a cold, murderous aura that made the air feel heavy. Without even stopping to fix his disheveled suit, he spun around and scooped the trembling Elias off the ground, pulling the boy into a crushing embrace.
The lobby fell into a deathly silence.
The fake smile on Valerie’s face froze. The microphone in her hand nearly slipped to the floor. She had calculated everything, but she hadn't expected Damian to arrive so fast—or that he would resort to public violence for a "bastard child."
The middle-aged woman stopped her fake crying instantly. Shaking, she backed away from the lethal look in Damian’s eyes.
"Mr... Mr. Green..." a reporter stammered, trying to regain courage. "That couple has a DNA report. The child belongs to—"
"To hell with the report!"
Damian’s roar cut the reporter off. His predatory eyes swept over the crowd.
"If anyone chooses to believe that piece of trash paper, I will personally see to it that you disappear from this industry. Omni’s legal team is already on the way. Anyone who dares to utter one more lie will rot in a prison cell!"
In his arms, Elias was still sobbing, his tiny hands clutching Damian’s collar for dear life. Tears and snot smeared across Damian’s expensive custom suit, but he didn't care. Instead, he awkwardly patted the boy’s back, his own voice trembling uncontrollably. "It’s okay... don’t be afraid. No one is taking you."
Evelyn stood frozen, watching the scene. Her heart felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing it dry.
Damian turned slowly, holding the child, and looked at Evelyn with red-rimmed eyes. The chaos of the lobby seemed to fade away, leaving only the three of them in the world.
Damian looked down at the small face wet with tears.
The resemblance was undeniable. He wasn't looking at a stranger; he was looking at the three-year-old version of himself from his mother's old photo albums. The curve of the brow, the way his lips parted in fear, even the way his nose twitched when he sobbed—it was a perfect mirror.
"Give him to me." Evelyn rushed forward, desperate to take the boy back.
Damian instinctively turned his body, shielding the child from her reach. He looked up, his bloodshot eyes locking onto hers. His voice was a raspy whisper. "Tell me, Evelyn."
He ignored the frantic cameras and the lying couple groaning on the floor. "The report is a fake, I know that now. But look me in the eye and tell me—whose son is he?"
Evelyn’s heart hammered against her ribs so hard it hurt. Looking at the madness in Damian’s eyes, she knew that a single second of hesitation would give him the excuse to snatch Elias away forever.
"He is my child."
Evelyn took a deep breath, digging her nails into her palms to stay focused through the pain. "But I adopted him. The month after I left you, I processed the paperwork at a church orphanage in Seattle."
"Adopted?" Damian laughed, and the sound was more painful than a sob. "You expect me to believe that? What a coincidence. You just happened to adopt a boy who looks exactly like me?"
"It’s just a coincidence!" Evelyn gritted her teeth, her voice rising in a sharp, defensive tone. "Stop being so arrogant, Damian. There are millions of blonde, blue-eyed boys in the world! Give Elias back to me!"
"I don’t believe you."
Damian tightened his hold. Elias squirmed uncomfortably, letting out a small whimper of protest.
"We are doing a DNA test," Damian stated, his tone brook no argument. "Right now. I will arrange for the most prestigious lab in New York. I want to see the results with my own eyes."
"By what right?"
"By the right that I am the CEO of Omni and I just saved his life!" Damian bellowed. "If the test proves he isn't mine, I’ll set up a hundred-million-dollar trust fund for the boy as an apology! But if he is mine..."
His Adam's apple bobbed heavily. A flicker of humble hope crossed his eyes. "Evelyn, if he is mine..."
The standoff reached a breaking point. Reporters pushed forward, microphones almost hitting Damian in the face.
Suddenly, a firm, elegant hand reached out and clamped onto Damian’s wrist.
"And if he is yours, then what? Will you drive them to their deaths again, just like you did four years ago?"
Ryan Lawrence had cut through the crowd unnoticed. He wore a deep grey trench coat, standing tall with a terrifying sense of authority. Ryan twisted his wrist, and Damian winced, his grip loosening.
Evelyn didn't waste a second. She snatched Elias back, pulling him into her arms and retreating several steps. Ryan stepped in front of them, a human shield.
"Ryan..." Damian massaged his wrist, his gaze turning venomous. "This is between her and me. Stay out of it."
"Her business is my business."
Ryan gave a cold smirk. He pulled a tablet from his coat pocket and turned the screen toward the cameras.
"Members of the press, instead of focusing on boring gossip, perhaps you’d prefer to see this."
On the screen was a high-resolution screenshot of a bank transfer. The sender was an offshore account, but the stupid middleman had left his name in the memo. The recipient was the "father" currently playing dead on the floor.
"Five hundred thousand dollars," Ryan’s voice rang out, clear and powerful. "Sent yesterday afternoon from a shell company linked to the Astor family directly into the pockets of these two scammers."