Chapter 4 His Biological Father

• “Surrounded?” Cameron's reaction was immediate, his body instinctively moving to shield Jovienne as he positioned himself protectively in front of her.
• “Who was the person who came?” he asked quickly, his voice laced with urgency.
• “I'm not sure; all I saw were people in black suits, wearing sunglasses!” The waiter, clearly shaken by the unusual spectacle, stammered out her response, her voice tinged with panic.
• “I... I need to inform the other guests. You must leave quickly through the back door!” Having delivered her message, the waiter was the first to sprint away, her footsteps echoing down the hall.
• Caught in the unfolding chaos, Jovienne's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the man she had locked eyes with earlier. Fear gripped her heart at the possibility that it was indeed Hendrik who had come, perhaps to take their child away.
• “Leonard, come quickly to mommy!” she called out to her son, her voice tinged with anxiety as she pulled him close, her face a mask of panic.
• “Take Leonard and leave through the back door first, I'll go check out what's happening,” Cameron instructed, his tone resolute. The audacity of anyone causing trouble in Lumonburg was unthinkable; it seemed these people were courting danger.
• However, Leonard clung to him firmly. “Mr. Fisher, I'm coming with you!”
• He was adamant, his voice firm, aware of who might be approaching. However, the speed of the unfolding events had astounded him.
• Leonard had planned to use his birthday as a pretext to meet Hendrik at the designated location, but those plans had been unexpectedly derailed. Over time, not only had his carefully concealed identity been exposed, but it also risked involving his mother and Cameron.
• “Take good care of your mom and take her home first,” Cameron urged, dismissing the young boy's offer to accompany him. The uncertainty outside was too great, and involving another person could potentially escalate the risk.
• “Let's go together!” Jovienne insisted, unwilling to let him face the danger alone.
• If it truly was Hendrik and his entourage, leaving Cameron to confront them alone could turn him into mere cannon fodder. She was all too familiar with the ruthlessness and cold-heartedness of that man.
• “There won't be any trouble,” Cameron tried to reassure her, his voice calm yet firm as he released Leonard's hand and prepared to confront the situation head-on.
• Suddenly, the door to the private dining room was violently thrust open with a loud bang. A dozen or so bodyguards dressed in sleek black attire swiftly filed in, effectively cornering the three of them against the wall of the room.
• “Take him away!” the lead bodyguard commanded, his eyes fixed intently on Leonard as he issued the order.
• “Who dares lay a finger on him!” Cameron positioned himself between the bodyguards and his charges, his handsome face turning ashen with suppressed fury.
• “Who are you people?” Jovienne demanded, her voice stern as she shielded her son. Her question halted one of the advancing bodyguards, the tension in the room escalating rapidly.
• Wrapped protectively around her son, her arms trembled slightly with the strain, yet she dared not loosen her grip, terrified that they might attempt to snatch her child away.
• Leonard clung to her, equally terrified, fearing for her safety amid the unfolding confrontation.
• The intentions of these newcomers were clearly malevolent, yet their identities remained cloaked in mystery for the moment.
• Leonard chose to quietly observe the situation.
• “Who exactly are you people?” Cameron demanded once more, his voice echoing in the charged atmosphere, yet no response came.
• The confusion deepened—what could a child possibly have done to warrant such an aggressive response?
• A chilling, masculine voice then cut through the tense silence, “It's been a while, Mrs. Xenakis!”
• Hendrik's icy stare fixed on the bewildered woman before him.
• Five years earlier, to pressure him, an elaborate party had been organized where her pregnancy was publicly announced. Yet, under the scrutiny of all, she had executed a crafty escape.
• Not only had she taken the child, but she also liquidated and transferred all assets under their name, leaving without a trace. This drama had turned the Xenakis family into a topic of scandalous gossip among the upper class.
• For years, Hendrik had exhaustively searched for her, sending countless agents to track her down without ever finding a single clue.
• Given the vast resources at his disposal, if not for someone deliberately concealing her, it would have been impossible for her to vanish so thoroughly.
• So, who was protecting her?
• His gaze lingered on her, the light casting her features into a soft, almost ethereal glow that he found hauntingly familiar yet loathsome.
• She truly hadn't changed at all.
• Despite the time that had passed, she seemed unchanged to him, each contour of her face strikingly familiar yet marred by the disdain he felt towards her current guise.
• Jovienne, observing the intensity in his gaze, tried to gauge his thoughts. His eyes, piercing and detached, seemed to cut through her with their frosty sharpness as he advanced step by step.
• His presence was as commanding and distant as ever, wrapped in an aura of unattainable luxury and cold detachment. Sadly, for her, aside from the undercurrents of threat and intimidation, he held no allure.
• “Sir, you've mistaken me for someone else,” she declared, gathering her composure, her voice steady and firm. In truth, she harbored no fear at the prospect of this confrontation.
• In her eyes, she had committed no wrong against him.
• Considering neither he nor Rochelle were apt caregivers for the child, her continued presence seemed only to waste the precious life she was tasked to protect.
• Departing had been the only viable choice, driven by the need to shield her son from potential harm.
• Her greatest fear now was that, upon seeing his son, Hendrik might attempt to take him away.
• She had hoped that hiding here would allow them a peaceful life. Unfortunately, it seemed he had managed to track them down.
• “Heh, I've mistaken you for someone else?” Hendrik scoffed as he pulled out a chair and sat down, his chuckle dripping with sarcasm. “You really are as... foolish as ever!”
• Only a thoughtless woman like her could come up with such a lame excuse.
• “Watch your language, I am not this 'Mrs. Xenakis' you speak of!” Jovienne retorted sharply, her lips tightly pressed together, her hand gripping her son's with a protective firmness.
• She had never desired the title of Mrs. Xenakis. If she had been fully aware of the truth from the outset, she would have never allowed herself to become so deeply entangled with such a man.
• “Excellent! Back then, you schemed and maneuvered your way into my bed, and now you present yourself as a paragon of purity and virtue. You really do have quite the talent,” Hendrik remarked coldly, his expression stern, his demeanor exuding a daunting aura.
• “You're talking nonsense—” Jovienne started to argue, a wave of anger rising within her, but Cameron, standing protectively before her, silently signaled her to cease. His eyes conveyed that engaging further would be pointless.
• For a brief moment, Cameron was taken aback, not just by Hendrik's abrupt appearance but by the way he addressed her as Mrs. Xenakis.
• It didn't take long for him to realize that this man could indeed be Leonard's biological father.
• But what did that matter? This man had abandoned his family, and now he suddenly appears, flaunting his power. What's there to fear?
• “Cameron, I...” Jovienne began, her voice faltering, her heart pounding with the fear that he might abandon her right then and there.
• The bond between Leonard and Hendrik was unmistakable. Even without explicit acknowledgment, anyone perceptive could discern the connection at a glance.
• Cameron, being a man of keen intellect, surely understood this.
• “Cameron?” Hendrik echoed the name, his eyes briefly scanning her lips that paused midsentence.
• The intimate way she addressed Cameron sparked his curiosity.
• Could it be that after leaving the Xenakis family, she had so quickly found another man, married, and had another child? What a sl*t!
• Suddenly, Hendrik rose to his feet and strode toward her with determined steps, his intentions unclear but his demeanor unmistakably aggressive.