Chapter 66: I Was There When the Child Was Born
As they stepped out of the elevator, Jonathan Grant shot him a cool glance and asked, "Are you coming back to the family home tonight?"
"What’s going on?" Adrian Grant asked, suppressing a strange feeling.
He knew his parents well enough.
For them to ask about him coming home first thing in the morning, there had to be something important to discuss.
Jonathan Grant thought about the paternity test he’d received that morning, the one confirming a familial relationship, and almost slapped it down on the table to get everything out in the open.
But he managed to hold back. "Your mother misses you. How long has it been since you last came home?
If I hadn’t come by and seen you at the office, I wouldn’t even have known my son was in the country."
The kinship report he had was for him and Ryan; he didn’t have a DNA comparison between Adrian and Ryan, so it wasn’t the right evidence to throw in his face.
"..."
Adrian Grant said, "If I don’t have anything pressing tonight, I’ll be back."
—
Whitman Group.
Caroline Whitman had just gotten out of a meeting when Franklin Whitman walked into her office, holding a thermos.
Surprised to see him, she asked, "Is something wrong?"
Franklin Whitman first took a look around the office, then pointed to the vase of flowers and remarked appreciatively, "These flowers smell lovely. You have them changed out every day, don’t you?"
"I’ll have Lin get some for my office later. A bit of floral scenery would be nice."
Caroline Whitman’s eyes remained fixed on the report in front of her; she didn’t respond.
Franklin Whitman slowly unscrewed the lid of his thermos and took a sip. He shuffled over to her desk and glanced at the documents on it.
"You’ve landed quite a few partnerships recently. Our company’s profits should be higher this year than in the past, right?"
"..."
Caroline Whitman finally looked up. "Director Whitman, if you have something to say, please get to the point."
"Ahem. So, how are things progressing with that Adrian Grant fellow...?"
Caroline Whitman was exasperated. "This is work. Please don’t ask about matters unrelated to business."
"Working isn’t the same as being in prison. There are no company rules against discussing other things in the office," Franklin Whitman said leisurely.
Leaning closer, he added, "I hear that Adrian Grant fellow spent a few years abroad. Do you know what he was up to during that time?"
Caroline Whitman gave him a strange look. ’What’s gotten into him today? Why is he suddenly bringing up Adrian Grant?’
Franklin Whitman added, "What if he was promiscuous while he was away? We can’t have someone like that as our son-in-law."
At his words, Caroline’s heart skipped a beat. Curious, she asked, "Dad, what did you find out?"
’Could it be that Adrian Grant has some kind of dark secret?’
Franklin Whitman: "I didn’t find anything."
"..."
"But I did find these photos. Take a look. This guy had plenty of romantic dalliances while he was abroad..."
Franklin Whitman pulled up various photos on his phone from banquets, all showing Adrian Grant abroad, holding a wine glass and chatting with other men and women.
She couldn’t see anything particularly inappropriate.
The social distance in the photos seemed perfectly normal.
Caroline Whitman pursed her lips, hesitating. It wasn’t that she wanted to speak up for Adrian Grant, but...
"This... is a bit of a stretch, isn’t it?"
"Wait, Dad, where did you get these photos? You have connections abroad?" Caroline Whitman suddenly realized, shocked.
"Hmph, you underestimate your old man," Franklin Whitman said smugly. "I haven’t been a wealthy man all these years for nothing."
"..."
"Then take a look at these videos." Franklin Whitman swiped to a few videos. "See? That kid’s quite the ladies’ man. So many girls hitting on him every day."
In the videos, Adrian Grant was in the school library, and several girls approached him one after another to ask for his contact information.
On the street, in the cafeteria, in the classroom...
And all these videos were clearly filmed while he was abroad.
What shocked Caroline Whitman wasn’t the content of the videos, but rather—
"Dad, where on earth did you get these videos? Are you sure they’re not AI-generated?"
Franklin Whitman huffed. "What AI-generated? I had professionals get these for me."
"..."
"Okay, but in the videos, didn’t Adrian Grant turn them all down? What does this prove?"
"What does it prove? It proves that in situations we can’t see, he might not have turned them down!"
"..."
’Alright, then.’
She finally understood what was happening.
Franklin Whitman had definitely discovered something about Adrian Grant.
Otherwise, there was no way his impression of Adrian, which had been perfectly fine yesterday, would do a complete one-eighty today.
Caroline Whitman held out her hands. "Dad, what is it you’re really trying to say? Just be direct."
"That kid is good-looking and comes from a good family. Even though he presents himself as single to the public, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t fathered an illegitimate child somewhere."
"..."
Caroline Whitman’s brow twitched. "Why would you think something like that?"
"Didn’t I mention to your mother yesterday how much Ryan looks like Adrian Grant? After she heard that, she compared a photo of Adrian with one of Ryan.
And hey, let me tell you, some people couldn’t have a biological child who looks that similar."
"So, last night, I had someone dig into Adrian Grant’s background, both at home and abroad. What you see is the result. It’s just a shame they didn’t catch anything incriminating."
"..."
’And you’re calling it a shame.’
"Tell me, could it be that the child’s parents were just actors hired by Adrian Grant to put on a show for you?"
"Impossible. I was there when the child was born."
"Oh, oh, you were there, huh... You were there?" Franklin Whitman froze, then chuckled awkwardly. "So, does this mean I’ve misunderstood the kid?"
"As long as that’s not the case, it’s fine. It’s fine. I told your mother she was overthinking it."
"..."
Franklin Whitman leaned in again, a gossipy look on his face. "Is the child related to the Grant Family? C’mon, give your old dad the inside scoop."
"...No. Please, just stop prying."
Just then, her secretary knocked and entered, giving Caroline Whitman the perfect excuse to tell Franklin Whitman to leave so she could handle business matters.
After seeing Franklin Whitman out, she breathed a sigh of relief.
If Franklin Whitman had kept pressing, she really would have run out of excuses.
By her count, it had been over two months since Ryan Grant arrived in this world.
However, they had absolutely no way of predicting when the child would return to his original timeline.
Caroline Whitman suddenly realized something.
If either of them exposed the child’s situation, the other parent would undoubtedly be dragged into it.
’What would they say then? Tell them outright that the child is a time traveler? Who would believe that?’
’If the child were to suddenly disappear again one day, wouldn’t the elders suffer a severe psychological blow?’
These were all problems that needed to be considered.
’If the child stays in this world permanently, does that mean she and Adrian Grant will have to maintain this ambiguous relationship forever?’
At that thought, Caroline Whitman’s hand paused as she was flipping through a file.
’Do I really have to pursue him and make our relationship official?’
She pursed her lips, recalling the time she had warned Adrian Grant not to develop feelings for her, and his disdainful reply: "You’re quite confident."
"Confident, am I?" Caroline Whitman scoffed softly.
’So what if he’s the villain?’
The moment the thought surfaced, Caroline Whitman startled herself.
She hadn’t expected her mindset to change so drastically after just a few months of interacting with Adrian Grant.
Before she had any contact with him, she never would have thought this way.
She would even go out of her way to avoid "cannon fodder" and "villain" types, never initiating contact.
’Is this the kind of courage you get from being a sucker for a handsome face?’
—
Franklin Whitman had just returned to his office when he received a call from Gavin Grant.
"I’ve finished my check-up. When are you bringing the child over to play chess?"
The moment the call connected, Gavin Grant got straight to the point.
Franklin Whitman paused, lifting his phone to confirm the name on the caller ID.
It was, indeed, Gavin Grant.