Yes, I Have a Child with the Villain

"President Grant is on his annual leave."

"..."

’How long has he been back at the company? And he’s already taking his annual leave?’

’Hey, don’t tell me he’s hiding from us.’

After holding back for a full day and night, Gavin Grant finally lost his patience. He said to Jonathan Grant, "Call your son. See where he’s gone."

Jonathan Grant was already dialing before he even finished speaking. "Hello? Where have you gone, you little brat?"

Adrian Grant was currently sitting under a sun umbrella, watching the child splash around in the kids’ pool with a floatie. When he answered the call, his tone was unhurried.

"I’m on vacation."

Jonathan Grant’s phone was on speaker. Gavin Grant couldn’t help but snatch the phone and retort:

"Vacation? You’re deliberately hiding from us, aren’t you, kid?"

"Grandpa, why would I have any reason to hide from you?"

Hearing the kid’s insolent tone, Jonathan Grant couldn’t take it anymore either. "You know perfectly well what you’ve done to feel guilty about!"

"Dad, Grandpa, I haven’t done anything to feel guilty about."

"Hmph, you have the nerve to say that!" Hearing this, Jonathan Grant’s anger, which had been building for days, finally found an outlet. "Who was it that said the child wasn’t yours and told us we were overthinking it?

You’ve really made something of yourself, haven’t you? Hiding a child this old from us?"

"Daddy, I want to get out."

Ryan Grant had tired himself out in the kids’ pool. Still in his floatie, he paddled over to the edge and shouted to Adrian Grant.

Hearing him, Adrian Grant got up, walked over to the pool, and bent down to lift the little guy out of the water. He casually draped the towel from his arm over the boy’s head. "Dry yourself off and go inside to change."

"Okay."

Ryan Grant obediently covered his head with the towel and dried off the water droplets. When he was done, he handed the towel back. "Here, Daddy."

With that, he happily scampered into the house.

Jonathan Grant and Gavin Grant, who had heard the entire exchange: "..."

Jonathan Grant asked, "Whose voice was that? Who’s calling you Daddy?"

Adrian Grant: "The child."

Jonathan Grant and Gavin Grant: "..."

"Whose child? Are you admitting he’s your son?"

"He is my son, but he isn’t a child I had with someone in the past." Adrian Grant began trying to explain the boy’s origins.

Jonathan Grant: "What do you mean? Don’t tell me the child popped out of the future?"

Adrian Grant: "You’re right. The child is indeed from the year 2036."

"..."

There was a moment of silence on both ends of the line.

Adrian Grant stood outside, his gaze passing through the glass door of the villa. He watched Caroline Whitman inside, pouring the child a glass of water. His eyes lingered for a moment before he looked away.

"It sounds absurd, I know, but it’s the truth.

I hid this from you because I considered that if the child came from the future, he might one day return to his own time.

When that happens, I’m worried you won’t be able to handle the loss.

Also, the child’s mother and I have never had any sort of relationship before this. I hope you won’t go looking for trouble with her or interfere in our affairs.

We can talk about everything else when I get back."

With that, he hung up and walked toward the house.

The father and son sitting in the office were silent for a few seconds, then glanced at each other.

Finally, Gavin Grant spoke first. "Your son doesn’t have any mental problems, does he?"

’If word got out that the future heir of the Grant Group has mental issues, his position would become unstable.’

Jonathan Grant immediately replied, "Based on Adrian’s business performance abroad all these years, his work in the six months since returning, and his annual physicals, Adrian’s mental health is absolutely fine."

Gavin Grant: "So, you believe the child is from the future?"

Jonathan Grant ignored the ’I think you need to get your head checked’ look on his father’s face and accepted what Adrian Grant said rather quickly.

"It’s not impossible. Think about that child. The sense of familiarity he had when he first met us—it wasn’t at all like a first meeting. Besides, do you really think Adrian would secretly let the child get to know us?

The way I see it, by hiding him like this, he was probably hoping the kid would never even know we existed.

We’ve also been looking into the Whitman family’s daughter these past few days. There are absolutely no records of her having given birth in recent years.

No matter how well the Whitman family covers their tracks, they’re not so powerful that they can erase every trace."

Gavin Grant was lost in thought. Hearing this, he shot his son a sidelong glance. "So you also think Caroline Whitman is the child’s mother?"

"Heh, why else would Adrian so seriously emphasize that we shouldn’t interfere in his and Caroline Whitman’s affairs?

Franklin Whitman is the child’s honorary maternal grandfather, and this honorary grandson only appeared this year. I suspect the child really did just show up in their lives this year."

At his age, Jonathan Grant still had to make his brain work at high speed.

After what Adrian Grant had said, and adding his own flash of deductive insight, everything seemed to connect.

"..."

Now that Adrian Grant was away on vacation with the child, all they could do was wait for him to return.

But being told not to interfere in his and Caroline Whitman’s affairs... Fine. They would listen to him and not get involved.

But that didn’t mean they were just going to sit back and do nothing.

A child traveling from the future, who might one day return to his own time—it sounded more and more absurd the more they thought about it.

After leaving the Grant Group offices, the more Gavin Grant thought about it, the more unsettled he felt.

He thought about how Franklin Whitman was probably still in the dark and was just about to call and "check in" on him when Adrian Grant’s call came through at the perfect moment.

"What is it?" Gavin Grant answered and got straight to the point. "Have you come to your senses? Ready to tell us the truth?"

"Grandpa, what I told you earlier was the truth.

I’m calling you this time to ask you not to tell Caroline Whitman’s parents about the child.

The truth they are meant to know in the future shouldn’t come from an outsider. I hope you can understand."

"..."

’Hah, this kid.’

That same day, Jonathan Grant also received a call from Adrian Grant, the content of which was identical to what Gavin Grant had heard.

After hanging up, he turned to Grace Lawson and said, "Look at your son, warning us like that. Are we those kind of people?"

Grace Lawson replied, "If your son hadn’t made that call, it looked to me like you were just about to give Franklin Whitman a piece of your mind."

Jonathan Grant said, trying to save face, "Who says? I was just going to check on him, ask him out for tea, and build a rapport with our potential in-laws."

As he spoke, he actually dialed Franklin Whitman. When the call connected, Jonathan Grant said, "My dear in-law—er, no, Mr. Whitman, are you free tonight? Want to get together?"

On the other end of the line, Franklin Whitman’s gruff voice came through. "No time. I’m on my annual leave right now, traveling with my wife."

Jonathan Grant: "Oh, oh, you’re on annual leave too? My son is also on leave. I wonder if your daughter is on leave as well."

Franklin Whitman: "My daughter? I don’t know, she didn’t tell me. Ah, well, there’s no use in us worrying about our kids’ love lives. We should just let them be. My dear in-law—ah, no, Mr. Grant, let’s get tea after I finish my trip."

After Franklin Whitman hung up, Yolanda Young, who was sitting beside him, said calmly, "Was that Jonathan Grant who called you?"

"Yeah. That father-son duo has been calling me one after the other. Do you think something serious is about to happen between our daughter and that Adrian Grant?"

Just a short while ago, Gavin Grant had invited him out to play chess, even saying he’d bring his little grandson. Never mind that he was traveling now; even if he were still at home in Kingsport, he couldn’t just go knocking on their door every day to "borrow" the child.

"If our daughter really likes him and is pursuing him, you should invite that young man out for a meal sometime. I want to see what his character is like."

"Alright."