Chapter 3: Daddy, Where Did You Go? Baby Misses You So Much.
For the first time, Caroline Whitman nervously guarded her phone as if waiting for a response to a love confession, anticipating a man’s reply.
"Hardly anyone uses QQ anymore. I don’t even know if he’ll see it," she murmured.
Caroline kept her eyes glued to the screen, terrified of missing the chance to reply instantly. She had even set up a special notification alert just for him.
However, the sent message was met with absolute silence. Eventually, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
A long time passed. At two in the morning, Caroline was jolted awake when her phone slipped and smacked her in the face. Flustered, she rubbed her sore nose and unlocked the screen.
[Special Alert] Adrian Grant: "Spreading rumors and violating my portrait rights are illegal acts."
Caroline felt utterly devastated.
She wondered what to do next. Taking the child to block his door? No, that was the worst possible plan. Adrian wouldn’t fall for it. It might just ruin his impression of her even more and end up traumatizing Ryan Grant.
Villains naturally had dark and unpredictable minds; she couldn’t just charge in recklessly.
Caroline could only count the days until the class reunion, hoping to meet and talk with him then.
`「Over the next three days.」`
Caroline pushed aside all her work. Bundling up tightly to avoid being recognized, she took the child to the amusement park, bought him toys and clothes, and let him enjoy everything he liked.
The boy finally stopped crying out for his dad.
By the fourth day, the company was pressing her urgently. She had a billion-dollar project to negotiate. She couldn’t act like a domineering CEO from a cheesy romance novel and declare, "Suspend the project, I have somewhere to be."
The Whitman family had struck lucky a few years ago. Their business had been booming, but they had only recently established a firm foothold in Kingsport. She couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Therefore, Caroline had no choice but to leave Ryan at home alone for the time being. For his safety, she bought him a brand-new phone and saved her own number in it.
Ryan must have started his education early in his parallel world. He could use simple handwriting input to type, and being quite smart, he knew exactly how to make a phone call.
Even his personal phone number in the parallel world was exactly the same. Because of this, she didn’t have to worry about the little guy dialing the wrong number if something happened.
`「At the Grant Group in Kingsport.」`
"President Grant, here are the financial reports for the past three quarters." The secretary knocked and entered, placing the documents on the desk. Seeing Adrian Grant staring at a file in deep thought, she tactfully retreated from the office.
Adrian finished processing the document in his hands. Just as he picked up the reports his secretary had brought in, his phone vibrated. BUZZ.
He picked it up to see a text from an unknown number.
"Daddy, where did you go? Your baby misses you so much."
Having returned to the country half a year ago to take over the family business, he had seen plenty of open and covert attacks. However, the recent frequency of these suggestive, harassing text messages was truly laughable.
It was just that in the past, they always called him "Big Brother." Now, they had actually changed their tactics to calling him "Daddy."
He had only just gotten this phone number upon returning to the country, using it specifically to handle general public affairs.
One of his business contacts must have leaked his number. Over the past six months, he had continuously received all sorts of explicit messages.
Perhaps noticing his lack of response, the other party sent a new multimedia message:
"Daddy, look into my eyes and tell me, did you have a fight with Mommy? You haven’t come home in so long, and you aren’t replying to my messages."
Adrian opened the photo and was initially taken aback. In the end, he actually followed the message’s instructions and locked eyes with the child in the picture for a brief moment.
After staring for a few seconds, he let out a genuine chuckle.
He switched apps to his chat history with Caroline Whitman, pulled up the two photos, and compared them. It was the exact same child.
It wasn’t just him who was bewildered—even if his mother saw this, she would probably start preparing to be a grandmother.
In fact, the moment he saw the picture, he—the supposed "Daddy"—seriously wracked his brain wondering if he had ever donated to a sperm bank.
He thought, "How very interesting."
Adrian pondered for a moment. He immediately blocked the number and used his personal phone to make a call.
"Go find out what the branch family is up to right now. While you’re at it, look into the owner of this number and their background."
`「At three o’clock in the afternoon.」`
"President Grant, I found it. This number was registered just last week under the real name of the Whitman Group’s daughter, Caroline Whitman."
"Caroline Whitman?" Adrian’s mind flashed back to the nonsensical messages he had received a few days ago.
Still harboring a trace of suspicion, he asked, "Is Caroline married?"
The person on the other end of the line faltered for a moment, somewhat startled that Adrian was suddenly asking about a woman’s private life.
He quickly recovered his wits. "The Whitman family only has one daughter. So far, there has been no news of any marriage alliance involving them."
After a brief pause, the voice on the other end continued, "The Whitman heiress is currently single, but she was rumored to be involved with a member of the Grant family’s branch for the better part of a year."
Surprised, Adrian asked, "Who?"
"Matthew Grant."
The two of them were only a few years apart in age, but according to the family hierarchy, Matthew had to call Adrian his uncle.
Did that mean she had an ugly breakup with Matthew? Was she stiffed on the breakup fee, so she decided to come disgust him, the uncle, out of spite?
Adrian processed the information rapidly and ordered, "Dig deeper into Matthew Grant’s conduct and financial status over the past few years."
After he hung up, the secretary waiting outside knocked on the door at the perfect moment and handed over a document. KNOCK KNOCK.
"President Grant, President Lockwood replied that he is available the evening after tomorrow. I have booked a private room at Zanthia according to your instructions."
"Understood."
Adrian said nothing more and casually opened the quarterly report.
`「At ten o’clock that night.」`
When Caroline returned from a business dinner, the living room lights were still on.
Pushing the door open, she saw Ryan sitting on the sofa. His little head bobbed up and down as he dozed off, but he stubbornly forced himself to stay awake. An open children’s picture book lay beside him.
Caroline quickly changed her shoes, set her bag down, and walked over. "Why aren’t you asleep yet?"
Ryan rubbed his eyes and said in a milky, childish voice, "Daddy isn’t home. I have to wait for Mommy to come back before I sleep."
Caroline’s heart melted.
Over the few days he had been staying with her, the child had been incredibly well-behaved and obedient. He didn’t throw tantrums or cry loudly, showing absolutely none of the traits of a spoiled brat. How could anyone not love him?
"I’m sorry, baby. Mommy has been too busy these past few days." She sat on the sofa and gently pulled Ryan into her embrace. "Mommy has the weekend off starting the day after tomorrow. I’ll take you to the amusement park then, okay?"
After spending a few days with the child, Caroline had gone from awkwardly referring to herself as "Mommy" to saying it completely naturally.
"What about Daddy?" Ryan tilted his little face up. His phoenix eyes, which closely resembled Adrian’s, were filled with anticipation. "Will Daddy come back and go with us?"
Caroline choked on her words.
The other night, she had mustered the courage to text Adrian, only to receive a stern warning in return. How could she possibly bring him up again?
She could only wait for the class reunion and see if Adrian would show up. She would have to try her luck then.
Forcing a stiff, motherly smile, Caroline reached out to pat Ryan’s head. "Daddy is dealing with a special situation right now. His company really needs him, so he had no choice but to leave home for so long," she explained.
Ryan blinked and replied with a soft "Oh." It was hard to tell if he actually believed her.
"So, can my baby go to sleep now?"
"Mhm, I can sleep now. Goodnight, Mommy." Ryan crawled over, hugged Caroline’s face, and planted a kiss on her cheek. Then, he obediently went back to his bedroom to sleep.
"..."
He was so sweet and so easy to coax.
A child like this truly deserved to be her son.
After washing up, Caroline worked overtime in her home office for a while longer. She glanced at the time—it was already approaching two in the morning.
She let out a yawn. Knowing she had to wake up at seven the next day for more overtime, she decided to sleep in the guest room so she wouldn’t wake the child.
When Ryan woke up, neither his dad nor his mom was by his side. Over this period of time, he still hadn’t quite recovered from the shock.
WAAAH! He had endured enough of these lonely, cold days without his mommy and daddy!