Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Quentin Grant and Leon Lynch had business to attend to, so they decided to fly back to Fravia at dawn.

Luna Ainsworth didn’t try to make them stay. He knew they would meet again.

Sierra Ainsworth wouldn’t be going to Fravia with Nora for now. She still had to finish her studies, and besides, Aaron Sterling was in Valeria.

Nora reminded her to be careful and stay safe.

As they were preparing to leave, Quentin Grant suggested leaving Monty behind, but the two darlings flatly refused. So, they had to take a risk and bring the python onto the plane.

This made Quentin constantly on edge about their safety. He assigned men to keep a close watch on Monty, just in case.

”Daddy, you don’t have to be so nervous. Monty won’t hurt any of you.”

”It’s better to be safe than sorry. There’s no harm in being cautious.”

Dylan Grant chuckled, squatting beside Monty. Under the watchful eyes of the three adults, he reached out and patted the snake’s head. ”This is my daddy and mommy,” he said. ”They’ll be good to you.”

Monty nodded, a gesture that greatly surprised the three adults.

”It can understand human speech?”

”I think so.” Dylan stood up. ”If it weren’t for Monty, Elmer and I would never have seen you again.”

But looking at the python still made Quentin’s skin crawl. He hated snakes more than any other animal, period.

’The sight of a snake makes my scalp tingle and my nerves tighten. And when one stares at me, I can’t help but feel like its prey.’

’Snakes can be venomous or non-venomous. One bite from a venomous one, and you’re dead if you don’t get treatment right away. Pythons like this one have been known to eat people, which makes me like it even less.’

But it had saved his children, after all. Seeing that they weren’t afraid of it and that the python itself was very quiet, Quentin decided he would have it monitored for a few months. His two darlings had to have someone with them at all times; otherwise, neither he nor Nora would ever feel at ease.

Mr. Ainsworth’s statement had pushed Nora Ainsworth into the global media spotlight.

The formerly jinxed woman was now the heiress to a great fortune. You had to admit, life was one big melodrama.

Nora Ainsworth’s previous identity and history were being dug up and dissected on every major forum and social media platform.

It was unclear how the Fravian media had gotten wind of their landing location and time, but a horde of reporters was waiting for them when they disembarked.

As the five of them descended from the plane together, they were met with a ceaseless barrage of camera flashes and recording devices. The reporters had their questions ready, eager for answers.

Seeing this as a good opportunity to announce that her two darlings were alive, Nora Ainsworth didn’t mind saying a few words to the press.

”Miss Ainsworth, please, was your trip abroad to rescue your children? How did you find out they were still alive?”

Nora Ainsworth gave him a confident smile. ”You can ask my son.”

The reporter was taken aback but nodded gratefully. Instantly, several microphones were lowered to the boys’ level as the reporters crouched down.

”Young man, can you tell us what happened?”

Dylan nodded. ”What happened is that Elmer and I used our daddy’s high-IQ genes to survive. There’s not much more to it.”

”Your mommy is now the daughter of the richest man in Valeria. What are your thoughts on that?”

Dylan smiled faintly. ”It’s a wonderful thing that Mommy found her grandpa. I’m just happy for her, that’s all.”

”...”

After they answered a few more simple questions, Quentin Grant’s dark expression made the reporters back off. Not daring to press for more, they cleared a path.

When they arrived at the gate of the Grant estate, the captain of the Men in Black opened the car door and bowed to Quentin Grant. ”Young Master, Young Master Hawthorne and Young Master Ellsworth have been waiting for you for quite some time.”

”Oh? They’re that eager? Their information is certainly up-to-date.” Hearing this, Quentin Grant took Nora Ainsworth’s hand and led her inside, leaving Leon Lynch to follow with the two boys.

”Is all the food ready?”

Ethan Ellsworth nodded. ”We prepared a meal to welcome you back. Young Master Hawthorne originally suggested a hotel, but it’s such a hassle going back and forth. It’s much more convenient here at home.”

He had barely finished speaking when Dorothy Ellsworth, who was sitting beside Chloe Marshall, hopped off her chair. She rushed eagerly over to Dylan Grant and stopped right in front of him. ”Dylan.”

In front of everyone, Dylan took Dorothy’s small hand and whispered in her ear, ”Let’s go upstairs. I have so much to tell you.”

Dorothy nodded, and just like that, the two children went upstairs together hand-in-hand, right in front of everyone.

Chloe Marshall watched them go and sighed. ”Before you got here, Dorothy just kept asking when you’d be back. Down to the hour and minute.”

Nora said jokingly, ”Looks like the spot for my future daughter-in-law is reserved for her.”

Chloe nodded. ”Nora, as long as the kids are willing when they grow up, we adults won’t have any objections.”

Herman Hawthorne teased, ”Look at that. They’re just kids and they’re already discussing marriage. What are my future children supposed to do!”

Quentin shot back without mercy, ”Are you sure you’re even going to have kids? A single guy like you has no right to talk about this.”

Herman looked smug. ”Actually, I have an announcement to make.”

Ethan shot back, ”What is it? Good news or bad news? Did you kill someone? Commit arson? Or did you do something else you can’t tell anyone about?”

A dark expression crossed Herman Hawthorne’s face, his lip twitching. ”We’ve known each other since we were kids running around in diapers. Is that really what you think of me?”

”If not yet, you’re getting close,” Ethan chuckled.

Herman stood up, poured himself a glass of wine, and grinned even more broadly. ”What I wanted to tell you all is... Young Master Ellsworth is going to be an uncle!”

Ethan froze for a second, but his reaction was quick. ”Zoe’s pregnant?”

”That’s right. And it’s mine. How about that? And Young Master Grant said I wouldn’t have kids? I’ll be holding my own very soon.”

”Why didn’t my parents tell me?”

Herman rubbed his nose. ”Well, they probably haven’t had the chance. To be honest, I only just found out myself.”

”No wonder you’re acting so cocky. You’re really going to be a father. But...” Quentin sounded skeptical. ”Is Zoe really going to have your child?”

”Of course she is!” Herman was full of confidence. ”She’s going to have this baby. So... you all better get your red envelopes ready!”

”Hey, you think we can’t afford a few red envelopes?”

”Boss Ellsworth,” Chloe Marshall said, ”you should call Zoe and have her come eat with us.”

”Alright.” Ethan dialed her number, but there was no answer. He tried several more times, but it kept ringing.

A sense of unease crept into Herman. ”Young Master Ellsworth, try your family’s landline.”

Ethan did as he was told. The call was answered quickly by Mrs. Ellsworth.

”Mom, is Zoe home?”

”She is. What’s wrong?”

Hearing that, Ethan finally relaxed. ”Can you have her come over to Young Master Grant’s place in our neighborhood?”

”Alright, I’ll go upstairs and get her.”

Mrs. Ellsworth hung up and went upstairs to Zoe’s room. For the past few days, Zoe had been cooped up in her room, only coming down for meals. Her boutique had been closed for days.

But to her surprise, when she pushed open the door, the room was empty.

Mrs. Ellsworth called her name several times with no response. She noticed the window was open and rushed over to look. The sight made her blood boil. A long rope was tied to the window frame, clearly used to climb down.

In a panic, she rushed downstairs to call Ethan.

Hearing that Zoe had run away from home, the color drained from Herman’s face. He turned directly to Quentin. ”Quick, call the directors of every hospital! She might be going to get an abortion!”

”Didn’t you just say she was going to have it?” Quentin retorted as he started making calls.

Nora grew anxious as well and shot Quentin a glare. ”Can’t you see how frantic Herman is? This is no time for jokes.”

Herman stood up. ”I’m heading out to check the hospitals now. Call around and find out which one she’s at. The second you know, call me immediately.”

Ethan and Chloe stood up as well. ”We’ll go with you.”

The two children upstairs were completely oblivious to the frantic adults on the floor below.

They sat on the sofa on the balcony, their small hands clasped tightly together, as Dylan recounted everything that had happened to Dorothy.

She listened, her heart pounding with fear, and by the end, she was in tears.

”Dylan, you can’t ever do that again, you hear me? When I heard from my mommy and daddy that you two were gone... I was so sad I thought I would die.”

Dylan nodded emphatically. ”Dorothy, I won’t do it again. Please don’t cry. You’re not as pretty when you cry.”

But that only made her cry harder. ”Not pretty... then you can just go find someone else who’s pretty...”

”I didn’t say you’re not pretty...” Dylan protested.

She wiped her tears. ”You did...”

He pulled her to her feet. ”Come on, I’ll introduce you to a new friend.”

Dorothy hesitated. ”What new friend?”

”You’ll know when you meet him.”

He pulled her along, rushing downstairs, out of the living room, and into the backyard.

Inside the tall enclosure, Monty saw him and quickly slithered toward the gate. The moment Dorothy saw it, she grabbed Dylan in terror. ”Dylan, it’s a snake! I’m scared! Let’s get out of here!”

Dylan tried to soothe her. ”Dorothy, he’s a new friend Elmer and I made. Don’t be afraid. He won’t hurt you.”

It was as if Dorothy didn’t hear him at all; she just kept trying desperately to pull away.

Her voice was starting to break into a sob.

Dylan sighed in resignation. ”Okay, then you can stand out here. I’ll go in by myself, alright? You can come in later.”

Dorothy stood outside the enclosure without a word.

Dylan went inside and played with Monty for a bit. Noticing several large roosters roaming free within the enclosure, he chuckled and patted Monty’s head. ”Looks like they’re trying to sharpen your agility. If you want to eat one, you have to catch it yourself.”

Then, he pointed toward Dorothy. ”Monty, this is Dorothy. She’s my little wife, so you’re not allowed to scare her, okay?”

As usual, Monty nodded.

”See? Dorothy, you can come in now. He won’t scare you.”

With her hands behind her back, Dorothy still shook her head.

’I guess I’ll have to pull her in,’ Dylan thought. She would never come in otherwise.

So, he went back out and forcibly pulled Dorothy inside. With every step closer to the python, her resistance grew, her feet planting firmly on the ground as she refused to get any nearer.