Chapter 4

Let it be known that Joyce Foster was the type who never learned her lesson.

After the mess I'd made, she behaved herself for two days, then promptly came up with something new.

It was Lucius's birthday, and he'd booked the most luxurious club in the city center.

Joyce had someone tell me: "If you don't come tonight, I'll cancel our engagement tonight and announce that Lucius is my boyfriend!"

I raised an eyebrow.

So she wanted to put Lucius in my place?

Well then, who was I to not offer a congratulatory gift?

-

That night, I put on a perfectly tailored black suit and fastened the Patek Philippe on my wrist, one that was worth a fortune. Then, I headed to the club.

The private room was thick with smoke and noise. Joyce sat on the sofa, while Lucius, dressed in a ridiculous semi-see-through outfit, had her wrapped in his arms, feeding her fruit.

The people around them cheered loudly.

"You're a lucky one, Joyce!"

"This is true love! Henry is nothing!"

The moment I stepped inside, the room fell quiet.

Lucius picked up a drink and swaggered over, his gaze dripping with contempt.

"Well, well, if it isn't Henry. What, are you here to beg for forgiveness?"

He pointed at several bottles of strong liquor on the floor. "Joyce said that if you finish all those bottles at once, bow to me and call me daddy, then she'll consider not breaking off the engagement with you."

Joyce raised her chin at me arrogantly. "This is your last chance, Henry."

I glanced around the room, my eyes settling on the empty seat at the head of the table.

"I heard there was supposed to be someone important coming tonight," I said, not responding to them at all.

Lucius grinned, full of himself. "Of course! My sponsor is coming, you know? She's like a mom to me. She's a real heavyweight in this city, so once she gets here, she'll crush you!"

"Sponsor, huh?" I laughed. "What's wrong? Did you switch to mooching off of a woman instead once you got sick of being a dad?"

Lucius's face went green as he opened his mouth to snap back, and the door swung open.

A voluptuous, middle-aged woman walked in, flanked by several bodyguards.

Lucius's eyes lit up, and he rushed over immediately. "You're finally here, Mom! Someone's bullying me!"

She wrapped an arm around his waist, her hand squeezing him in a way that wasn't very decent. "Who's got the nerve to bully my precious boy?"

Joyce stood up at once, her attitude flipping immediately. "Madam Winter, you're here!"

Madam Winter?

I almost laughed on the spot.

Eliza Winter was nothing more than the wife of a man who'd become rich out of nowhere. She used her husband's money to keep young men, bragging about having connections everywhere.

In front of my family, she wasn't even worth mentioning.

Yet Joyce Foster was willing to flatter someone like this for Lucius's sake? Even turning a blind eye to their unusual relationship?

She was so stupid it was laughable.

I shook my head, taking out my phone.

"Well, since we're all calling reinforcements, let me do it too."

I put the call on speaker. "Hello? Someone here wants me to kneel, call them daddy, and says they're going to kill me."

Joyce laughed coldly. "Wow, listen to you. Calling for help already? How many backers do you think you have out there?

"Let me make this clear. With Madam Winter here, it doesn't matter who you call. You're kneeling tonight."

Eliza snorted arrogantly. "Kid, tell that backer of yours to hurry up. I'll teach them how this world works."

Twenty minutes later, the doors slammed open, and a middle-aged man stepped in, his presence instantly commanding silence.

The room froze.

Joyce stared at him, her face draining of color.

"...Dad?"