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Novel Catalog
Chapter 84: Catch Him In An Hour
Stella’s gaze shifted downward to see Jonathan clinging to her legs. A fleeting moment of impatience crossed her face, but she quickly masked it with a polite smile.
“Yes, I’m Stella. Why are you alone, kid? Where are your parents?”
She observed the child before her, noting his delicate, yet sharp features. His eyes—so intense—captivated her. With just one glance, it was clear that his parents were no ordinary people.
Jonathan looked up at her, his eyes sparkling with an odd seriousness. “I heard that you took my daddy away from me. Could you give him back to me, please?”
Stella’s breath caught in her throat.
Nearby, a few women from the upper echelons of society were eyeing the scene, their expressions sour and full of disdain.
“How shameless!”
“She’s already with Mr. Rainsworth, but now she’s involved with another man?”
“No wonder Mr. Rainsworth didn’t marry her. A woman like her is only good for a fling.”
Stella felt her anger rise, but she forced herself to stay calm. She crouched down to Jonathan’s level, her tone forced to remain gentle. “Hey, kid, you must have misunderstood. I don’t know you or your daddy.”
But then, leaning in closer, she put her hands on his shoulders, her voice dropping dangerously low. “If you dare keep making up stories like that, I’ll throw you into the sea to feed the fish.”
She assumed she was dealing with an innocent child. What she didn’t expect was Jonathan to bring out his inner actor.
Suddenly, he swatted her hand away, his voice trembling with a whimper. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you! Please don’t hit me! Don’t throw me into the sea…”
Stella’s hand froze mid-air. “When did I ever hit you?” she shot back, confused.
At that moment, a group of reporters, always quick to capture the drama, snapped photos of the unfolding scene.
Tears began to trickle down Jonathan’s face, making it appear as though he was in genuine distress. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry! Please don’t throw me into the sea…”
Stella’s frustration boiled over. She had to stifle the urge to cover his mouth. “I didn’t… He’s lying…” she stammered, trying to explain to the growing crowd, but it was too late.
More and more eyes turned toward them, murmurs spreading through the onlookers like wildfire.
Zachary, still tethered to a group of women his grandfather had been trying to pair him with, looked over and immediately recognized the child. It was the same mischievous kid who had pranked him at the hotel.
“How could she lay a hand on a child?” a woman next to Zachary remarked. “What kind of woman does that?”
Zachary’s gaze darkened, his eyes narrowing. He couldn’t just stand by and let someone hurt a child—even if the child had previously made him look like a fool. He quickly moved through the crowd, heading toward Stella.
Jonathan, however, had been expecting this. He saw Zachary’s approach and quickly assessed the situation. The moment he saw the imposing figure of Zachary coming toward him, panic set in. What on earth is he doing here?
What a blunder.
Too young, too short, and distracted by the chaos, Jonathan hadn’t noticed Zachary’s presence until it was too late.
With no other choice, he decided to make a break for it. “Please don’t be angry. I’m leaving right now…” Jonathan muttered quickly, his legs already carrying him away.
Zachary watched Jonathan’s rapid retreat, and for a moment, he actually believed the child was running away from him. But as Jonathan sprinted away with surprising speed, it became clear that the child had seen him coming.
Zachary’s thoughts flicked back to the humiliation he’d endured the day at the hotel. He wasn’t going to let Jonathan off that easily, not without teaching him a lesson. Even if the kid was his own son, disrespecting an elder couldn’t go unpunished.
He grabbed his phone and immediately contacted his bodyguard. “Did you see that child?”
The bodyguard, still scanning the crowd, nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Zachary leaned back, tapping his fingers against his chin. “Let him tire himself out first. Catch him in an hour.”
He decided not to rush things. The last thing he wanted was to ruin the mood of Niel’s birthday banquet. With an hour to spare, he could afford to wait.
Jonathan, in the meantime, had disappeared into the mass of guests, fully aware that his time was running out.
