Chapter 4

Alexander's ears were more sensitive than Ned's, so he'd long since heard the noise outside. Naturally, he also heard Hannah calling him "Alex". This only made him angrier. Who had given her permission to call him that? Hannah excitedly ran into the house. Before she could give Alexander a big hug, she was stopped by his roar. "Get lost! Stay away from me, you impostor!" She was at a loss for what to do when she heard that, and the fact that Alexander was all grown up now didn't help. Her gaze landed on the necklace around his neck, which she'd made for him. That calmed her down. No matter how old he got, he would still be her baby! She took a deep breath and said soothingly, "I know this sounds outrageous, Alex, but…" Alexander didn't want to hear it. He ignored her and charged at Joseph, who'd followed Hannah in. He was only in his 20s but already as tall as Joseph. "Why did you do this? Mom isn't someone just about anyone can replace! Is she worthy of that? Have you lost your mind?" He sneered. "Why am I even asking you... I know you lost your mind ages ago." He and Joseph were supposed to be a loving father-son duo, but they now seemed more like sworn enemies. The hatred and anger in Alexander's eyes scared Hannah. Joseph looked calm and indifferent. Instead of answering Alexander, he approached Hannah and held her hand, placing it on his arm. Then, he calmly told Alexander, "Let's talk about this in the study." As expected, it was hard to convince anyone of something when that something was so ridiculous that it was far-fetched. Alexander stood inside the study, still furious after hearing Hannah and Joseph's explanation. "I can't believe you made up such a ludicrous lie so that you could bring her back here." He didn't understand why Joseph was treating him like he was a fool. When Hannah saw this, she suddenly wondered whether Joseph genuinely believed her. Then, he held her hand tightly and said firmly, "She's your mother." "My mother died years ago!" Alexander roared. In his heart, he'd never believed Hannah was dead. This was his first time saying something like this, and it was because of how Joseph was acting. He shook his head at Hannah, who looked like she was barely older than him. They were both mad. Mad! "Do you remember our little secret, Alex? We were going to make a necklace for your father. You even said you wanted to write our names on the back of the necklace…" Hannah said. A trace of shock flashed across Alexander's face. He and Hannah had indeed made such a promise, but… "The maids heard us, too. You could've heard about that from them." He didn't believe something so far-fetched would happen in real life and didn't want to waste time on this. He looked at Joseph and enunciated, "I don't care who you want to be with, but don't drag my mother into this. This manor belongs to Mom, so you and this woman need to move out of here. Don't touch any of my mother's things anymore!" A hint of fragility flashed in Alexander's expression at the mention of Hannah, but it was soon replaced by ruthlessness. He was capable of anything if backed into a dead end! The threat on his young face was as clear as day, and he looked like a wolf cub that hunters had surrounded. Joseph remained composed when he saw this, but tears welled in Hannah's eyes. Alexander scowled. She was such a good actress! "How have you raised Alex over the years? The fact that he can say something like that means you, as his father, haven't given him the security he needs. My Alex is the best boy in the world, and he should've grown up in a loving environment. He shouldn't have ended up living a bitter life!" Hannah cried. She was devastated. Alexander had to have suffered over the years. Poor little Alexander was flabbergasted as he watched a tearful Hannah twist Joseph's ear angrily while berating him. She clearly wasn't holding back—Joseph's ear had been twisted out of shape. No one dared treat Joseph like that! More importantly, Joseph was allowing Hannah to do this to him. He didn't even try to stop her, let alone get mad. He even coaxed her lowly, telling her not to get angry. "What do you mean, don't be mad? I'm going to blow my top! None of us are having dinner later—I want you to tell me all about the kids!" Hannah snapped. She should've asked him about the children earlier instead of pitying him! Hannah was fierce and harsh to Joseph, but she became a loving and gentle mother when she turned to look at Alexander. "I know this is hard for you to accept, Alex, but it's the truth. I really am your mother. "You must've gone through a lot without me by your side over the years. I'm sorry about that, sweetheart." Alexander told himself she was putting on an act. The women out there could do anything crazy to latch onto the Quill family. But he couldn't stop his nose from prickling when his gaze met her gentle one, and he heard her call him "sweetheart". The grievance and bitterness that suddenly washed over him made him stagger backward, feeling lost. Hannah sniffled, feeling sorrowed. She tugged a few strands of hair from her head and placed them on the desk. "It's good that you have your guard up, sweetheart. Here's my hair; you can take it to any organization you trust for a DNA test. The data won't lie to you. "Meanwhile, I want you to think about anything that only you and I would know. You can come to me to verify that once the DNA test results are out, okay? I'll be here at all times…" She was gentle and cajoling. Alexander was a grownup now, but he wasn't any different from how he'd been as a child. She could still see shadows of his younger self from his actions and mannerisms. She knew he'd temporarily accepted her words when she saw his baby finger twitch. Alexander tried to convince himself to accept Hannah's explanation. It was too ludicrous, though. He backed up a couple of steps before seemingly making up his mind about something. He strode to the desk, grabbed the hairs, and left without another word. Once Alexander was gone, Hannah started interrogating Joseph. She didn't care about anyone or anything else—all she wanted to know was what had happened while the kids were growing up. After the plane crash, many passengers' bodies had been found near the black box. To this day, there were still several dozen people who were missing. They had been declared dead, but their bodies hadn't been found. Hannah was one of them. Because of that, Joseph had always harbored hope that she was alive. He'd led a team to search the ocean and had done so for a year without stopping in between. Joseph had initially brought Alexander with him, but the young Alexander hadn't been able to get used to living on a ship. Joseph had had no choice but to send him back to the manor so a nanny could care for him. Meanwhile, the twins had been sent to kindergarten with a team of professionals to care for them. From then on, Joseph's life had been segregated into two sections—work and searching for Hannah. A person's energy was limited, so he'd neglected the children. Gradually, they'd grown apart. "Alex has always studied at boarding schools, as have Penny and Nicky. I hired teams of ten nannies and butlers to care for them. "I know I made a mistake, Anna. I didn't care for the children the way I should have. Don't be mad, please. We're reunited now, and we'll be a happy family. No one can tear us apart." Joseph tugged Hannah's sleeve, his gaze tentative. "I need to be on my own for a while." Hannah didn't expect Joseph to do such a terrible job as a father after her disappearance. In short, their children had basically lost both parents at the same time! She kicked Joseph out of the study so she could be alone. Then, she flipped through photos of the children and their school reports. She even looked at the nannies and butlers' records of their lives. She wanted to know everything about them. Joseph sat cross-legged on the floor outside the study. He would only feel at ease standing guard there. That night, Quill Manor remained brightly lit throughout the night.