Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 253

Chapter 253: Chapter 253:So you already knew who he was?

“Reeve, I have him,” Stanley announced, his sharp gaze tracking Kalix’s calm, almost indifferent demeanor.

Kalix didn’t flinch. He gave a curt nod and strolled toward his desk with unhurried steps.

“Anything else?” His tone was flat, almost bored.

Stanley frowned, unsettled by the lack of reaction. “That’s it? You’re not even going to ask what he said?” There was disbelief in his voice.

Something was off about this meeting — an undercurrent Stanley couldn’t quite place. He’d expected Kalix to interrogate him, maybe even explode, but instead he was detached… almost as if he’d already known the outcome.

Kalix didn’t answer right away. Silence stretched between them, deliberate and heavy, until the office door swung open.

“I brought what you asked for, Kalix,” Roger’s voice broke the stillness — but he halted when he spotted Stanley.

“Oh, you’re back.” A faint smile touched Roger’s lips. “Didn’t think we’d see you again so soon.”

Crossing the room, he handed Kalix a thick file.

Kalix looked up from the folder, his gaze locking on Stanley. “You should see what Roger’s brought for us.”

Roger slid a chair toward Stanley — an unspoken invitation. After a brief hesitation, Stanley sat, the tension in the room settling like the air before a storm.

Kalix flipped open the file, the rustle of paper sharp in the quiet. His voice was measured, deliberate.

“Alexander Spencer. Once a respected industrialist, a name in every corporate circle. Lost everything when his illegal dealings came to light.”

Kalix’s eyes flicked up, gauging Stanley’s reaction before continuing.

“Formerly a close subordinate of Martin Andreas… now a nobody. Ruined. Forgotten.” Another page turned. His tone dropped. “He had a wife. A son. And… a mistress no one was supposed to know about.”

The last line lingered in the air like a spark over dry kindling.

“So you already knew who he was?” Stanley asked, eyes narrowing.

“I did,” Kalix admitted. “But his connection to my father only came to light later.”

“I suppose Reeve told you the same,” he added smoothly. “After all, they both had their hands dirty.”

Stanley said nothing—just a curt nod, his gaze drifting away.

“Maybe that’s why my father kept him out of the dream project. And that day, during the summit, he came there to—”

“I don’t think so,” Kalix cut in, sharp and certain.

Stanley’s lips twitched — somewhere between a frown and a smirk — but his eyes betrayed unease.

“There are no records placing him near our parents. According to reports, he left the summit hall right after my father’s speech.”

This wasn’t the first time Kalix had investigated his parents’ deaths — but this time, he was combing through every overlooked detail. Back then, he’d hunted for the direct perpetrators. Now, he was uncovering the hidden pieces no one wanted found.

“Then why was he there in the first place?” Roger asked.

If Alexander had no intention of staying, his presence made no sense.

Kalix was silent for a beat before answering. “Maybe he wanted to speak to Dad.”

Stanley frowned. “But you just said he left.”

“He did,” Kalix replied evenly. “But there’s footage of him lingering near my mother before he walked out.”

He remembered the grainy video Niko had dug up from the summit venue — footage that answered some questions but raised others. In it, Alexander didn’t just pass by. He approached his mother… deliberately.

Which left the real question — what had he said to her?

“Do you want me to get him?” Stanley broke the silence.

Kalix paused, then shook his head. “Not now.”

Stanley’s brow furrowed. “Why? We could track him down, make him talk.”

Kalix leaned back in his chair. “It’s not that simple, Stanley. There are things being kept from us — bigger than him.”

Roger, who rarely meddled in Kalix’s investigations, spoke up. “And what exactly are these secrets?”

He had always trusted Kalix to handle the shadows while he focused on expanding their father’s empire. But now, with the only lead to their parents’ killer within reach, Kalix’s refusal was hard to swallow.

Kalix’s expression didn’t shift. “You’ll know soon enough.”

The answer hung in the air, heavy with the promise — or threat — of what was to come.

***

Meanwhile, inside Winter’s office, she was buried in work when the shrill ring of the phone on her desk cut through her focus.

She froze mid-typing, her gaze flicking to the screen.

Her brows knit.

“Dorothy?” she murmured.

It was unexpected — her stepmother rarely called her, and certainly not during work hours.

Curiosity edged past her hesitation, and after a brief pause, Winter picked up the phone.

“Hello,” she said, but the words that came from the other end made her arch a brow.

“I want to meet you, Winter. It’s urgent.”

Dorothy was not someone who asked for anything, yet there was a thread of desperation in her voice that gave Winter pause.

She hesitated for a moment before replying, “Send me the location.”

The call ended, and within moments her phone buzzed again with Dorothy’s message.

Winter wasted no time. She grabbed her purse and stepped out of the room.

“Lady Boss, are we heading somewhere?” Stanley asked, noticing her.

Winter paused for a few seconds, debating whether to take him along, but then her gaze caught on Lilac and she quickly decided against it.

“I’ll give you a break,” she said, and without another word, walked away.

Stanley watched her step into the elevator, but before he could process where she was going, a hand clamped around his wrist. In the next second, he was being dragged off to a destination unknown.

Thud!

His back hit the wall, and Lilac stood in front of him, arms braced on either side, effectively caging him in.

Her brows furrowed with suspicion, her narrowed eyes scanning him like she was reading every unspoken word.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here?” she demanded.

After leaving Gina’s place last night, Stanley had dropped her off at Rosewood Mansion. But this morning, when she tried calling him, he hadn’t answered, nor had he mentioned that he’d be meeting her brother.