Chapter 230

“Punktestualed her. What about your biological father? Do you want us to help you find him?”

No one had seen the twist in Zinnia’s origins. Jackson had always suspected Donald might not be her real father, but he’d never imagined the suspicions would actually prove true.

Zinnia hesitated briefly before answering, “No need. I have a father now.”

She felt no connection to her birth father–what if he was another Donald? It had taken her so much effort to break free from the Shaw family’s mess, and the last thing she needed was more drama.

After all, Donald had admitted spiking the hotel room with aphrodisiacs–anyone entering would lose control. Back then, Maelis, unaware the room had been vacated, saw a figure in the bed, mistook him for Donald, and succumbed.

Zinnia could only see two possibilities. First, her biological father might have been an unwilling participant–forced into the act and likely resenting that existence because of it.

Second, he could be the type to sleep with any woman thrown his way. If so, his character would be suspect. And if he ever found out about Zinnia, he’d only bring more trouble into her life.

Zinnia wanted none of it. Not searching was the best choice. Whether that man was good or bad, they had no connection.

Besides, after all these years, that man might already have his own family–a wife, children, and a settled life. Her sudden appearance could just end up disrupting their peace.

Zinnia was perfectly content with her life as it was and couldn’t care less about her biological father.

“Understood,” Yannis said, dropping the topic.

The hotel Donald booked back then was exclusive–only the elite could access the penthouse suite. Anyone present in that room would likely be wealthy or powerful, suggesting Zinnia’s biological father might have an extraordinary background.

But since she showed no interest in searching, Yannis didn’t push.

Watching Zinnia pop pastries into her mouth, Yannis said, “Don’t overdo it. I’ll make dinner.”

Zinnia nodded. “Okay.”

After Yannis entered the kitchen, his phone rang. Glancing down, he saw Toby’s name on the screen. “Hello?” he answered.

“Boss, I found who Lydia resembles!” Toby’s voice crackled with excitement.

Yannis peeled vegetable leaves. “Mm.”

“Remember who taught you coding?”

“Benny?”

Two years ago, while abroad, Yannis found Benny on the street–an amnesiac hacker with no memory of his identity or origins.

Yannis brought the man home, had him cleaned up, and kept him around to work for him. Benny had taught Yannis programming, and after two months of mentoring, he realized he had nothing left to teach Yannis.

Then he simply wandered off to “explore the world.” Caregivers mentioned Benny was searching for someone, though he could never remember who.

Yannis hadn’t seen Benny in so long that it took him a moment to place the memory.

“He's looking for family? Lydia’s from a single parent home, no father in any picture.”

“Find time to ask about it later. Make sure someone takes good care of Benny,” Yannis said.

He caught Toby’s implication whether they should arrange a meeting between Benny and Lydia. But with Lydia stateside and Benny overseas and with memory loss, logistics made it complicated.

Besides, there might be more to the story. After all, Benny being Lydia’s father was just speculation. Yannis thought he needed to find the right time to ask Lydia first.

Suddenly, he recalled the recent cyberattack and asked, “Any progress on the hacker who targeted our company?”

Toby replied, “Not yet. They withdrew too fast, and all traces vanished. Our team traced the origin to Jinston. I’ll have them keep digging.”

“This hacker has been active lately–first the Moore family’s data breach abroad, then the Shaws! Our experts confirm the methods match the attack on us. It’s like they’re shadowing our moves, maybe seeking revenge for someone.”

Yannis’ crew had just dealt with the Moores, and the hacker leaked the family’s data right after; the crew had given the Shaws a reality check, and the hacker hit the Shaws’ servers too. Uninformed observers might even suspect Yannis’s men were behind it.

Toby mused, “We’re avenging Zinnia, but could this hacker be doing the same?”

“Stop investigating,” Yannis said. “I have an idea who it is.”

“Could it be…” Toby’s voice trailed off as a suspicion dawned on him. He remembered Yannis once mentioning the hacker’s techniques felt familiar.

As Yannis drove Zinnia to school, he teased, “I told you to rest a few more days, but you insisted. Weren’t you the one who used to hate school? Since when are you so eager to go back?”

“I’m fully recovered. If I stay home longer, I’ll turn into a couch potato,” Zinnia said from the passenger seat, double-checking her backpack. “Right now, studying is what matters most; I need to catch up.”

Though absent for days, Lydia and the others had brought Zinnia homework, and her private tutor ensured no lessons were missed–she’d never been so diligent.

Yannis parked the car and squeezed her cheek gently. “I’ll make your favorite dishes tonight. No heavy lifting at school, okay?”

“Got it.” Zinnia nodded, slipping out of the car.

Yannis watched until she stepped through the school gates. He was just about to start the car when his phone vibrated, the ringtone sharp and insistent.

He checked the screen–Jackson’s name lit up. “What’s happening?” he asked.

“Donald has escaped,” Jackson’s voice was ice-cold. “Cornered, he might target Zinnia. I’ll arrange undercover protection, but stay alert.”

The previous day, Maelis had nearly strangled Donald. As if that wasn’t enough, she lunged at him again, sinking her teeth into his neck until blood poured.

The police could only rush Donald to the hospital first. But early the next morning, when a nurse did the rounds, she found that he had vanished. They checked the surveillance and figured out what had happened.

Donald had used a medical exam as cover, crawled onto a stretcher cart meant for transporting bodies to the morgue, and slipped out of the hospital. By the time anyone realized he was gone, he’d vanished without a trace.

Yannis frowned, “I’ll deploy teams to search. He just escaped–he’ll need to treat his wounds before making moves.”