Chapter 6: How Dare She Betray Him?

This society called itself the world's premier high-IQ organization, where exceptional intelligence was the only requirement for membership.

Within the society, Max was both the highest-scoring member and the youngest.

Max sat on the couch with a tablet in one hand while his fingers flew across the keyboard with the other, inputting commands. Using his self-developed Quella virus, he successfully breached Crest Corporation's entire system and accessed Alexander's schedule.

At the reception desk, Zara was still arguing with the front desk staff.

The reception manager's face was stone cold. "Mr. Hayes isn't someone that people like you can just demand to see! Leave now, or I'll call security!"

Several security guards approached, ready to escort Zara out, when a sweet, childlike voice cut through the lobby.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

Everyone turned toward the voice.

Max stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking every bit like a little gentleman. His dark eyes were eerily calm, but the threat in them was unmistakable. "Bring Alexander down here to see me. You have ten minutes."

The manager let out a cold laugh. "Where did this little brat come from? How dare he use Mr. Hayes's first name—no manners whatsoever!"

Max narrowed his eyes slightly. "Shut up. You don't get to judge me."

The manager pointed at Max. "Throw this little punk out too!"

The bodyguards moved toward Max.

He didn’t flinch. Instead, he smiled faintly and held up three fingers.

"Three..."

Max began his countdown.

Everyone stared at him skeptically.

"Two..."

Max suddenly snapped his fingers, raising an eyebrow slightly. "One!"

BOOM!

The entire row of computers at the reception desk erupted in harsh static noise.

"Ah!"

The receptionist suddenly cried out.

The manager spun around to see several staff members frantically trying to operate their systems, their faces pale with panic.

"What's happening?"

"System crash!"

The secretary stared at the screen as endless dialog boxes flooded the screen, the system completely locked..

"It's a virus! A virus!"

"We're being hacked!"

Then the main display switched to an animated screensaver: a cartoon pig wiggling its round butt at the screen.

...

Alexander had just left the conference room when one of his subordinates hurried up with the report..

Crest Corporation's internal security network had been breached by a seven-year-old child. Now every computer terminal throughout Crest Corporation showed the same butt-wiggling pig, and the entire network was down..

His chief of staff stepped in beside him. “The hacker’s name is Max. He's been brought to the conference room. Mr. Hayes, would you like to meet with him?"

Alexander let out a cold smile, his face turning grim with rage.

Crest Corporation's entire security network had been built by top programmers at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.

Now that it had been breached, rebuilding it would cost more than ten million.

And the culprit was a seven-year-old child?

Alexander pushed open the door.

The boy sat on the couch, his cute profile both handsome and refined.

Max turned his face toward Alexander, his gaze settling steadily on him as he smiled elegantly, his lips curved in a graceful arc that carried a hint of disdain.

For a moment, Alexander felt like he was looking at a miniature version of Grace.

Max was only six or seven years old, dressed quite ordinarily, yet he moved with the bearing of a young aristocrat.

His features resembled Grace's closely, but his expressions and micro-expressions were strikingly similar to Alexander's .

Zara sat nearby, becoming somewhat nervous upon seeing Alexander.

Max lifted his fair little face. When he saw Alexander, he froze for a few seconds.

He had expected Alexander to be a pot-bellied old pervert, never imagining he'd be so young and devastatingly handsome.

But regardless, getting Grace back was the priority.

Max said coldly, "Alexander, you need to hand over my mommy right now!"

Though his lips were clearly turned upward in a smile, his eyes held cold contempt.

Alexander's sharp brows furrowed slightly. "Who is your mommy?"

"Grace." Max demanded, "Is she in your custody?"

Upon hearing Grace's name, Alexander's lips curved in an ambiguous smile.

So Grace had a son?

She had insisted she'd never given birth to a son, yet this child was living proof. She had lied to him.

Alexander sat across from Max, crossing his legs elegantly, his long fingers brushing across his lips as he asked probingly, "You're so certain she's in my custody?"

Zara was also beginning to feel uncertain, gently tugging at Max's sleeve. "Max, could you have made a mistake?"

This was Alexander Hayes!

The most prestigious man in Novaria—how could he possibly be a kidnapper?

Max didn’t even glance at her. “I wouldn’t come for you unless I was certain you had her. So either you give my mommy back, or…”

"Or what?" Alexander interrupted.

Max replied, "Don't force me to take action, or you'll lose very badly!"

Alexander chuckled softly. "Are you threatening me?"

He was being threatened by a seven-year-old.

His assistant Jeremy Wright approached, lowering his voice near Alexander's ear, "Mr. Hayes, we found everything."

He handed Alexander a file.

Alexander opened the document. In a single day, Jeremy had dug up Grace’s entire history, clean, thorough, and undeniable. Family background. Pregnancy records. Max’s birth registration. Everything.

The records showed that Grace had been pregnant with twins. On the pregnancy registration, the father’s name was listed as a stranger

When Grace gave birth, it was also this man who signed the surgical consent forms.

Henry Phillips.

Could this man be the child's biological father?

This crucial piece of information immediately caught Alexander's attention.

He parsed every key detail of this woman's life history word by word.

Twins, private clinic, premature birth, one child died early.

Two children, but only one survived?

Could this damned woman have cheated on him? While he was still in a coma, recovering from his injuries, had she carried on an affair with another man while bearing the title "Mrs. Hayes"?

Alexander's suspicious gaze fell on Max's face, carefully searching his features for clues.

They say boys tend to look more like their mothers, and this was certainly evident in Max from an early age. Though he hadn't fully grown yet, it was clear at first glance that he was practically a carbon copy of Grace. Beyond that, no other telltale signs could be found.

This child was evidence of Grace's infidelity.

Though he didn't acknowledge his marriage to Grace, she had once been his wife in name. The thought that this woman, as a member of the Hayes family, had dared to have an affair during marriage made Alexander's eyes flash with anger.

The audacity. how dare she betray him!