Zanier stood coldly, his mind swirling with a hint of disbelief. He had sent his men to the States to search for Bae, hoping to ease the guilt gnawing at him.
Now, seeing her before him, utterly transformed from the naive woman he once knew, his heart sank. Her poise, the coldness in her eyes—it was as if she had shed her former self and become someone new, someone stronger, more dangerous.
"She's changed." The thought barely formed in his mind as a faint smirk tugged at his lips, though his eyes betrayed something darker—a mix of a hint of regret, fascination, and dread.
His gaze followed her as she walked toward the door, her black heels tapping sharply against the marble floor.
She momentarily glanced at him, her cold eyes flickering toward Aiden before she turned away. That fleeting glance sent a chill down his spine, though outwardly he maintained his stoic facade.
Granny Elaine stood nearby, her face drained of color. Her eyes widened as she tried to make sense of what Bae had just implied.
She looked from Zanier to Aiden, then to Tate, her mind racing. Her lips parted to speak, but no words came out.
"What does she mean by Penny's son?" Granny Elaine finally stammered, her voice thick with confusion.
Her gaze landed on Penny, searching for answers.
Penny's face twisted in anger, her composure unraveling.
"Granny, do you believe her?" she spat, her voice cold and sharp, but there was an edge of desperation behind her words.
Her eyes darted toward Tate, then back to Elaine, before settling on Bae's retreating figure. "It's bad enough she's back here spouting nonsense like some madwoman—"
But before she could finish, Zanier's gaze snapped to her. His eyes darkened, filled with menace, his calm exterior now laced with a dangerous edge.
The room fell silent, the tension suffocating. His expression was chillingly calm, yet the quiet rage simmering beneath the surface sent a wave of fear rippling through the room.
Even Penny froze under his deadly glare, her words faltering as a shiver ran down her spine.
Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath, watching Zanier in shock. The air felt thick with unspoken truths, and Aiden, standing off to the side, couldn't shake the feeling that something monumental had shifted between his father and this woman.
He watched his father intently, noticing how this woman—Bae—seemed to evoke a reaction in him, unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
"Father?" Aiden thought, his confusion deepening as he glanced between Zanier and Bae.
His father had never reacted to any woman like this, not even Penny, who had always been the center of his attention.
And now, as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, Aiden's suspicions only grew, gnawing at the edges of his mind.
Zanier, still glaring at Penny, allowed a tense silence to settle over the room, leaving everyone unsure of what would come next.
The tension in the room was thick, palpable. Zanier stood rigid, his presence commanding every gaze, yet none more cutting than Cody's, who had been quietly observing the entire exchange until now. With a mocking sneer, Cody broke his silence, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Perhaps you still want her back, dear cousin?" Cody's words sliced through the air, laced with a dangerous edge as he glared at Zanier.
Zanier's body stiffened further, but he didn't turn to face Cody just yet. His eyes narrowed, dark and lethal, as the memory of Bae's transformation and the past he tried to bury gnawed at him.
The mention of her, and the guilt of losing her, threatened to crack his stoic mask.
"After all, it was your fault she went missing," Cody added, his tone dripping with mockery beneath the surface tension.
His smirk widened as the room seemed to freeze, the weight of his accusation hanging heavily in the air.
Slowly, deliberately, Zanier flicked his gaze toward Cody, a deadly calm washing over his features. His eyes were cold, glinting with unspoken fury, the threat in his expression unmistakable.
Cody's smile faltered for a brief moment before he recovered, meeting Zanier's lethal gaze with a cold one of his own, refusing to be intimidated.
"It would be best for you to keep that mouth shut." Zanier's voice was low, authoritative, and filled with an icy menace as he glared directly at Cody, the warning clear.
Cody's once-cocky grin faded, replaced with a tight-lipped, calculated look as he held his cousin's gaze.
Granny Elaine, sensing the escalating situation, broke the silence.
"Alright, that's enough, everyone," she said firmly, her voice in an attempt to restore calm.
She released Aiden's hand and stood, her face pale with the weight of the family drama. The room breathed out slightly, the tension easing just enough for movement.
"Zanier, dear, mind coming along with me?" Granny Elaine added, her voice softer now, though her eyes flickered with worry as she gestured toward the door.
"Come on, let's go," May said quietly as she bent down to pick up Aiden, her eyes glancing between her cousin Zanier and her mother, Latina.
May stole a glance at Zanier as he silently followed Granny Elaine.
"Mother, he doesn't seem like he's in a good mood," she whispered as she stood next to Latina, her concern evident.
Latina looked at her daughter, the guilt weighing heavily on her heart. Her eyes flicked toward Zanier, her lips pressed into a tight line.
"How could he ever forgive me?" she thought, the remorse coiling around her chest like a vice.
"Let's just head back home. He'll meet us there," Latina finally said, her voice brittle.
She gave a brief, sad glance toward Silva, whose furious eyes glared daggers at her.
Latina hurried to gather May and Aiden, her hands trembling slightly as she felt the unspoken blame in Silva's gaze, as though Silva's anger would burn through her skin. They made for the exit quickly, wanting to leave the suffocating tension behind.
Tension simmered beneath the surface as Aiden noticed Tate glaring at him, his teeth clenched in fury. The animosity was thick in the air, palpable.
Aiden's expression remained cold and indifferent, his eyes locking icily with Tate's. Though outwardly unbothered by the glare, something about Tate felt off. It gnawed at him, a nagging sense that this wasn't just a simple rivalry.
On the other side of the room, Tate's hatred for Aiden boiled over. His father's poisonous words echoed in his mind, fueling his anger further.
"Just wait, I'll make sure everyone hates you," Tate thought, his fists clenched tightly behind his back, the tension running through his body like a coiled spring.
His physical presence radiated hostility, but Aiden's cold gaze only seemed to stoke the fire within him.