Chapter 116: The Unexpected Guest

The entire ballroom seemed to hold its breath.

At the grand entrance of the Royal Pavilion stood a man with an easy smile and a dangerously carefree air. He looked as though he had wandered in from a casual evening out rather than arrived at the most prestigious banquet of the year.

Aaron Knight.

The moment the Knight family recognized him, the atmosphere changed.

Matthew’s brows rose first. His surprise lasted only a second before his expression hardened into disbelief.

Beside him, Hannah froze, staring at the unexpected guest.

Aaron’s smile widened as he stepped beneath the crystal chandeliers.

"Grandpa," he called brightly. "Happy birthday."

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Matthew let out a disbelieving scoff. Despite himself, the corners of his mouth twitched upward.

"You little rascal," he muttered.

Aaron grinned and walked straight toward him. "It’s good to see you too, Grandpa."

Matthew reached him first. The stern old man who had been glaring fiercely at the ballroom only moments earlier stepped forward and pulled Aaron into an embrace.

Hannah followed, her shock quickly melting into warmth.

"You should have told us you were coming," she said, taking his face between both hands as though she needed to make sure he was real. "We would have prepared everything properly."

Aaron widened his eyes innocently. "Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise."

Matthew snorted. "You could have at least called."

"And ruin my entrance?" Aaron asked, as if the suggestion were completely unreasonable.

Hannah laughed helplessly and pulled him into another hug.

"We’re glad you’re here."

Across the ballroom, Sonia’s face had gone faintly pale.

She had not expected Aaron Knight to appear.

The reason for her reaction, however, went deeper than surprise. Sonia had always been wary of Jeff Knight, Layton’s uncle and one of the most persistent threats to his position. Jeff had never accepted the idea of Layton becoming CEO. After Layton’s father died, he had made repeated attempts to undermine Layton, challenge his authority, and seize control of the company for himself.

Aaron was Jeff’s only son.

Although Aaron appeared relaxed and harmless, Sonia knew exactly which family he came from. His presence at the banquet immediately reminded her of every conflict Jeff had created and every scheme he had carried out against Layton.

For years, Matthew and Hannah had done everything they could to keep Layton away from Jeff and Aaron. They had understood how dangerous the two of them could be and had tried to protect Layton from being dragged into their family’s power struggles.

Now, Aaron had returned without warning.

Neither Sonia nor most of the guests had expected to see him.

And Layton...

Layton’s expression changed for only an instant, but it was enough for anyone watching closely to notice.

Surprise flashed across his face, quickly replaced by the polished calm he wore as the president of Knight’s Corporation. Without revealing what he was thinking, he crossed the ballroom with measured steps.

"Aaron."

"Layton."

The two men shook hands.

The gesture was proper, civil, and almost cordial. Only the faint tension in their eyes suggested that there was anything beneath the surface.

Aaron’s smile remained pleasant, but it did not reach the space between them.

Layton studied him with quiet caution.

"I wasn’t expecting you," Layton said.

A flicker of amusement crossed Aaron’s face. "Grandpa’s birthday seemed like a good reason to come home."

Home.

The word lingered in the air longer than it should have.

Layton’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You’ve been gone for a while."

"A little too long, perhaps." Aaron’s tone remained light, but his gaze drifted across the ballroom, taking in the guests, the stage, the gathered family, and the extravagant decorations. "I thought it was time I reminded everyone I was still alive."

Layton said nothing.

A few feet away, Mindy watched the exchange in silence.

She knew only the basics about Aaron Knight. He was Jeff Knight’s son, Matthew’s grandson, and Layton’s cousin.

Beyond that, Aaron was a complete stranger to her.

Unlike the rest of the Knight family, Jeff had always kept his distance from them. As a result, Aaron had remained an outsider in everything but name. Even when Mindy and Layton had married, they had held no formal ceremony, only obtained a marriage certificate. Still, Matthew had arranged a small family gathering to acknowledge the marriage.

Jeff and Aaron had not attended.

In fact, they had never appeared at any of the Knight family gatherings Mindy had attended. No one had spoken about them, either, as though their absence were an unspoken subject the family had collectively agreed to avoid.

Aaron existed in the family records, but not in their daily lives.

Mindy had never met him, never spoken to him, and knew nothing about either him or his father beyond their names and their connection to the Knight family.

So she watched him as she watched most people, calmly and carefully, revealing nothing of her thoughts.

Then Aaron’s gaze drifted across the ballroom.

And stopped on her.

It lasted only a moment, but his expression changed.

The relaxed smile he had worn since entering the room shifted into something more knowing. More deliberate.

Mindy noticed.

She did not react.

Matthias did.

His hand tightened slightly around hers.

Mindy turned toward him at once. "What is it?"

Matthias continued watching Aaron. "I don’t like the way he’s looking at you."

Mindy blinked, then dismissed the thought with a slight shake of her head.

"I don’t care. I don’t know him, and I no longer have anything to do with that family."

Matthias finally turned toward her. A faint smile touched his lips, clearly pleased by her indifference.

Mindy gave him a questioning look before turning her attention back to the ballroom.

By then, Aaron had already moved on.

He approached Missy next.

Missy had been waiting for an opportunity to recover from the shock of his arrival, and she seized it immediately. Smoothly composing herself, she stepped forward with a flawless smile.

"Aaron," she greeted warmly. "It’s nice to see you."

Aaron returned her smile with effortless ease. "It’s nice to see you too, Missy."

The exchange was perfectly polite.

Almost too polite.

Their eyes met for the briefest moment, and something unspoken passed between them. It was subtle, silent, and impossible to define, yet it carried a familiarity that did not belong between two people who were supposedly meeting at a family gathering after a long absence.

No one else seemed to notice.

Or perhaps no one wanted to.

Mindy studied Missy carefully, then shifted her attention back to Aaron.

There it was again.

That ease. That quiet familiarity.

It wasn’t enough to justify an accusation, but it was certainly enough to arouse her curiosity.

More than that, Mindy had never seen Missy smile that way before.

For a brief moment, the expression on Missy’s face held no calculation, no hidden ambition, and no attempt to impress anyone. It was a genuine smile, bright with unmistakable happiness.

Mindy’s eyes narrowed slightly.

At the center of the ballroom, Matthew’s gaze shifted toward Layton.

Layton noticed immediately.

His grandfather did not need to say a word. The look alone carried a clear message.

Layton’s expression hardened almost imperceptibly.

Without glancing back at the others, he stepped aside and retrieved his phone. The moment the call connected, his voice dropped into a low, controlled tone.

"Mike."

"Yes, Mr. President?"

Layton kept his eyes fixed on Aaron. "Aaron is here."

A brief silence followed on the other end of the line.

"We were tracking his movements, weren’t we?" Layton asked.

"Yes," Mike replied quickly. "I’ll check immediately."

Layton’s jaw tightened. Across the ballroom, Aaron was laughing at something Hannah had said, looking entirely at ease—as though he hadn’t just appeared without warning after disappearing from the family’s radar.

"He was supposed to be in Cracros."

"That’s correct. Our last confirmed information placed him there yesterday."

"Find out who he met before coming here."

Mike hesitated for only a moment. "Understood."

"And, Mike..."

"Yes, sir?"

Layton’s voice grew colder.

"Don’t give him another chance to surprise us."

He ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

For a moment, he remained still, his gaze fixed on Aaron.

Why did he come here?

And more importantly, why now?

Aaron had been in Cracros only yesterday. That alone was suspicious. He had no reason to return to Greendale without warning, especially not for a birthday celebration he had never shown much interest in attending before.

What had he been doing in Cracros?

Who had he met there?

Layton’s eyes narrowed as he studied his cousin’s relaxed smile.

He turned slowly and surveyed the ballroom.

Missy remained perfectly composed, her expression flawless as she mingled with the guests.

Mindy stood beside Matthias, carrying herself with quiet elegance, seemingly untouched by the tension beginning to spread through the room.

Yet beneath the glittering celebration, beneath the music, laughter, and birthday wishes, Layton sensed something shift.

A disturbance.

A thread pulled just slightly out of place.

Aaron Knight had not returned to Greendale for something as ordinary as a birthday celebration.

Layton’s eyes darkened.

If Aaron had chosen to return now, he had a reason.

And Layton intended to discover exactly what it was.