Chapter 119: The Rivals

Julian’s hands curled into tight fists, the muscles in his jaw locking.

"How could it be the Daltons?"

The Foster and Dalton families had been locked in a bitter business rivalry for generations.

During his great-grandfather’s era, the Daltons had stood unrivaled as Novare’s foremost family. Their conglomerate dominated the nation’s technology, real estate, and shipping industries, their influence reaching every corner of the country.

Then the Fosters began their relentless ascent.

What started as a challenge in the technology sector gradually became a takeover. By the time Morgan assumed leadership of Aioryx, the balance of power had shifted completely. The Fosters had become the undisputed kings of technology, while the Daltons were forced to settle for second place, though they still dominated the real estate and the shipping sector.

The rivalry had only grown fiercer since.

Julian slowly lifted his gaze.

"Which Dalton?" Julian asked, his voice deceptively calm, though a dangerous edge lurked beneath it.

Unlike the Fosters, the Dalton family was enormous, its branches stretching through multiple industries and generations.

"It is the son of Henry Dalton."

The moment Morgan uttered the name, Julian’s expression darkened.

Henry Dalton.

Of all people...

A bitter memory resurfaced, one he had not revisited in years.

Henry had never accepted losing. Not in business. Not in status. Not even in love.

The two of them had been rivals since they were young men, inheriting a feud that had begun with their grandfathers. Every business acquisition became a battlefield. Every government contract, every international partnership, every technological breakthrough was another opportunity to outdo the other.

If the Fosters secured a billion-dollar deal, the Daltons would announce one worth two.

If Aioryx unveiled a revolutionary innovation, Dalton Technologies would rush to release a competing product within months.

Their rivalry wasn’t simply about profits anymore.

It had become a matter of pride. Of legacy. Of proving which family deserved to stand at the pinnacle of Novare.

But the fiercest battle between them had never taken place in a boardroom.

It had been over Leanne.

Henry had fallen for her the moment they met.

Even after Julian and Leanne had made their relationship public, Henry refused to back down. He showered her with extravagant gifts that most people could only dream of owning. Custom-designed dresses and bags. Rare jewels. Luxury estates. Invitations to exclusive galas around the world.

Every grand gesture was less about winning Leanne’s heart than about defeating Julian.

Henry wanted to prove that there wasn’t a single thing Julian possessed that he couldn’t take away.

He believed wealth could buy everything... even another man’s future wife.

Unfortunately for him, Leanne had never once entertained his advances.

The more she rejected him, the more obsessed he became.

Eventually, Henry gave up pursuing Leanne—not because he had moved on, but because she married Julian.

Still, the rivalry between them only intensified after that.

Every time the Fosters climbed higher, Henry made it his life’s mission to pull them back down.

Then came the next generation.

Morgan transformed Aioryx into the undisputed leader of the technology industry, overtaking Dalton Technologies by a margin so wide that even analysts called it a changing of the guard.

The headlines had been merciless.

The Fosters have surpassed the Daltons.

Julian could only imagine how deeply Henry had resented that humiliation.

Now, hearing that his newly discovered daughter had become entangled with Henry’s son...

He couldn’t shake the feeling that fate had an exceptionally cruel sense of humor.

"I’m beginning to wonder," Julian muttered darkly, "whether this family is destined to cross paths with the Daltons in every generation."

Henry Dalton had three sons, each one known in business circles for being as ambitious and merciless as their father. Rumor had it that two were married, maintaining mistresses despite their public image.

Except for the youngest.

A dreadful suspicion crept into Julian’s mind.

Could it be...

Morgan answered before he could ask another question.

"Yes, Dad." he said quietly. "It is Kristoff Dalton."

Silence fell over the room.

A dangerous glint flashed across Julian’s eyes.

"I’ll destroy him. How dare he?"

The words were spoken softly, but they carried far more menace than a shouted threat.

"I’ll drag him through every court in the country. If the law isn’t enough, I’ll make sure the Dalton family pays a price they will never forget. No one harms my daughter and walks away."

"Dad..." Morgan said carefully. "It wasn’t like that."

Julian turned sharply toward him.

"It was consensual."

Morgan held his father’s gaze.

"There was a legal surrogacy contract. Isobel entered the arrangement of her own free will because she desperately needed the money. She understood from the very beginning that the child she carried would never be hers."

Julian’s expression remained grim, but the murderous fury in his eyes gradually subsided.

Morgan continued, his voice softening.

"And... perhaps fate had its own plans. Both of my children were severely allergic to infant formula. Every brand the doctors tried made them sick. The pediatrician warned us they might not survive without breast milk."

He paused before continuing.

"Isobel had just given birth," Morgan said quietly. "She should have been holding her own baby, instead, she lost him."

His voice grew heavier.

"Despite her own grief... despite carrying a pain no mother should ever endure... she chose to nurse my twins."

Morgan’s eyes softened as memories resurfaced.

"She became their wet nurse, but to me... she isn’t just a wet nurse."

He smiled faintly.

"She is the angel who saved my children."

Silence settled over the room.

After a long moment, Morgan spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I still remember the first day I met her."

"She looked... empty. It was as though the light had been extinguished from her eyes."

His gaze drifted into the distance.

"But every time she held my twins... every time she fed them... I saw that light slowly returning."

Julian lowered his head, his chest tightening with every word.

The daughter he had only just found had spent years carrying unbearable sorrow, yet somehow still found enough love to save someone else’s children.

A long, weary sigh escaped him.

"Perhaps...this truly was fate," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion.

He lifted his eyes toward Morgan.

"God couldn’t bear to let my daughter lose everything..."

"...so he placed two children in her arms who needed her just as desperately as she needed them."

His eyes grew distant as he pictured the daughter he had only just found.

An orphan. A woman who had carried another family’s child simply to survive.

A deep ache settled in Julian’s chest.

"My poor daughter..." he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

"She has endured far more than anyone ever should."