Chapter 286: The Revelation 2

Julian stepped toward the center of the stage, his expression unusually solemn.

The festive atmosphere that had filled the banquet hall only moments ago gradually quieted.

The children’s laughter, the clinking of glasses, even the magician’s playful music seemed to fade into the background as hundreds of eyes turned toward him.

Julian glanced around the hall.

Then he spoke.

"I want everyone to know that I have another child."

He deliberately paused. The words hung in the air. For several seconds, nobody seemed to understand what they had just heard.

Then the meaning sank in.

Silence descended over the banquet hall.

The only sound that broke through the stunned stillness was Alexander’s babyish babbling from below the stage.

Several socialite women immediately turned toward Leanne.

Their expressions changed almost simultaneously.

First came disbelief.

Then surprise.

And finally, unmistakable pity.

Leanne sat perfectly still, her back straight and her face composed, but the sudden attention made the atmosphere around her feel suffocating.

Whispers began spreading through the crowd.

"I knew there had to be something behind that announcement..."

"Another child? When?"

"How could Leanne have known about this?"

Katherine leaned closer to the woman beside her, lowering her voice.

"So, it really is that kind of cliché story," she murmured with a faintly amused smile. "The woman saves the man, and somehow he ends up repaying her with his body."

The woman beside her covered her mouth, trying not to react too visibly.

"Keep your voice down."

Katherine merely lifted an eyebrow.

"For all we know, Julian and Leanne were supposed to be the model couple. Julian was famous for his loyalty." Her gaze slid toward Leanne. "Who would have thought he had another child hidden somewhere? Poor Leanne."

The whispers grew louder.

Julian waited until the murmuring reached its peak.

Then his voice cut through the hall.

"You may remember that, many years ago, I was kidnapped."

The hall quieted again.

"I disappeared for a few months."

Several guests exchanged uneasy glances.

Julian’s expression darkened as memories surfaced.

"During that time, I was rescued by a pair of siblings. They took me to their home in the village and the woman cared for me while I was recovering."

Another wave of whispers swept through the crowd.

Julian continued.

"I lost my memory."

His voice was calm, but the admission sent another ripple of shock through the audience.

"Because of that, I entered into an intimate relationship with that woman."

A few women gasped.

Someone at the back of the hall whispered, "Oh my God."

Julian did not react.

"Then, I was eventually found by my father’s men. I was brought back to my family, and later I went abroad for treatment."

He paused.

"I forgot about the village and the woman who saved me."

His gaze lowered for a moment.

"I didn’t know that she had become pregnant."

The room seemed to hold its breath.

"I didn’t know she had given birth to my child."

The silence that followed was almost unbearable.

Then Julian turned toward the woman standing a few steps behind him.

His expression softened.

"Everyone..."

He reached out and took Isobel’s hand. Isobel’s fingers trembled slightly in his.

Julian gently guided her forward.

"...I am happy to introduce to you my daughter."

He looked at her with unmistakable pride.

"Isobel Lancey Foster."

Nothing happened as silence descended once more into the hall.

There was no applause, no congratulations, not even a polite murmur.

The entire banquet hall simply stared.

The guests had been expecting a birthday announcement, perhaps a surprise gift or another lavish gesture from the Foster family.

They had not expected a bombshell capable of shaking one of the city’s most powerful families.

Even the children seemed to sense that something had changed. Their little whines faded. Their restless movements stopped. One by one, their curious eyes turned toward the stage, following the adults’ stunned gazes.

Then—

"Na...ma..."

A tiny voice suddenly rang through the silence.

"Mommy!"

Heads snapped toward Alexander.

Mary was staring at the stage, her mouth slightly open.

She didn’t even notice that Alexander had twisted his little body away from her.

The baby was stretching both arms toward the stage, his small fingers opening and closing excitedly.

"Mommy!"

Kristoff immediately took him from Mary. If not, if he was afraid his son would fall.

But Alexander continued reaching toward Isobel, his little face lighting up as though he had just recognized someone he had been searching for.

The strange sight only deepened the confusion.

For a few heartbeats, nobody knew what to make of it.

Then, as though the entire audience suddenly remembered where they were and what was expected of them, applause erupted.

It started with a few scattered claps.

Then more joined in.

Within seconds, the entire hall thundered with applause.

Julian smiled.

He gently squeezed Isobel’s hand before leading her and the rest of his family down from the stage.

The magicians quickly returned to the center, doing their best to reclaim the children and the adults’ attention with another dazzling trick.

The children soon forgot about the tense atmosphere, not that they could comprehend the adults’ complex world. They became absorbed in the colorful magic show.

The adults, however, were nowhere near ready to forget.

Whispers continued to circulate through the banquet hall.

Every corner seemed alive with speculation.

"Did Julian really have a daughter all these years?"

"Isobel Lancey..."

"Why was she raised as an orphan?"

"And what about Leanne? She must fell bad right?"

"Of course, all those years, you thought that you were the only one in your husband’s eyes. Suddenly there was another woman, and there was even a child."

Mary finally turned toward her husband, still looking as though she had yet to wake from a dream.

"Henry, dear..." she whispered. "I didn’t hear it wrong, did I?"

Henry glanced at her.

"No."

Mary swallowed.

"He really said that Isobel was his daughter?"

"He did."

Henry’s lips curled into a knowing smirk.

"That damn man was pretending to be a saint all these years."

His eyes drifted toward Julian’s retreating figure.

"Who would have thought he was hiding a scandal like that?"

He gave a low chuckle.

"At least I’m better than him."

Mary gave him a sideways look.

Henry cleared his throat.

"Of course, I had my share of women when I was younger."

He leaned back casually.

"But I’m quite certain I never left a bastard child behind."

Mary stared at him.

"Quite certain?"

Henry’s confident expression faltered.

"...I’m certain."

But even as he said it, the rest of the powerful in the room had varying thoughts.

For some reason, Julian’s revelation had stirred something uncomfortable in the back of his mind.

And judging from the uneasy expressions of several other men in the room, Henry was not the only one wondering—

if Julian Foster could have a hidden daughter, what other secrets were waiting to surface among the city’s most powerful families?