“Dad, what do we do now?” Marcia squeezed her hands together, her voice shaky as she looked at Aloys. She bit her lip, worry etched all over her face. “Grandfather's people must have heard about this too."

Aloys's face grew even darker. His eyes were bloodshot and cold. "What are you scared of?"

Marcia's heart skipped a beat. “I'm just afraid they'll come back."

"Even if Franco returns to the Isle of Veil, that unknown daughter of his won't change anything for you." Aloys looked Marcia straight in the eye, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "You're the only one who will ever be Mrs. Churchill.”

"But what if the Churchill family..."

"They won't." Aloys cut her off, his voice hard and certain. "The Churchill family would never accept someone ordinary as their matriarch. And besides..."

"Besides what?"

"Your focus should be on the genetic mutation experiments. Leave the rest to me." Aloys didn't spell it out, but his confidence left no doubt. In his mind, Marcia was already destined to be the next Mrs. Churchill.

"As for Franco..." Aloys pressed his lips together, something sly flashing in his eyes. "He'd be smart not to come back. If he does, he won't get out of the Isle of Veil alive."

"Yes." Marcia nodded, her anxiety easing a little after hearing her father's words.

He was right.

Children of the Hawk family were trained from the day they were born. Maybe they weren't perfect, but they could go toe to toe with the best of the world's elite.

There's no way the Churchill family would ever accept some nobody as their future matriarch.

With everything she had accomplished, plus all the data she controlled on the genetic mutation project, the Churchill family would be fools not to choose her.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Isle of Veil...

In a study lit only by the dim light from the windows, Allanson stood in front of the glass, hands clasped behind his back. His old eyes stared out at the horizon.

"Allanson, we've got news from

Aloys's side. The person whet

genetic mutation stood them up. No one can find them. The subordinate spoke quietly, head bowed.

“So things really did go wrong." Allanson closed his eyes for a moment, his voice

low and steady. “What about the investigation I asked for? Any results?”

"Yes." The subordinate gave a quick nod. "Just like you thought, there's been a young woman going in and out of the presidential palace in Solenia a lot lately. After asking around, we found out she's Franco and Nora's biological daughter."

"A daughter? His own daughter?" The shock in Allanson's eyes grew as he turned to

face his subordinate. His voice dropped even lower. “Not a son?”

"Yes," the man replied. "Word is, after Nora gave birth, she left the child in Cabinda. Franco only found out about his daughter recently. And the presidential palace staff aren't` talking at all." He glanced at O Allanson's grim face, then added, "It seems like Franco is going out of his way to keep his daughter's identity a secret."

Allanson frowned, feeling something was off.

Back then, it made sense for that woman to hide the child's identity if she wanted to

keep her away from the Hawk family's influence.

But now Franco knew the truth, and the Hawk family couldn't touch Nora anymore. There was no reason to keep everything in the dark.

But Franco and Nora were still keeping their daughter hidden from everyone.