Chapter 553 A Man Who Was Already Dead
"Yeah! You're right, Ethan!" Harper nodded in agreement.
"So..." Ethan suddenly turned to his sister, his bright eyes shining with determination. "We have to find a way to make Daddy remember us!"
The siblings solemnly high-fived, feeling the weight of their mission.
…
The next morning, Benjamin had just finished getting ready and was standing in front of the full-length mirror by the door, straightening his collar.
An abrupt ring from the doorbell echoed from outside. He glanced over, his steely face betraying no emotion, and continued adjusting his cufflinks before taking steps to answer the door.
Standing outside were Isabella and Daniel.
"Ben… Isabella greeted with a smile but didn't look very well. Once he stepped aside, she walked into the room, took a look around, and her already pale complexion seemed to lose another shade of color.
Benjamin had high standards for living; wherever he went, it was sure to involve the best in food, clothing, and amenities.
'The hotel had only one presidential suite left, could it be that Ben... lowered his standards just to avoid staying with me?'
Her heart sank, and she bit her lip before mustering the courage to ask, "Ben, why did you... book another room?"
Benjamin's calm gaze swept over her face. "I got back late last night and didn't want to disturb your rest," he said.
Isabella, however, was not pleased by his response. Being a smart person, how could she not know that this was just an excuse from Benjamin?
She was about to say something when Daniel, observant as always, stepped forward with documents in hand. "Sir, I've gathered all the information on Antonio Valencia that you requested," he said, offering the papers.
Benjamin paused for a moment before taking them.
Isabella had been feeling upset, but now her attention was diverted at the mention of the assistant's words. Though she had heard of Antonio before, she knew very little about him—not even what he looked like.
She looked curiously at the documents in Benjamin's hands and asked, "Ben, why do you suddenly need Antonio's information?"
Benjamin had already opened the brown paper envelope and was pulling out the contents when he stopped, a frown creasing his forehead. He glanced at the file folder in his hand, and a wave of confusion flooded his mind.
Indeed, why was he investigating Antonio? A man who was already dead...
If it was for the company acquisition, there really was no need for him to understand further.
His hand holding the documents suddenly dropped, and his other hand rose to press against his temple. He must have been out of his mind last night. To think he had walked into Sarah's house, listened to all that nonsensical babble from those kids, and even after leaving, instructed Daniel to gather this information.
With a sigh of exasperation, he pressed his tongue against his back teeth in disdain for his own actions. He turned and strode toward the desk by the balcony, decisively feeding the papers into the shredder and pressing the start button.
Daniel watched the scene, the corner of his mouth twitching. His fluent English suddenly felt inadequate to express his thoughts.
Of course, he had already reviewed all the materials and knew that Benjamin and Antonio had the identical face.
But at this moment, Benjamin 's reaction clearly indicated that he had lost interest in the matter and was even showing a hint of annoyance.
Speaking up now would undoubtedly add fuel to the fire.
Daniel wisely chose to remain silent, watching Benjamin turn those few pages of materials and the photographs on them into shreds.
...
Early in the morning at the Valencia family villa, Sarah was packed and ready for work, bidding farewell to her smiling children. Once they ensured their mother's car had departed, they hastened back to their rooms to commence their significant task—a family reunion!
Ryan, Ethan, and Harper sat seriously facing each other.
"Should we call Brian?" asked Harper with a serious expression.
"No need," Ethan waved his hand dismissively, "He's abroad and dealing with a time difference. Plus, he's already got his hands full taking care of our uncle. Once we've settled everything here, won't it be a nice surprise for him?"
Ryan, who had gone to bed early the previous night, was a bit confused. "What's going on?"
"It's big news, brother!" Harper's exaggerated expression barely masked her excitement. "Last night, Mommy brought Daddy back with her! And he talked with us for ages!"
Ethan nodded, confirming his sister's account.
"He looks exactly like him, but Mommy insists that the man isn't Daddy, just someone who resembles him... But we couldn't possibly be wrong, could we? So, we've come to a logical conclusion—Daddy has amnesia!"
Harper propped her chin in her hands, her eyes wide and brimming with unwavering conviction, nodding furiously.
"If you don't believe me, go look for yourself! I heard Mommy call him Mr. Harrington!"
Still reeling from shock and excitement, it took Ryan a moment to process his siblings' words. He quickly grabbed a tablet and muttered, "Let me check this out..."
He searched for "Harrington" and several breaking news stories popped up, coincidentally from a gala two days ago.
The three of them huddled over the tablet, Ryan scrubbing through a video and pausing it at the impeccable face of Benjamin.
"That's... just like Daddy!"
As Ryan paused the video, he stared intensely at the man on screen for a long time, coming to a conclusion.
The man in the video bore an uncanny resemblance to their father, right down to a small scar at the corner of his eye and a subtle variation in pupil shade. Their builds were also strikingly identical.
If it was just a resemblance, it couldn't be to this extent, could it?
Ethan and Harper's faces carried a hint of smugness. "We were right, weren't we?"
Ryan took a moment to collect his thoughts and then suddenly remembered to look up the man's full name from the video. Quickly, he entered it into the search engine.
Benjamin Harrington...
He searched high and low, but aside from the man's educational and business background, he found nothing of value. There wasn’t even an old photograph.
"There’s nothing... He’s so mysterious."
Ryan felt a surge of excitement upon hearing his dad had returned. Now, as he gazed at Mr. this Harrington, the CEO, without the old photo to reference, Ryan's suspicion only intensified.
His teacher had said that no two leaves in the world were exactly the same. Perhaps this Benjamin Harrington bore a resemblance to his dad, but it was impossible for them to have the exact same build. As for scars and the color of the irises, those things can be altered...
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