Everyone greeted Zion with great respect and reverence.
In their eyes, this was a man whose word could obliterate any family present!
“Master, this is the young lady.”
Xavier Caldwell respectfully introduced Zion to Harriet Hamilton.
Then, turning to Harriet with a smile, he urged, “Miss, go on, call him ‘Dad’!”
In an instant, all eyes at the venue turned towards Harriet Hamilton.
Madeline looked on with immense envy.
With that one word, Harriet would become the beloved princess of Pelens and all of Shipmeda State!
From a mere stone on the ground to a sought-after star!
Yet Harriet simply stared at Zion, her eyes filled with nothing but unfamiliarity.
Ever since Zion had appeared, she had been dumbfounded.
This was her first face-to-face meeting with her biological father, whom she had only seen in newspapers before.
Zion’s current wife, Simone Watson, had disfigured her own mother with sulfuric acid, leaving her crippled.
Zion had remained indifferent.
Harriet had grown up poor, scorned as an illegitimate child, living only with her grandfather for twenty years.
Zion had never once appeared.
Harriet’s heart was a tumult of emotions, and she found herself unable to utter the word “Dad.”
Her father was a Hamilton, not a Watson!
Zion did not deserve the title!
Seeing Harriet’s reluctance, confusion appeared in the eyes of the guests.
“Looks like she holds a grudge against you, Dad,” Maisie Carlisle sneered.
Her eyes bore hostility towards her half-sister.
In her view, this sister should not exist.
Harriet’s existence had strained her parents’ relationship; she deserved to die!
Her mother deserved to die even more!
Hearing his daughter’s words, Zion glanced at Xavier Caldwell, a threatening aura enveloping him.
Xavier shivered involuntarily, then leaned close to Harriet and whispered,
“Miss, have you forgotten what I told you before?”
Harriet’s mind reeled.
Remember? How could she not?
Seven days ago, Xavier Caldwell had appeared at her home, announcing Zion’s decision to acknowledge her.
Harriet had been extremely reluctant.
Xavier threatened that if Harriet did not obey Lysander King, the Hamilton family would have no reason to exist.
From that moment, Harriet knew all her resistance was futile.
“Dad-”
Harriet’s lips bled as she whispered the word.
Zion nodded, smiling at Maisie Carlisle: “Your sister is just a bit shy; she’ll get used to it once we return to Pelens.”
Maisie huffed and turned her head away.
Lysander King’s statement broke the Hamilton family’s composure, and they began to cry.
If Harriet were merely returning to Pelens, it wouldn’t be so painful.
But this kind, well-behaved child was to marry Stellan Wallace!
They dreaded to think of frail Harriet, in the hands of a man who treated women like objects, and what her fate would be.
The guests’ faces changed upon hearing the Hamilton family’s cries during such a festive occasion.
Maisie Carlisle frowned, turned to Harriet, and smiled, “Sister, is there something sad going on?”
Harriet glanced at Xavier Caldwell and murmured, “No… nothing.”
“Nothing?” Maisie Carlisle scoffed, then shouted, “Then why the crying? Did someone die in your family?”
Boom!
The Hamilton family’s faces instantly darkened.
Odin Hamilton clenched his fists tightly, staring at Maisie Carlisle.
Our family is crying because a loved one is being forced into a marriage with a beast due to your father’s lust. Don’t we even have the right to cry?
“What are you staring at? I’m not someone you country bumpkins can look at!”
Maisie Carlisle, spoiled and arrogant, glared fiercely at Odin Hamilton.
She was Lysander King’s daughter and feared no one, least of all Odin Hamilton.
To crush him, she wouldn’t even need to speak; a mere glance would suffice.
“Maisie, stop it!”
“The Hamilton family has raised my daughter for twenty years as their own.”
“Now that Harriet is moving to Pelens for a better life, their sadness is understandable.”
So what if he acknowledged his illegitimate daughter?
Who dared to speak ill of him?
Who dared to point fingers?
Zion turned to Odin Hamilton, his voice gentle:
“Don’t worry, once everything is settled, I’ll make sure Harriet visits often!”
“Alright, everyone, follow me!” he exclaimed.
After saying this, he took Harriet Hamilton by the hand and headed towards the hall.
The turmoil was quickly diffused by Zion with just a few words, and no one dared to speak again.
Looking at the crowd surging in, Xavier Caldwell did not see Flynn and smirked coldly: “I warned him; he wouldn’t dare come.”
Two days earlier, Xavier Caldwell had specifically sought out Flynn and compared the Swordgate Peak of Pelens with the Phoenix Mountain of Niarak, insinuating that this poor boy could only ever aspire to reach the status of Niarak’s top figure, and it was very likely he would die before achieving even that.
And for Harriet Hamilton, just being recognized by Zion as his daughter would increase her worth a million times over.
She would reach heights that a normal family could not achieve in ten generations.
Perhaps Flynn had some skills, but he could only wander places like Niarak.
Becoming Orion Kennedy? Or even better than him, what of it?
With the identity of Zion’s daughter, Flynn was no match for Harriet Hamilton!
It wasn’t that Xavier Caldwell was arrogant, but Zion’s power was too formidable.
Setting aside the power of his father-in-law’s family and his own, as a subordinate of that mysterious person, he could dominate the Shipmeda State and even the surrounding provinces dared not oppose him.
That mysterious person was terrifying. After a hundred Grandmasters failed to kill Adrianna Noble, he appeared at the Hussain family estate, furious.
The Hussain family’s mansion was reduced to ashes in an instant.
That day, not even Xavier Caldwell, a peak Grandmaster, could withstand the mysterious man’s fury; he bled from his mouth and nose, and was severely injured for a month.
Just one display of anger had him kneeling and heavily wounded on the ground.
If Zion could complete the task he was assigned in the coming days, that mysterious man would fully accept him, and no one in the south would dare to underestimate him.
Of course, Zion’s achievements were already beyond what Orion Kennedy could ever reach in his lifetime.
Speaking of which, Orion Kennedy and Edwin Gallagher did not attend today. Knowing Zion’s character, even if he didn’t say anything outright, he would eventually make Orion Kennedy understand the consequences of offending him.
In the banquet hall, the many guests took their seats in complete silence.
This was the influence of Zion; no one dared to steal the spotlight.
Zion stood at the podium, scanning the crowd below. Endless rows of tables, three hundred in total, were all filled. Such was his charisma.
He could command a crowd with a single call, and everyone scrambled to curry favor.
“Thank you all for coming to this birthday banquet despite your busy schedules.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to announce something-Harriet Hamilton is my daughter, lost for twenty years. After many years of searching, I have finally found her.”
“I am grateful to the Hamilton family for their care over the last twenty years.”
“I want to bring her back to my side, to fulfill my duty as a father.”
“Therefore, I formally declare to all circles that Harriet Hamilton is my biological daughter, she carries my blood, and from this day forward, Harriet Hamilton is my daughter, forever and ever!”
With these words, the entire room erupted, everyone stood up, and their voices filled the hall.
“Congratulations to Lysander King for finding his long-lost daughter!”
The sound waves rolled wave after wave, echoing throughout the hall.
Madeline trembled all over.
Lysander King Zion had publicly acknowledged Harriet Hamilton’s identity!
Envy!
Endless envy!
Ordinary people could strive for a hundred generations and not reach these heights. Just because Harriet Hamilton had Zion’s blood, she had transformed from a regular employee earning a few thousand dollars a month into a princess receiving gifts worth hundreds of millions of dollars!
Listening to Zion’s powerful declaration, the Hamilton family’s mood plummeted.
Tears flowed again from the women of the Hamilton family, who dared not speak out, only stifling their mouths as tears slid down.
Harriet Hamilton was such a good child, so good it was pitiable, without a single fault.
That’s why the Hamilton family had treated her as their own flesh and blood.
But now, this well-behaved child was going to Pelens.
Seeing her again would be difficult.
They truly did not want Harriet Hamilton to leave, they really didn’t!
Just as the Hamilton family watched Harriet Hamilton about to become part of the Hussain family in despair, a voice suddenly rang out.
“As long as Harriet Hamilton doesn’t want to do something, no one can force her!”
Everyone turned towards the entrance, where Flynn strode in!