CHAPTER 445: CHAPTER 445: THAT’S MY DADDY

Chantelle brought the children to Simon’s office and looked around while Simon began testing them.

His office was large, and one wall was covered with photographs.

With her sharp eyesight, she noticed someone in one of the pictures who looked like Daniel.

"Ha, ha! Good! Excellent! You are all even smarter than your father!" he said in excitement after testing the three of them.

Chantelle was stunned when she heard that.

Simon realized he had misspoken, so he quickly led them over to the wall of photographs and pointed at one of them. "Look, who is this?"

In the picture, two men were standing in front of the school library. One was slightly older, and it was Simon in his younger years. The other was Daniel, about eighteen.

"That’s my daddy," Railer said softly.

Kane was much more excited than Railer. He jumped around and said, "Grandpa Simon, when did you know my daddy?"

"Daddy was so handsome when he was young," Stephanie said as she stared at the picture.

Chantelle also leaned closer to look at it. She had to admit, Daniel was always the most handsome man, no matter where he went. No one could look better than him in photos.

"Your daddy and I have known each other for a very long time. I remember him back when he was still wearing diapers," Simon said with a gentle expression.

"So, you already knew Kane was his son back in Carcosa?" Chantelle asked, turning away from the picture with a sour tone.

"I thought he looked a lot like Daniel. I even told Daniel when I came back to Easthan. But he said all children look somewhat similar. I wanted to see Railer back then to confirm it, but Daniel refused it. Otherwise, you all might have been reunited much earlier." Simon said seriously, looking at both Railer and Kane.

Back then, Railer had autism. Daniel kept him at home most of the time, and even when Kate took care of him, she rarely brought him out.

So even though Simon had known Daniel for many years, he had never seen Railer.

Chantelle’s heart tightened when she heard this. If Daniel had known there was a child who looked exactly like Railer, he would have flown to Carcosa immediately and fought her for custody.

If that had happened, their relationship might have turned out even worse than it is now.

"A few months ago, Daniel suddenly called me. He told me that he had reunited with his other son and daughter. He sounded so happy, like a child, when he said he also found his wife again. He said he wanted to bring all his children to meet me, but I have been abroad for a long time till I decided to return today."

Simon laughed and said he rarely used the internet, so he did not know anything about Daniel’s situation. If Daniel had not told him personally about the family reunion, he would not have known that Kane was his son.

"Grandpa Simon, is this my daddy too?" Stephanie pointed at another picture and asked.

Simon adjusted his glasses and replied, "Yes, that’s him. I don’t know where he went back then. He almost lost his life. But he never told me who saved him."

"Mommy, what’s wrong?" Stephanie asked when she noticed Chantelle’s strange behavior. She had only wanted to show her the picture as she thought Daniel looked funny in it.

In the picture, Daniel’s face was covered in bruises, and his clothes were dirty. He looked like a beggar.

But Chantelle was staring at the picture with red eyes, and her face had turned pale.

"Mommy, what’s wrong?" Railer noticed that Chantelle’s eyes were red as she stared at the picture. He grabbed her hand and gently shook it.

Chantelle snapped back to reality and forced a smile. "I’m fine. Mr. Gibbs, did my children pass the test?"

"Of course, they’re brilliant. I’m more worried the teacher won’t be able to keep up with them." Simon looked at her with confusion, but he did not ask further. He knew she did not want to explain herself.

"Then I’ll take them home first. I’ll bring them back on the school’s open day."

Chantelle quickly took the kids and left. Simon sat in his office for a while. Then, he walked over to the picture, took a photo of it, and sent it to Daniel.

He called Daniel. "Alright, you can relax now. I almost lost my life rushing back."

"Thank you, teacher. Please continue to look after my children."

"Stop being polite. I just sent you a picture. Your wife almost cried when she looked at it. Do you know why?"

Daniel was stunned when he opened the photo.

Daniel stared at the photo on his phone, and his mind drifted back to more than twenty years ago, when he was only six years old.

At that time, his gentle uncle had taken him to a seaside resort. But after they entered the village, his uncle left, saying he had official work to do. Daniel wandered along the beach alone because the bodyguards who came with him had also disappeared. There, he met a group of village children who, for some reason, suddenly attacked him. They surrounded him and began punching and kicking him.

When he had no strength left to fight back, they dug a deep hole in the sand and buried him alive. The suffocating panic and the fear of dying remained vivid in his memory. Just when he thought everything was over, a pair of small hands brushed away the sand and pulled him out.

"Huh? It’s you? You’re not my Little Flower." The girl looked surprised at first, then slightly disappointed.

Daniel sat weakly beside the pit, staring at the calm sea. The little girl continued, "Little Flower is my dog. I thought they buried her, too. Nathan and the others are so bad. I don’t know where they hid my dog. Will you come with me to find her?"

Without waiting for Daniel to answer, she took his hand and pulled him along. Daniel was worried those village children might come back to hurt him, but he could only follow her. She held his hand so tightly that he couldn’t break free.

Luckily, the little girl seemed to know the resort well. She led Daniel to hidden but beautiful places. She had a Polaroid camera hanging around her neck and took pictures of anything she found interesting.

"Why did you take a picture of this ugly thing?" Daniel pointed at a frog-like lump on the ground and asked in confusion.

The little girl smiled and said, "It’s not ugly. It’s as good-looking as you."