Chapter 274 A new enemy
Finally, the much anticipated day of the Smith Family banquet arrived.
Jonathan Smith – the golden bachelor and wealthiest man of P-City turned henpecked husband who had married up – hosted a large banquet in the Smith family mansion to introduce his wife and kids to everyone.
Liliana Petrova Smith was an enigma, and her children – the future heirs of more than half of the P City economy – were even more mysterious.
Jonathan and Liliana had done a great job hiding their children.
When the word got out that they had kids, they had to announce it formally and introduce them to everyone.
Most bigwigs of P city had received an invite. Their business partners, family friends, close associates, senior employees, board members, and many people came together to see the kids.
Jonathan and Liliana, being the hosts, welcomed everyone and walked around the hall since the first guest showed up.
Leonardo, Mariana, James, Vincent, and Alice helped them receive their guests.
Henry, Jennifer, and Terry formed a click and enjoyed themselves.
Henry did not like being the center of attention and believed as a doctor – he should not mingle with the people.
Jennifer did not belong to the upper class. She didn’t know anyone, so she kept to herself.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.
Jennifer’s brother also came with her, but he disappeared soon after. He was young and vain. She hoped he would not make a fool of himself. He always got provoked easily, and their mother manipulated him – filling his head with half-truths.
Jennifer had hoped he would watch and learn. She had brought him with her to broaden her horizons. But with each passing minute where he was missing, she began second-guessing her judgment.
Terry saw through her perturbation and consoled her.
Terry knew most people, but he was mindful of when and where he should build connections.
He would mingle and show his respect after the main event was over.
Finally, Jonathan proposed a toast and thanked everyone for coming to celebrate homecoming for his wife and kids.
They all laughed at his good humor as he introduced his twins.
A few people had speculated about the children’s identity and even made various conjectures about their parentage.
But seeing Nathaniel – who looked similar to both his parents – all the detractors kept mum.
Appearances can be a great asset in the upper class.
The banquet went on as Jonathan and Liliana brought the well-behaved kids along and introduced them to their close friends and families.
Finally, they all went to the buffet and indulged in the mouth-watering delicacies.
However, something happened when they were eating.
Joyanna ate something and started coughing. Perhaps because they were twins and affected each other’s emotions, Nathaniel began coughing after a few minutes.
The turn of events alarmed everyone.
Henry, Doctor Brown, and Doctor Cox came forward immediately and began examining the kids.
They made them vomit and found a small metal-like object in their vomit.
That was even more jarring as kids ate with silver utensils. Liliana never fed them anything without taking a bite first.
If the food contained poison or anything harmful, they would have known. But they did not.
The banquet was at a standstill, and the head of security, Vincent, and James looked at the security footage.
They identified an unnamed culprit who looked similar to one of their long-time household help.
After a short search, they found the same person unconscious and locked in a cupboard.
The new enemy had worn a mark to feed something poisonous to the kids.
Fortunately, Nathaniel had not liked it and stopped eating it. Accordingly, Joyanna had thrown away the snack.
As a result, only a small amount of poisonous substance made it into the children’s bodies. Henry and Doctor Brown had given them some antidots in advance. That helped contain the spread of poison.
The children were only mildly affected.
Leonardo escorted the kids inside the house and kept watch. Vincent and the head of security started the investigation.
In the meantime, the banquet continued. Although, it had lost most of its glamor.
Jonathan explained why he preferred to keep the children far from the spotlight and why they might not see them in the forefront in the coming years.
The couple had used the unfortunate accident to announce their plans to homeschool the kids for the next few years.
No one could fault them for wanting to protect their children.
In the meantime, James helped Alice to strengthen security and identify their new enemy.
The press release to announce the identity of the Petrova-Smith heirs also explained they would get homeschooled for the next few years.
They had effectively blocked access to their children.
Lydia watched the news from her small apartment. She saw Jonathan and Liliana’s interlaced fingers and subtle intimacy.
She watched the kids getting sick and rescued.
She had mixed feelings about it. She pushed it to the back of her head. She had nothing to do with them. They would never cross paths again.