Chapter 374 The Family Announcement
Naturally, Zara spoke to Allen about Owen.
For the time being, however, no one would learn their true identities unless some idiot from the other world ran up to them and blurted everything out.
Owen had lived under an assumed identity for so long that no one would recognize him as the former Holy Sovereign anyway.
At present, only Zara knew.
And Lucian.
Right. Lucian.
Thinking back, Zara realized she had never even considered hiding it from him during their earlier conversation.
Then again, he already knew just about everything.
Allen was rather surprised to learn how much Owen knew about the other world. In truth, everyone had already suspected that Zara might actually be from there.
But...
The higher-ups did not care, and Allen had a good relationship with Zara, so he saw no reason to care either.
If the other world had truly intended to conquer Earth, the methods they had displayed time and again would have allowed them to do so long ago.
Earth had managed to hold out this long largely because Zara had been standing in their way.
At this point, whether everyone completely trusted Zara no longer mattered that much.
All anyone wanted was peace. A good ending and a safe, ordinary life were more important than anything else.
Zara left Owen at the base so Allen could bring him up to speed and so he could spend some time with Thunderhorn. Then she went home to find Lucian.
"You want me to go to the other world with you again?" Lucian could hardly believe that was why Zara had come back.
He even found it somewhat amusing. "Why?"
"Um..." Zara hesitated. "I think you're better at negotiating than I am."
[You look like someone who's really good at extortion.]
Lucian was speechless.
Zara considered the incident extremely serious. She also knew the woman had an unusual background, so she intended to find out exactly who was behind her.
Not that Zara was intimidated.
She was going there to demand compensation.
Valerius was not getting away either. She wanted Lucian there because he was better at negotiating and could help her squeeze the maximum possible compensation out of them.
Lucian was not particularly interested. "I don't see how any of this is my problem."
"Lucian! I get the money, and you get the technology. Deal?"
Lucian paused. "...Fine."
Technology still held considerable appeal for him. Last time, he had only obtained information related to holographic projection, but there were plenty of other technologies he had his eye on.
He would not mind bringing a few more back.
At this point, that was about the only ambition he had left in life.
Zara immediately beamed at him. "Lucian, you're such a wonderful person."
[Tsk. At least he's still useful.]
"Before that, I want to know something," Lucian said.
Zara became unusually attentive. "What is it?"
"I want to know what name you saved me under on WhatsApp."
It was only when he saw Zara's WhatsApp messages that he realized how serious this issue was, despite never having paid much attention to it before.
At this point, names like Dumbass or Moron were not even his main concern.
There were certain other names he absolutely could not tolerate.
Zara fell silent.
Her smile disappeared, and she spoke to him with grave sincerity. "Lucian, some things lose their charm once they're said out loud. Don't you agree?"
[How am I supposed to tell you I saved you as Inheritance? I have some dignity too. Hahaha.]
Lucian was speechless.
He suddenly felt that he should have handed Zara over without hesitation back in the car.
He could have at least let that woman beat her up a little to vent her anger.
Looking back now, he deeply regretted not doing so.
Since they were heading to the other world, they needed to prepare properly.
Before leaving, Zara decided she should tell her family that she had found her biological father.
Owen was still at the base, however, so Lucian had not met him yet.
He was somewhat curious about Zara's father. What kind of extraordinary man could possibly have produced a daughter like her?
When he asked, Zara thought for a moment and came up with the perfect description.
"He's... all right, I guess."
Lucian fell silent.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
There was no way Zara could keep the discovery of her father from the rest of the family, so she decided to make an official announcement. Before that, she called Nancy and told her to come home the next day because she had something important to tell everyone.
She did not reveal anything else beforehand.
Nancy arrived early the next morning, alone this time. Zara had sternly forbidden her from bringing Keith during the phone call, so she had obediently left him behind.
Once Nancy was home, Zara gathered everyone in the living room to announce the news.
"As the eldest sister, I think there's something I need to tell all of you."
She stood in the middle of the room while her younger siblings sat obediently in front of her. Even Soraya was squatting nearby, playing with her building blocks.
Lucian had bought them for her. They were supposedly good for developing intelligence, and more importantly, they gave her something to do so she would not bother everyone else.
Aurelion and Dino were sitting quietly off to the side as well. Karen had set up a new tablet beside them with Peppa Pig playing on the screen.
The whole family was present.
But the moment Zara finished her opening statement, Wilson's eyes slid toward Lucian.
Lucian fell silent.
Why was Wilson looking at him?
And judging by that expression, whatever Wilson was thinking could not be anything good.
Why was everyone in Zara's family so strange?
Peter cautiously asked, "Why are you being so serious, Zara?"
Nancy was much calmer. After learning that she was the Moonflare Phoenix, she had become remarkably accepting of the unexpected.
At this point, she doubted anything could truly shock her.
Zara coughed and cleared her throat before getting to the point.
"Here's the thing. We all know we're orphans. I found all of you when we were young, so I don't know who your biological parents are, and I never knew who mine were either. But today, I have some wonderful news to announce. I have finally reunited with my long-lost biological father. He found me!"
Everyone fell silent.
The people on the couch stared at her in shock.
They had imagined plenty of possible announcements, but none of them had expected Zara's biological father to suddenly appear.
It had happened so abruptly that no one knew how to react. Wilson and Peter exchanged bewildered looks, while Karen appeared equally confused.
Nancy was the calmest of them all. "You found your father?"
Zara nodded. "You don't have to be so surprised. We haven't done a DNA test yet, but there's a ninety-nine percent chance we're father and daughter."
Lucian was speechless.
What was she, a walking DNA test? Where had she gotten ninety-nine percent from?
Wilson was the first to voice his opinion. "Zara, I think you need to be careful. How did a father suddenly appear out of nowhere? Maybe he heard that you're rich now and engaged to a wealthy man. What if this so-called dad is only after your money?"
Zara fell silent.
So did Lucian.