The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress - Chapter 1038

Chapter 1038: Chapter 1038 Zen Exposing The Truth
Hera, however, couldn’t linger too long herself; she had to attend Logan’s debut concert. For now, she orchestrated this move, leaving one or two bodyguards behind to monitor Christy and President Lincoln and ensure they couldn’t slip away.

“W-wait! What do you think you’re doing?!” President Lincoln shouted as the bodyguards began ushering him and Christy toward the office, while waiting for the police to take them in for causing trouble.

Meanwhile, the staff who had called the manager was tasked to move Christy’s car closer to the office, while President Lincoln’s assistant trailed them to the security office, making call after call in a desperate attempt to get him out of the mess.

Hera, Zhane, and Rafael didn’t look back, trusting that the two bodyguards would ensure the pair were taken to the police station. Zhane pushed Hera’s wheelchair closer to Athena and Zen, while Hera’s own bodyguards gradually dispersed the crowd.

They couldn’t afford to let them linger around; Logan’s debut concert would begin soon, and time was already slipping away.

After pushing Hera’s wheelchair closer to the two, Hera suddenly looked up at Zen, her expression softening slightly. Then her gaze shifted to Athena, and concern flickered across her face as she noticed the faint slap mark still lingering on Athena’s red cheeks.

Fortunately, one of her bodyguards, who had run earlier to fetch some ice packs, was just returning. He immediately tried to hand the ice pack to Athena, but Zen quickly intercepted, his sharp glare stopping the young bodyguard in his tracks.

Zen worried that the bodyguard’s striking appearance might distract Athena, so he refused to let him get any closer.

Seeing this, Hera couldn’t help but chuckle softly, her eyes drifting back to Zen. By then, the crowd had reluctantly dispersed, leaving them in relative privacy. Hera’s mind, which had briefly wandered, returned to the earlier conversation as she fixed her gaze on Zen.

“Now, Zen, isn’t it about time you tell me why you called me ‘cousin’?” Hera asked. She glanced back and noticed that Cherry was still nearby, so she gave Dr. Zigheart a pointed look.

Understanding immediately, Dr. Zigheart gently ushered Cherry away and led her toward Bry and Liz, who were waiting on the VVIP Entrance, while Hera turned her full attention to Zen, demanding the truth.

Zen, who had been patting the ice pack against Athena’s cheek, froze at her sudden question. He swallowed hard, choking on his own saliva, and quickly avoided Hera’s gaze as Athena’s curious eyes met his. For a moment, he was torn, unsure whether he should answer her question or stay silent.

Seeing his hesitation, Hera realized that Zen might be holding back because of the people around them. She leaned slightly closer, reassuring him. “They know my real identity…” she said, her voice calm but firm. If her guess was correct, Zen must also know, and that could explain why he had never spoken up before.

The moment Zen heard her words, his eyes widened in shock, his voice rising a few octaves. “What?! They knew you’re the heiress of the Avery family?!”

Hera pursed her lips, resisting the urge to smack Zen on the back of his head, but unfortunately, she couldn’t, as she was sitting in a wheelchair.

She was afraid that everyone around might have heard what he just blurted, and her secret would be exposed. Luckily, her best friend Athena was standing right beside him. With a glare, Athena delivered the smack in Hera’s place, furious at Zen’s loud outburst.

“Why don’t you use a megaphone if you wanted the whole world to know, huh?” Athena ground out through gritted teeth as she pinched his sides. Only when Zen felt the sharp sting did he realize what he’d done, but his shock wasn’t just from the pain.

He’d been so startled to discover how many people already knew Hera’s secret that the words had just slipped out. Athena’s timely lesson finally brought him back to his senses.

“Ah! Ah, let go! Let go, baby, it hurts… I know I was wrong, please, just let go!” Zen whimpered, clutching Athena’s hand as she pinched his sides. The pain twisted through him, a mix of sharp sting and maddening itch, and he couldn’t bring himself to push her away; he could only beg.

“Baby, I was wrong, please… let go, okay?” His voice wavered, and the corners of his eyes reddened as tears began to form.

Seeing him like this, Athena realized she had gone too far. She immediately released his sides and rubbed the area gently, murmuring softly to help ease his pain.

“Sorry… did I pinch you too hard?” Athena asked, her voice tinged with guilt as she bit her lip.

“No, no, it’s fine, baby…” Zen replied, his tone a little whiny. But then he felt Hera’s gaze on him. He quickly stiffened, glanced her way, and offered an awkward smile. Clearing his throat, he looked around. The place wasn’t exactly private, and he wasn’t sure if he should say anything at all.

“It’s okay, you can tell me. And if you’re worried about the surveillance, I’ve already sent a message to Sasha. He can hack into the system and make sure that whatever we talk about right now stays between us…” Hera said, resting both elbows on the armrests of her wheelchair and propping her chin on her hands. She looked up at Zen, her expression patient, silently urging him to speak.

Seeing her unwavering resolve and everyone’s curiosity, Zen knew he couldn’t get away now. He cleared his throat and came clean.

“Actually, I just found out about it myself from Grandpa. It seems your mother came from the main branch of the Ainsley family, while Grandpa Victor was adopted into it. That means my side of the family is a branch family, while you are the true successor of the Ainsleys.”

“Grandpa Victor heard from Old Master Avery that there’s a long-standing tradition in the Avery family that every Avery descendant must experience the hardships of life outside the family’s protection, keeping their identity a secret until their eighteenth birthday.”

“When you turned eighteen, you chose not to return immediately, preferring to stay outside and learn from the world. But when you finally decided to come back, you took careful steps to prove yourself first, ensuring that no one with ill intentions could exploit your inexperience to attack or undermine you. Keeping your identity hidden was part of that strategy, so that until you were strong enough, no one could hurt you.”

“That’s what Grandpa told me. I only found out about all this after Grandpa and I visited you when you moved into the Jade Building at Green Dragon Manor…” Zen explained in one breath, afraid that if he missed a detail, Athena might smack the back of his head again, or if he tried to be mysterious, they might just pummel him in anger.

While waiting for their reactions and for them to digest what he had just said, Zen fidgeted nervously, pinching his fingers together. Even Athena fell silent, trying to piece together the connection between Hera, her mother, and Zen’s family.

Then Hera’s gaze returned to Zen, her expression thoughtful as if remembering something. “Was it the time when we, along with Xavier, Leo, Bry, and his father, returned from our shooting in the village, and then we met up with Rafael, Luke, Dave, Zhane, and your grandfather in the elevator?”

Zen nodded, blinking innocently a few times. “Yeah, at that time, Grandpa only briefly mentioned it to me, but he told me to keep it a secret from you.”

“Then, when we got home, he explained everything in detail, though he said he was afraid that talking about your mother might dampen your mood…” Zen trailed off, wisely choosing not to continue, knowing that the next words could remind Hera of a painful past, after all, her parents had died in a plane crash, leaving a shadow over her childhood.

“Also,” he continued carefully, “he was preparing to introduce the Ainsley family to you, to let them be your support as you began to grow your own wings. He just hadn’t done it yet because he wanted to watch your next moves and didn’t want to put too much pressure on your shoulders.”

“After all, the Avery family alone is already a huge responsibility for you. The Ainsleys may not be as influential as the Averys, but they are still a well-known family in their own right. Unlike the Avery family, with only you and your grandfather, the Ainsleys have Grandpa, who was adopted long ago, and a few branches, but none of those branches pose a threat, because Grandpa keeps a tight control over them.”

Zen added this with quiet conviction, understanding that Hera, having been away from the Avery family for a long time and might not be familiar with the inner workings of the upper circle, might not fully grasp the relationships in other families, or even know much about her maternal lineage.