Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 169

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: That summit was over fifteen years ago

Kalix had just started feasting on Winter’s mouth when a loud growl rumbled from her stomach, interrupting their intense makeout session midway.

Winter hesitated, her fingers brushing over her stomach just as another embarrassing growl echoed.

“I’m hungry,” she muttered, lifting her eyes up to meet Kalix’s.

He looked mildly annoyed but eventually pulled back, his jaw tight. “I’m not letting you go after that,” he made it clear, sparing her—for now.

While Winter took a shower in his bathroom, Kalix used the spare one and freshened up.

Later, sitting on the couch, he pulled out the photo Sean had shown him. There was something intriguing about the man seen with Eric—familiar, yet frustratingly unidentifiable.

By the time Winter stepped out, wrapped in one of his towels, she noticed Kalix staring at a photo in his hand. Without hesitation, she walked over.

“Who are you staring at so intently?” she asked, her eyes moving from his face down to the picture.

Then she caught sight of it. “Why are you looking at Eric?”

Her brows furrowed. Kalix was clearly fixated on the image—not just on Eric, but on someone else. Her eyes narrowed as she looked again.

“Who is this man?” she asked, pointing.

Kalix finally looked up. “Alexander.” That was the only name listed in the details Sean had given him.

Winter stilled, the name striking something in her memory. “So… he’s the one Eric’s been meeting?”

Kalix gave a single, grave nod. “Yes. And—” he paused, eyes locking with hers, “someone Gina knows.”

Winter flinched slightly when Kalix reached for her hand, his touch unexpected yet gentle. He guided her to sit beside him, his grip firm but gentle.

“Have you ever seen this man with Eric when you were…” Kalix trailed off, the question hanging awkwardly in the air. His tone was hesitant, almost reluctant, as if even forming the words tasted bitter.

Winter’s brows pinched together at the odd cadence of his voice. “No,” she said after a moment. “This is the first time I’ve seen him. But Gina…” she paused, her voice dipping. “She knows him.”

Kalix gave a slow nod. “I know. Sean told me. We’ve tried digging into his background, but apart from a name, Alexander, there’s nothing substantial. No history. No connections. It’s like he doesn’t exist.”

Winter blinked, tension creeping into her shoulders. “That doesn’t make sense. Someone like that—someone close to Eric and known by Gina—should leave some kind of trail.”

Kalix leaned back slightly, his fingers drumming once against the edge of the photo. “I have one of the best tech teams in the underworld,” he said quietly. “And Niko—he’s not just good. He’s brilliant. But even he hasn’t been able to crack this man’s identity. Every thread leads to a dead end or reroutes into a maze of false data.”

Winter turned fully toward him, her towel-wrapped hair still damp, water dripping softly onto her shoulder. “Are you saying he erased it?”

Kalix’s jaw tensed. “Or hid him. And it takes serious power and resources to do that.” His eyes narrowed on the image like it would give up its secrets if he stared hard enough. “Which makes me wonder—who the hell is he really? And what does he want with Eric?”

Winter bit her lower lip, a chill crawling up her spine. That familiar unease crept into her chest again—the feeling that she had missed something vital. That she had been blind to the people Eric kept close.

‘How did I never see it?’ she wondered.

Silence cloaked the room like a second skin until Kalix suddenly rose to his feet, a flicker of memory igniting behind his eyes. Without a word, he strode to the large, dark-wood wardrobe in the corner and knelt to open a hidden drawer inside.

Winter watched him, brow furrowed, as he returned with a thick file folder in hand. He sat beside her again, flipping it open with urgency, page after page turning beneath his fingers.

“Kalix?” she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

He didn’t answer. His brows were drawn in focus, his movements faster now—until they stopped altogether.

His fingers froze on a page. A glossy photograph, slightly aged but still clear. It was a group photo—formal, taken at a summit years ago. The event had drawn together powerful figures from several global families. Kalix’s parents had attended. He remembered it vaguely, a time when his world had been innocent.

Winter leaned closer, her breath catching when she saw it.

“There,” Kalix said, voice like steel.

Amidst the sea of faces—business tycoons, dignitaries, high-ranking officials—stood a man near the edge of the group. Slightly behind Kalix’s mother. Not in the spotlight, but unmistakably present.

Alexander.

He hadn’t aged a day.

Same striking features. Same cold, calculating eyes.

Kalix’s own eyes darkened as he stared at the image, jaw clenched. He glanced between the photo in the file and the one Sean had given him. There was no mistaking it. They were the same man. And that was a problem.

A big one.

“That summit was over fifteen years ago,” Kalix muttered, more to himself than to her. “He should look different. Older. But he doesn’t.”

Winter looked at him sharply, her blood running cold. “What are you saying?”

Kalix turned the photo toward her, letting the gravity of it settle between them. “I’m saying this man has been playing a very long game. He’s been around our families for years. Long before Eric. Long before you and me. And somehow, he’s still a ghost in the system.”

Winter shook her head, her heart racing. “But why? Why would he—”

“I don’t know yet,” Kalix said, shutting the file with a heavy thud. “But I intend to find out.”

His gaze flicked toward her—intense, protective. “And until I do, you’re not going anywhere without me.”

Winter didn’t argue. For the first time, she realized something bigger than betrayal was unfolding. This wasn’t just about Eric or the marriage she’d been forced into.

This was about secrets that predated them all.

And a man named Alexander, who had somehow become the key to it all.