CHAPTER 361: HOW COULD YOU NOT RECOGNIZED YOUR OWN DAUGHTER?

Who is going to protect the Youngs and the Lancasters?

Everyone’s jaw dropped, and some swore they heard jaws literally hit the floor. Yeah, they heard what they heard. Atlas Bennet was asking both families: Who was going to protect them from him?

"Is he really Lola Young’s... husband?"

"No way!" another guest gasped. "How... why?"

"I’ll tell you why."

A man’s voice suddenly drew the crowd’s attention. They turned instinctively, only for their breaths to hitch the moment their eyes landed on the most handsome, charming Bennet.

The youngest son of the Bennet family—Slater Bennet.

"My sister is pretty!" Slater clapped happily. "Can’t you see? She’s glowing~!"

Simon, seated just a table away from where Slater was idling, had to close Manager Kang’s gaping mouth while struggling to shut his own. Their eyes didn’t want to believe it, but there was no mistaking that face.

"Glowing?" Simon muttered, glancing at Lola’s blinking skirt. "Yeah, quite literally."

The tension in the air was thick—almost suffocating—but Lola’s flashing lights were impossible to ignore. Slater was right. Lola was indeed glowing. No—she was blinding.

Yet above all, one question lingered among the guests.

"How did the Young family not know this?" someone whispered, knitting his brows.

"That’s right. The Youngs bragged endlessly about Melissa marrying into the Lancaster family, yet they never once mentioned that their other daughter was already married to a Bennet?"

One after another, whispers rippled across the crowd, building confusion and curiosity. No one had answers—only questions. How could the Youngs not know their own daughter married such a powerful man?

But their surprise was only beginning.

"Mr. Bennet," the chairman cleared his throat, breaking the tension. "My apologies for the confusion. I understand your displeasure over my grandson’s behavior."

"No, you do not. Like my wife said," Atlas replied evenly, "she cleared her night just to attend this auspicious occasion because the Youngs were persistent. She didn’t have the heart to keep turning down her family."

His voice dropped lower, steady but sharp. "And yet, the moment she arrives, the same people who begged for her presence chase her out like a plague. I am not confused, nor do you understand my frustration, Chairman Lancaster."

He paused, eyes settling on Derek. Using Derek’s own words against him, Atlas asked—

"Do you not fear retribution, Derek Lancaster?"

Derek froze, his face draining of color. Nothing from Atlas’s earlier statements had even begun to sink in. Like everyone else, he had no idea what was going on.

Lola? Mrs. Bennet? How—how could no one have told me this?

His gaze darted toward Melissa, who looked just as shocked. Jasmine and Lawrence were no better, their faces blank. But when he glanced at Travis, the chairman, and even Celestine—all three wore calm, collected expressions. Not fear, but rather, acceptance.

Of course. The chairman, Travis, and Celestine had all seen this coming. Maybe not tonight, but eventually. And none of them looked worried. Why?

"Mr. Bennet, the Lancaster family can stand on its own," Travis spoke calmly, his tone respectful. "However, against the Bennets, we humbly wish to avoid further conflict—especially considering the NL Group’s partnership with your Summit Partners."

"WHAT!?"

The moment a businessman at another table heard Summit Partners, he shot to his feet. "Summit Par—Partners?!"

"The person behind Summit Partners is..." another trailed off, his eyes widening in disbelief.

The crowd erupted in another wave of shock. The Summit Partners—the company that had become one of the most respected in Novera—was under Bennet ownership? The very same firm that revitalized a failing corporation into one of the most dominant in the country?

Every businessperson present instantly knew what that meant. Anyone who mattered tonight wanted Summit Partners’ favor. Now, everything made sense as to how the Summit Partners grew so much in the past five years.

An elderly couple—longtime NL Group stockholders—frowned deeply. "Wasn’t there a rumor not long ago that Summit Partners and NL Group’s collaboration succeeded because of Melissa’s efforts?"

That reminder hit hard. Especially among those from the NL Group who remembered the spike in company stocks after that "partnership."

"Oh my god," one woman gasped, covering her mouth as the realization dawned. "Did Melissa... steal the credit for it?"

Celestine arched a brow, watching the crowd stir, though she fought the smile tugging at her lips.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bennet," she began smoothly, "please understand—none of us wanted this misunderstanding. Even I am surprised."

Her tone was polite, but her words dripped with subtext. "The Lancaster family values our relationship with Summit Partners. However, it seems this... revelation caught us all off guard."

She turned her gaze toward Derek. "Like the rest of us, my nephew is equally shocked. No wonder, even when I told him about the invitation to the tea party, he disregarded it. He had no idea Mrs. Bennet was Lola Young."

"I wonder," she added with faux innocence, "why the Young family didn’t disclose it to their future son-in-law?"

Her words hung like poison in the air—soft, but unmistakably blaming.

"No—we... we didn’t know!" Lawrence stammered. "It’s not our fault! It was Lola—she kept it from us to make us look bad!"

Jasmine swallowed hard, her mind racing. "Lola, dear, how could you not tell us?" she pleaded. "Had we known, none of this would’ve happened."

"Mom’s right," Melissa added quickly, clutching Derek’s arm. "We really didn’t know Mrs. Bennet was Lola."

"That’s right!" Lawrence barked. "Lola hired someone else to pretend to be Mrs. Bennet—"

"Hire? Pretend?" Lola tilted her head, brows raised. "I didn’t do that."

Atlas’s brow twitched, his sharp gaze cutting to Lawrence. "The four of us met not long ago," he said coolly. "And I don’t recall bringing anyone else."

"But the woman with you—"

"The woman with me was my wife," Atlas pulled Lola’s waist closer to him. He turned to her and studied her thick makeup. "She only dolled up today for this special occasion."

"Which makes me wonder," Atlas interrupted, his voice like steel, "how could you not recognize your own daughter, Mr. Young?"

"What — how could that happen? Lola — I"

"Then again..." His tone turned glacial. "My wife has been estranged from the Youngs ever since you threw her out without financial support, and without love."

"Without financial support?" The chairman frowned; this time, what he was hearing was new. "Lawrence, what is the meaning of this? You told me that you’ve been supporting Lola since she wanted to study far away."

Lawrence paled, panic flashing across his face. "No—no, that’s not true!"

"Allen."

Atlas glanced over his shoulder. Allen, who had just been quietly tiptoeing closer, straightened at once.

"It seems Mr. Young is eager to question my credibility," Atlas said evenly. "It’s quite interesting. Show him proof that my wife supported herself for years without receiving a single dime from the Young family."

Allen nodded, stepping forward with a folder in hand — the same one Lola had given him earlier, filled with the certifications she’d earned over the years.

"Anyone who wishes to confirm it may take a look," Atlas added calmly. "And if that still isn’t enough, you’re welcome to verify every one of these documents yourselves."

Derek knitted his brows and then looked at the Youngs. "Melissa, what are they talking about?"