It was already eleven o'clock, but Z still hadn't sent any emails.
Alessia decided to go to the event venue to take a look.
Z was crafty; maybe he was already at the welfare institute, hiding somewhere.
Perhaps by going to the event venue, she could discover some clues about him. Anyway, as long as she kept a low profile and didn't approach Dominic, there shouldn't be any problems.
When Alessia arrived at the event venue, most of the seats were already occupied, but she didn't see Dominic anywhere.
Comparing the seat card, she found her seat in the middle of the third row, quite eye-catching.
She looked around. Apart from her seat, there were only a few rows ahead still empty. After weighing her options, she decided to sit down.
As soon as Alessia sat down, she heard people behind her discussing.
"Who is this woman? How did she manage to sit in the VIP area?"
"I've never seen her before. The VIP area is only for those who donate over a million and contribute significant donations. She doesn't even have a single branded item on her. How is she qualified?"
"Maybe she thought the seat was empty, so she took it. Naive. She'll regret it later."
Alessia furrowed her brows and sat quietly, ignoring the discussions behind her.
Her priority now was to find Z and inquire about her son's whereabouts.
"Annoying, there are flies buzzing everywhere."
Suddenly, an impatient voice came from beside her.
Alessia turned her head and saw a man impatiently taking off the hat covering his face.
His eyes were slightly red, showing signs of lack of sleep. He frowned, looking irritable as if the whole world had offended him.
As his words fell, the voices of the people behind him quieted down.
Among them, someone muttered resentfully, "What's he being arrogant about? Does he still think he's the once-famous king of pop who swept the country? It's been so many years since he released a new song. An almost has-been third-rate celebrity, and he still dares to act cocky."
Upon hearing this, the irritable man suddenly turned his head, and the area behind him fell silent.
The irritable man turned his gaze when he saw her, and there was a noticeable moment of surprise on his face, as if he recognized her.
Alessia pursed her lips. He was Z?!
Alessia furrowed her brows in contemplation, feeling that the face seemed somewhat familiar.
She searched her memory, and in the corner of her eye, she saw the man retract his gaze. He didn't go back to sleep but instead stared ahead, seemingly lost in thought.
It was at this moment that Alessia finally remembered where she had seen the man before.
She took out her phone, casually opened a video app, and quickly found the man's face in an advertisement.
Alessia lowered her gaze, her slender pale fingers swiftly operating on the phone, and the man's detailed information appeared.
Dylan Frost was once a top-tier singer. He rose to fame with a song called 'To the Rivers and Lakes' right after his debut. Later, he released several popular songs, all of which became hits.
However, whether due to running out of inspiration or other reasons, he hadn't released any new songs in recent years, and his status in the music industry had dropped from top-tier to outside the second tier.
Alessia turned off her phone, lazily sitting in her seat, her brows slightly furrowed as she glanced at Dylan.
On the other side, the three little ones had successfully sneaked into the backstage storage room.
Christopher squatted on a small stool, with a laptop on his knees. The little guy looked focused, his small fingers swiftly typing on the keyboard.
Christian and Eleanor crouched on either side of Christopher, their expressions equally focused as they stared at the laptop screen.
The laptop screen flashed, and Christopher successfully connected to the security host of the welfare institute, switching to a video feed.
The screen showed Bianca, who was looking for Christian, Dominic walking towards the event venue, and Alessia already seated at the event venue.
Christian breathed a sigh of relief, a delicate smile appearing on his face. He became talkative in an instant, lively saying, "Great! Everything is going according to plan. Dad and Mom are finally about to meet."
Christopher's face remained expressionless as he locked the video on the scene at the event venue, skillfully capturing the sound from the event stage as well.
At this moment, Christian took out a tablet and swiftly operated it with his fingers.
He first pulled up the charity performance list and changed the name of the performer who was originally scheduled to be first to Alessia's name.
Christopher looked at the changed name, pursed his lips, and curiously asked, "Is Mommy good at singing?"
"Of course, Mommy is super amazing! Besides singing well, Mommy can also play the violin and write songs!" Eleanor admired, counting on her fingers.
"Hehe, yes, after Daddy listens, he will surely be enchanted by Mommy's voice," Christian said confidently.
After listening to his younger siblings' words, Christopher didn't comment further.
For now, he didn't have a better plan, so he could only let Mommy showcase her talents first. If it didn't work out, they would think of another way.
"Ah, Daddy finally entered the event venue. Oh... Daddy is sitting directly in front of Mommy! What a coincidence!" Christian exclaimed with surprise as he stared at the computer screen.
Christopher and Eleanor quickly looked at the computer screen as well.
"Dominic is here."
"Dominic is with Sisca Fraser."
"They look so good together. I wonder when they will officially announce their relationship."
"Official announcement or not, it doesn't matter. Have you seen Dominic with anyone other than Sisca in all these years?"
"Nonsense, didn't Dominic have a wife before?"
"What wife? That was his ex-wife. I heard that woman was fat and ugly. If she stands next to Sisca, she'll probably feel ashamed."
As the voices reached her ears, Alessia's gaze turned cold. However, at this moment, the man beside her, Dylan, suddenly cursed impatiently.
"Noisy! If you're not using your eyes, donate them. What's so great about Sisca?"
After cursing, Dylan seemed to realize that he had misspoken.
He coughed lightly in embarrassment, then glanced at her quickly, before slumping back in his chair as if he had given up on himself, muttering incomprehensible words, seemingly engaging in a silent battle with someone.
A hint of contemplation appeared in Alessia's eyes.
At the same time, in the spotlight, Dominic sat down with a woman wearing a white dress beside him, who was positioned slightly ahead and to the side of Alessia's seat.
The woman had a melon seed face, with eyes neither too big nor too small. Her features were passable, but she gave off a delicate and pitiful vibe, easily evoking a man's protective instincts.
Alessia recognized her at a glance from the photos she had seen before.
Her name was Sisca Fraser.
Alessia glanced away. The man was a bit overbearing, but he had children with her, so he should give her some status. Perhaps they were secretly married.
Alessia snorted in boredom in her heart, then saw that the event had officially begun.
The opening speeches were all the same, quickly moving into the charity auction segment.
The female host, dressed in a tasteful little black dress, stood on the platform with a microphone in hand, intentionally building suspense.
"You absolutely can't guess what our first auction item is!"
The male host, looking sharp in a black suit, chimed in, "What is it?"
"This item has quite the background," the female host continued, smiling mischievously.
"Hey, Niki, you can't play coy. The auction list for today has already been released," the male host said, showing disbelief, echoing the sentiments of most people present.
Indeed, the list of items up for auction today had been publicized as a teaser.
"You're right, but you only know part of it. This item is not on the list. It was donated by a lady this morning."
"Oh, now that you put it that way, it's interesting. I wonder who the kind lady is?"
"I want to know too, but unfortunately, the kind lady doesn't want to reveal her name. Well then, let's ask the staff to bring the auction item onto the stage."
***