Chapter 126
“I know how you feel, Isla,” Alfred began slowly, his voice sounding tired. “But I’m telling you these things because you are the most extraordinary young woman I have ever seen.”
Isla’s eyes widened, her breath caught halfway in her throat. She was still struggling to digest his earlier revelation-that Gabriel was his only grandson–and now this?
Her head spun. Her heart pounded against her ribs.
Everything suddenly began to make sense. His endless affection toward Gabriel, his special attention, the way he always stood by his side against the others. It wasn’t just fondness-it was blood. Real blood.
But how? How could that be possible when for decades, everyone believed Wyatt and Landon were John’s sons?
She wanted to ask, to press him immediately, but something in his tone told her to wait. She folded her hands together on her lap and swallowed hard. “Please, continue,” she whispered.
Alfred nodded, his gaze heavy. “Wyatt and Landon are not my real grandchildren,” he said flatly. “John has only one son, the one he had with his first love. But when Anna found out, she kidnapped the woman and locked her away in a mental hospital.”
Isla’s mouth fell open. For a second, she forgot how to breathe.
The old man continued, his voice tired and low. “I didn’t know about it until recently. And when I did, it shattered me, Isla. Completely. Anna…” His voice cracked for a brief moment before hardening again.
“Anna is a wicked woman. The only reason I haven’t handed her over to the authorities is because her late uncle-my old friend -entrusted her to my care before he died.”
Isla sat there, stunned, her eyes darting between his face and the floor. She didn’t even know what to say. Her thoughts were tangled in disbelief.
“How?” she finally whispered. “How was she able to convince you all these years? How did she do it? None of this makes
sense.”
Alfred leaned back against his chair. The weight of the years seemed to rest on his shoulders as he exhaled. His hand rubbed the side of his face slowly, as if deciding where to begin.
“Let me start from the beginning,” he said.
“When Anna was pregnant with Wyatt, she traveled to her mother’s country. She stayed there until she gave birth, and then brought him back home. That was her pattern for all three pregnancies. She always brought back children-but no one ever suspected a thing.”
He paused, his eyes distant with memory. “I raised children whose true identities I never even knew, Isla. All these years, I believed them to be blood. But they were orphans, each one given to Anna at an orphanage in her mother’s town.”
Isla blinked several times, struggling to comprehend it. “Who told you all this? How did you find out?” she asked, her tone filled with urgency.
“Anna has two sisters,” Alfred said. “Rachel and Johanna. Johanna is just as vicious as Anna, but Rachel… Rachel is different. She has a conscience. She was the one who revealed everything to me–and she came with proof.”
He paused again, his wrinkled fingers tapping softly on the desk. “I didn’t want to believe her at first. I thought maybe it was jealousy, you know, the kind that runs between sisters. But I dug deeper. I investigated. I needed to be sure.”
Isla’s face was pale now, her hands tightening around each other. She said nothing. She couldn’t.
“I ran DNA tests on Wyatt and Landon,” Alfred continued. “And I discovered the truth. They were not John’s sons. I also
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obtained a doctor’s report confirming that Anna… doesn’t have a womb. There was never a chance for her to conceive.”
Isla let out a shaky breath. Her heart ached for Gabriel. For what he didn’t know yet.
“Okay,” she said slowly, trying to collect her thoughts. “I understand about Wyatt and Landon. But what about Gabriel? You said you only found out about him recently. My question is… when he was born, did you know back then that he was your real grandson?”
Alfred shook his head. “No,” he admitted. “I thought he was like the others just another child Anna had brought home. But
his nature, his strength, his sense of something about him was different. From the start, Gabriel reminded me of John responsibility. He wasn’t greedy like the others. He never cared about the family’s wealth. That’s why I made him the head of the empire. He was born for it.”
He looked away briefly, the memory softening his voice. “When I made that decision, I hadn’t yet discovered the truth. But not long after, I started getting suspicious. Anna was being followed, and when I investigated, I found out about the mental hospital. And what I discovered there almost killed me.”
Isla’s pulse raced. “What did you find out?” she asked, leaning forward.
“I found John’s long-missing girlfriend,” Alfred said heavily. “The woman Anna had locked away. She had been trapped there for decades. Anna discovered that John was still seeing her, and that she was carrying his child. So Anna kidnapped her, left town under the pretense of her own pregnancy, and later came back with a baby-Gabriel.”
The room fell into a thick, uneasy silence.
“Anna took that woman’s child away and claimed him as her own,” Alfred finished quietly. “Gabriel is John’s true son. Gladys is his biological mother. She told me everything herself. She’s safe now. She’s under my protection.” Fresh chapters posted on find⸺novel.net
Isla covered her mouth, her chest tight with emotion. “Oh my God… So Gabriel’s real mother… She’s truly alive?”
Alfred nodded slowly.
Tears filled Isla’s eyes. “What happened to the hospital? Why haven’t you done anything about Anna after everything you know?”
The old man sighed, his face unreadable. “Because I can’t-not yet,” he said. “There are things in motion that you cannot see. This family of mine… is not an ordinary one. There are darker secrets tied to this bloodline. If I move too quickly, everything wil collapse. You’ll understand with time.”
But Isla wasn’t convinced. “I know you have your reasons,” she said, her voice trembling, “but you must understand that you’r playing a dangerous game. Wyatt hates Gabriel. He believes Gabriel took his birthright away. Grandfather, please, listen to me- you’ve come this far, but don’t take God’s grace for granted. Tell them the truth before this explodes.”
She stood up, her voice firm now, her hands clutching her purse from the desk. “And as for my husband, I’m sorry, Grandfathe I can’t keep lying to him. He deserves to know.”
She turned to leave, her heels clicking softly against the marble. But Alfred’s voice stopped her at the door.
“You say any of this to him,” he said sharply, “and you will ruin everything I’ve planned.”
Isla froze, her back still turned.
“Be patient with me,” he continued, standing slowly and leaning on his cane as he approached her. “I am working on how to
handle this matter.”
Isla turned around, her eyes wet but fierce. “Gabriel and John need to know the truth,” she said. “They deserve to know that Gabriel’s mother is alive, and that you’re keeping her hidden.”
Alfred stepped closer, his shadow stretching long across the floor. “John already knows,” he said quietly. “We are in this
together.”
Isla’s lips parted in disbelief.
She stared at him, speechless, her mind spiraling.
Who are these people? she thought.
How can they carry such heavy truths and still pretend everything is fine?
And just like that, she realized how much she was now part of something far darker than she ever imagined.
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Florence is a passionate reader who finds joy in long drives on rainy days. She’s also a fan of Italian makeup tutorials, blending beauty and elegance into her everyday life.