The Forgotten Bloodline

Chapter 5

Elsewhere, Eric slowly opened his eyes.

The ceiling above him was no longer the one from the hospital where he had previously been treated.

He frowned.

The room was far more spacious. Its furnishings were dominated by shades of white and dark brown, while a large glass window offered an unobstructed view of the city’s towering skyscrapers.

The air inside was cool and peaceful.

There were no sounds from other patients or the usual commotion of a hospital corridor.

Eric slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard. His gaze swept across every corner of the room.

There was even a small sitting area separated from the sleeping area. This was clearly no ordinary hospital room.

Eric had never imagined a hospital suite could be this luxurious.

“Where am I…?”

The longer he studied his surroundings, the more confused he became.

A few moments later, Eric summoned Legacy Intelligence.

The transparent screen immediately appeared before him.

“What exactly happened? Why am I here, and who brought me?”

Lines of text began appearing on the screen.

[Current Location: Trinity Hospital.]

[Room Classification: VVIP.]

[Transfer history analysis complete.]

[The patient’s transfer was arranged by the Brown family.]

The room suddenly felt even quieter.

“The Brown family…?”

That name had appeared again—the same name Legacy Intelligence had shown him several days earlier.

This couldn’t be a coincidence.

His chest tightened. All this time, he had believed he was truly alone.

There were still many things he wanted to ask the system, especially about this family. But before he could speak, footsteps sounded outside the room, followed by two voices drawing closer.

Eric immediately turned toward the door.

Without hesitation, he dismissed Legacy Intelligence. The transparent screen vanished instantly.

He then lay back down and closed his eyes. Not because he wanted to sleep, but because he wanted to find out who had come to see him.

Click.

The door slowly opened.

Two men stepped inside.

The moment they saw Eric lying there, they stopped.

The younger man studied Eric’s face for a few moments before speaking softly.

“It seems he still hasn’t regained consciousness.”

His gaze lingered on Eric for a long time, as though he were looking at someone who had been dead for years and had suddenly reappeared before him.

The two men pulled chairs over to the bedside.

The sound of the chair legs scraping against the floor broke the silence.

They sat down without saying anything else and simply stared at the young man lying in bed.

⸻

Meanwhile, Andreas and Dominic emerged from the hospital’s administrative office with grim expressions.

Neither of them spoke.

When they reached the end of the corridor, Andreas stopped and pulled out his phone. He opened his contact list and stared at one name for a long moment.

Xavia.

Dominic glanced at his phone.

“Are you going to call her?”

Andreas remained silent for a moment before nodding.

The phone rang. A moment later, Xavia answered.

“Hello?”

“It’s Andreas.”

“What happened?”

Andreas looked down the busy hospital corridor.

“Eric is missing. His room is empty, and his hospital records have disappeared. We’ve searched everywhere, but no one knows where he was taken.”

The other end of the line suddenly fell silent.

“What do you mean he’s missing?”

“I don’t know either. I wanted to keep searching, but my family told me not to get involved any further. They said this is no longer any of my business.”

Andreas paused before continuing.

“I know the Jones family has connections. Could you help me find Eric? Just this once?”

Several more seconds of silence passed.

“I can’t promise anything,” Xavia replied. “But I’ll try.”

“Thank you.”

The call ended.

Andreas slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Dominic turned toward him.

“What did she say?”

“Only that she’d try.”

The two continued down the hospital corridor without another word.

⸻

About an hour later, Andreas’s phone rang again.

Xavia’s name appeared on the screen.

He answered immediately.

“What did you find?”

“I asked my uncle for help,” Xavia replied softly. “He managed to get some information from the hospital. There’s one thing we were able to confirm.”

“What?”

“Eric is no longer there.”

“We already know that.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Xavia paused. “Someone came to pick Eric up.”

Andreas frowned.

“Pick him up?”

“Yes. According to the information I received, someone came to the hospital and arranged his entire transfer. That person claimed to be a member of his family.”

Andreas fell silent.

He turned toward Dominic, who stared back at him in confusion.

“That’s impossible. Eric told me he didn’t have any family left.”

“I’m only telling you what I learned,” Xavia said. “My uncle said that after those people arrived, all of Eric’s hospital records were immediately altered. After that, every trace of him disappeared.”

“Where did they take him?”

“I don’t know. That was the last piece of information we could find.”

Silence returned on both ends of the call.

A few seconds later, Xavia spoke quietly.

“I’m sorry. This is as far as I can help you.”

Andreas lowered his head for a moment.

“This is already more than enough. Thank you.”

The call ended.

Andreas stared at his phone for a few moments before slipping it back into his pocket.

Dominic finally asked, “So Eric really was picked up by his family?”

“I don’t know.”

Andreas looked toward the crowded hospital corridor.

“But if he still has a family, why are they only showing up now?”

Dominic didn’t answer.

Neither of them had an answer.

⸻

At Trinity Hospital, the two men were still seated beside Eric’s bed.

Several moments passed before the younger man finally spoke.

“The longer I look at him, the more he reminds me of his father.”

The elderly man beside him didn’t answer immediately. His gaze remained fixed on Eric’s face.

A few seconds later, the corner of his mouth slowly lifted.

“There is a resemblance, but his father was never this handsome.”

The younger man chuckled.

“So you finally admit it, Uncle.”

He studied Eric’s face again.

“I think he inherited more of his mother’s features. His nose resembles his father’s, but those eyes definitely don’t.”

The elderly man slowly nodded.

“It’s fortunate that he takes after his mother.” He smiled. “If he looked too much like John, I might have trouble telling them apart.”

The younger man laughed softly.

Eric kept his eyes closed.

He hadn’t truly been asleep since the two men entered the room. He had heard every word they said.

John.

The name had come up several times in their conversation.

The two men continued talking, but the longer Eric listened, the less he understood.

After a while, he drew a slow breath and opened his eyes.

His gaze immediately met those of the two men sitting beside his bed.

Neither of them looked surprised.

It was as though they had known from the very beginning that Eric was already awake.

Eric looked from one man to the other before finally asking, “Who are you?”

The room fell silent.

Neither of them answered immediately.