The Forgotten Bloodline

Chapter 6

The corners of both men’s mouths slowly lifted.

There was no trace of surprise on their faces, as though they had been waiting for Eric to open his eyes all along.

The younger man slowly shook his head.

“Finally tired of pretending to be asleep?”

Eric didn’t answer. His gaze shifted between the man and the elderly gentleman beside him.

Silence returned to the room.

The elderly man was the first to rise.

“My name is Noah Brown. I’m seventy-two years old.” He then glanced to the side. “And this is Liam Baker.”

Liam gave Eric a slight nod.

“It’s good to finally meet you.”

Eric responded with a small nod of his own. After several seconds, he repeated his earlier question.

“Who exactly are you?”

Noah didn’t answer immediately.

He walked slowly toward the window and looked at the buildings outside. Reaching for the cane that had been resting beside his chair, he tapped its handle twice with his fingers.

Only then did he turn around.

“Are you hungry?”

The question caught Eric off guard.

Noah glanced at Liam.

“Ask them to prepare something warm. He’s just woken up.”

“All right.”

Liam immediately left and closed the door behind him.

Now, only Noah and Eric remained in the room.

Noah pulled his chair slightly closer—not too close, but close enough that Eric could hear him clearly.

“I know you have many questions. But they don’t all have to be answered today.”

His gaze fell upon the cast around Eric’s right arm.

Noah’s hand moved as though he intended to touch it, but stopped halfway. In the end, he merely straightened a folded corner of Eric’s blanket.

“All I ask is that you hear me out.”

Eric continued watching him.

“I’ll start from the beginning. Not with you, but with a young man who chose to leave home twenty-two years ago.”

Eric’s expression became serious.

Noah’s thumb kept rubbing the handle of his cane, revealing that he wasn’t nearly as calm as he appeared.

Before long, Liam returned carrying a cup of hot tea and a bowl of soup. He placed the tea in front of Noah and set the soup on the small table beside Eric’s bed.

Neither of them touched anything at first.

Noah was the first to lift his cup. Wisps of steam curled through the air between them.

He stared at Eric for a long moment before finally speaking.

“Your father was stubborn. He had been that way since he was a child. Once he made up his mind, no one could change it.”

He paused, then continued, “That trait never changed—not even on the last day I saw him.”

Liam nodded.

“He chose his own path.”

Eric could sense how serious both men were.

Noah lifted the cup toward his mouth, but before taking a sip, he placed it back on the table.

“After that day, we never truly spoke again. Some decisions carry a price far too high to pay.”

Liam glanced at Noah but didn’t interrupt.

Eric finally asked, “Then you knew my father?”

“Yes. For a very long time.”

“And my mother?”

Noah slowly nodded. “I knew her as well.”

Eric’s gaze sharpened.

“If that’s true, why did you never come to see us?”

The room fell silent again.

Noah looked out the window. The afternoon sunlight reflected off the rows of tall buildings in the distance.

After a moment, he answered softly, “I searched for him, but I was already too late.”

Liam lowered his gaze.

Neither man offered any further explanation.

Eric studied them in turn.

Noah knew far too much about his parents. He didn’t speak like someone who had merely known them, but like someone who had once been a part of their lives.

Eric’s gaze settled on Noah’s face again.

“Your last name is Brown.”

Noah nodded.

Eric lowered his gaze to Noah’s hand, which was still wrapped around the teacup, before looking back at the elderly man.

“You searched for my father, you knew my mother, and your last name is Brown.”

No one interrupted.

Liam remained seated in silence.

Eric drew a short breath.

“So you’re… related to my father?”

Noah didn’t answer immediately. He simply placed his cup back on the table with extraordinary care.

Eric stared at him for several moments, as though confirming something he already knew.

Then the word finally left his lips.

“Grandfather?”

For the first time, Noah closed his eyes.

It lasted less than a second.

When he opened them again, his expression was as composed as before. He gave a single nod.

Nothing more.

His hand slowly rose and stopped a few inches from Eric’s shoulder. His fingers trembled faintly, but in the end, he once again chose to straighten the blanket beside Eric.

“I’m sorry.”

There was no attempt to defend himself.

No excuse.

Only those two words.

Silence filled the room once more. None of them knew where to begin.

Liam finally shook his head with a faint smile.

“If we keep sitting here in silence, he might think we came to collect a debt.”

The corner of Noah’s mouth twitched slightly.

Eric unconsciously let out a quiet breath. The tension that had hung over the room slowly began to ease.

Liam turned toward him.

“I think Uncle Noah introduced me a little too briefly. My name is Liam Baker. I was your father’s friend. Back then, he was always dragging me into trouble.”

He paused and smiled to himself.

“Now that I think about it, he caused me far more trouble than he ever helped me.”

Noah glanced at him.

“Liam, you caused him just as much trouble.”

Liam laughed softly.

He looked at Eric again.

“If you don’t mind, you can call me Uncle Liam. It sounds better that way.”

Eric gave a small nod.

“All right, Uncle Liam.”

For a moment, Liam merely stared at Eric’s face. His gaze lingered several seconds longer than usual before he slapped his knees and stood.

“From now on, if there’s ever something you can’t handle on your own, come to me. Don’t hesitate. If Uncle Noah is busy, you can always find me instead.”

Eric looked at Liam.

Noah, who had remained silent, lifted his teacup again. He neither commented nor objected.

His silence alone seemed to confirm every word Liam had said.

⸻

Two days passed.

Thanks to the best medical care available, nearly all the injuries on Eric’s body had healed. Only his right arm remained in a cast and would require more time to recover fully.

That morning, Noah took him away from Trinity Hospital.

Their car headed toward City Lord, an exclusive residential district in the capital city of Oriville.

The farther they traveled into the neighborhood, the quieter their surroundings became. Behind towering gates stood rows of magnificent mansions with vast gardens and tight security.

Before long, the car stopped in front of a contemporary-style mansion built on nearly fifteen hundred square meters of land.

Eric fell silent.

His gaze slowly swept over the magnificent building before him. Even without knowing anything about real estate, he could tell the mansion had to be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Is the Brown family really this wealthy?

Noah was the first to step out of the car.

Eric followed him, then looked around once more. Every corner of the estate felt unfamiliar.

He wanted to ask countless questions about the Brown family. Yet every time he was about to speak, he held himself back.

He didn’t even know where to begin.

⸻

That afternoon, after several servants had shown him around the mansion, Eric headed back toward his room.

Noah, who was sitting in the living room, closed the book in his hands.

“Get some rest. We’re expecting important guests tonight.”

That was all he said before opening his book again.

Eric wanted to ask who they were, but ultimately only nodded and walked toward the second floor.

On the way to his room, his mind filled with possibilities.

Important guests?

Members of the Brown family?

Or more of his father’s old friends?

He had no way of knowing.

Meanwhile, Liam had returned to Kravania that morning.

⸻

Elsewhere, a middle-aged man was trimming the branches of a bonsai tree in his courtyard when an assistant approached and stopped several steps behind him.

“Sir.”

The man didn’t turn around.

“What is it?”

The assistant held out an envelope.

“A dinner invitation from Noah Brown.”

For the first time, the shears in the man’s hand stopped moving.

He accepted the envelope, slowly opened it, and read the letter to the end.

A few seconds later, a quiet laugh escaped his lips.

“Noah… I was beginning to think you’d forgotten how to contact anyone.”

He folded the letter again, a faint smile still lingering on his lips.

“Nearly thirty years, and only now does he invite me to meet.”

The assistant remained silent, understanding none of it.

“There’s one more message, sir.”

Yarta looked up.

“Mr. Noah hopes Miss Xavia will attend tonight’s dinner as well. He would also like to thank her personally.”

Yarta fell silent for a moment.

“Thank her?”

His fingers slowly folded the letter once more.

“Interesting.”

He asked no further questions.

“Inform Xavia. Tell her that her grandfather is taking her to a dinner tonight.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yarta raised the shears again, but this time, he didn’t immediately cut the branch in front of him.

His gaze lingered on the bonsai tree for several moments.

“Noah… after nearly thirty years, you’ve finally opened that door again.”