The Forgotten Bloodline

Chapter 8

The moment Andreas’s name was mentioned, Eric stopped walking.

His gaze dropped to the stone path beneath his feet.

Meeting Noah, learning about his parents’ secrets, and discovering the existence of the Brown family had all happened so quickly that he had only now realized there were still two people he hadn’t contacted.

Several seconds passed before a bitter smile appeared on his face.

“You’re right… I haven’t told them anything.”

He turned toward Xavia.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, could you tell Andreas that I’m all right? I lost my phone at the hospital.”

Hearing such a simple request, Xavia nodded.

“No problem. I’ll let Andreas know.”

Eric breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.”

They continued walking. A few steps later, Eric spoke again.

“And thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

Xavia looked slightly surprised. “I don’t feel like I’ve done much.”

“If it weren’t for you, I might have ended up in a much worse condition.”

Xavia slowly shook her head. “I only did what I thought was right.”

“That’s exactly why I’m thanking you.”

Silence settled between them once more.

After several more steps, Eric continued, “If you ever need my help, I’ll do everything I can for you, as long as it’s within my ability.”

Xavia glanced at the cast still supporting his right arm. The corner of her mouth lifted faintly.

“Are you sure? Your arm is still in that condition.”

Eric looked down at it as well.

“My right arm is currently on leave.” He raised his left hand. “But the left one is still willing to work.”

Xavia couldn’t suppress her smile.

“Then I suppose I should wait until the right one comes back from leave.”

Eric chuckled softly. “That would be safer.”

Xavia studied him for a moment.

“Come to think of it, your life is truly strange.”

Eric turned toward her. “Why?”

“Yesterday, you were still a poor college student. Today, you’re suddenly the grandson of the Brown family.” Xavia shook her head slightly. “It feels like something out of a novel.”

Eric smiled as well. “If this had happened to someone else, I probably wouldn’t have believed it either.”

Xavia chuckled.

“I wonder what the students on campus would look like if they discovered your true identity.”

Eric shrugged. “Who knows?”

Xavia continued watching him.

She had done most of the talking since they began their walk. Eric only responded occasionally with a calm smile.

For a moment, Xavia began to understand why Issabel had once found it so difficult to let go of him.

Not wanting the conversation to fall silent again, she continued.

“Oh, by the way, the university has already punished them.”

Eric glanced at her.

Xavia plucked a small leaf from a bush beside the path and twirled it between her fingers.

“I think a two-month suspension is far too lenient. What do you think?”

Eric remained silent for a moment before smiling faintly.

“Let it go. I don’t want to think about them anymore. My life has already changed too much over the past few days.”

Xavia studied him briefly.

“In that case, I think I understand.”

Eric frowned. “Understand what?”

Xavia merely shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

She started walking again, leaving Eric standing there and staring after her in confusion.

⸻

In the dining room, the bottle of wine on the table was nearly empty.

Yarta poured Noah another half glass before leaning back in his chair.

“You really haven’t changed. You’re still good at keeping secrets.”

Noah merely raised his glass and took a small sip.

Yarta shook his head with a quiet laugh.

“If you had told me from the beginning that Eric was your grandson, I would never have allowed that boy to live such a difficult life.”

Noah placed his glass back on the table. His gaze lingered on its surface for several moments.

“Do you think I would have allowed it?”

Yarta fell silent.

A faint smile appeared on Noah’s face.

“If I had known sooner, that boy would never have grown up alone.”

Yarta let out a quiet breath.

“All right. I believe you.”

He refilled his own glass.

“There’s still one thing I don’t understand. How did you discover that Eric was your grandson?”

Noah slowly swirled the wine in his glass before answering.

“A few days ago, I received a message from an anonymous account. It contained nothing but a link to the news about Eric’s bullying case. The sender claimed that the man in the video was my grandson.”

Yarta raised an eyebrow.

“I studied his face,” Noah continued. “At first glance, he reminded me of John. That’s why I ordered my people to investigate him.”

Yarta slowly lowered his glass.

“Wait. So Eric really is John’s son?”

Noah nodded.

Yarta drew a long breath.

“Didn’t everyone say that John and his family were gone?”

Noah remained silent, his gaze fixed on the glass in front of him.

After a moment, he said, “Yes. I don’t understand how this could have happened either. Let me find the answer first. After that, you’ll be the first person I tell.”

Yarta stared at him for several seconds before finally nodding.

“All right. I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me yourself.”

They raised their glasses.

A soft clink rang out as the glasses touched.

The atmosphere gradually warmed again. Before long, they began exchanging old stories and occasionally laughing as they reminisced about their youth decades earlier.

A short while later, Noah asked, “How is your eldest son these days?”

The smile on Yarta’s face slowly faded.

He waved a hand dismissively, as though he didn’t even want to hear the man’s name.

“Don’t ask me about that damned son of mine.”

Noah raised an eyebrow.

Yarta snorted.

“After his wife died giving birth to Xavia, it didn’t take him long to bring another woman into his life. What angered me even more was that he wanted to take Xavia away.”

Noah chuckled. “And then?”

A faint smile appeared on Yarta’s face.

“Then I taught him a lesson.”

“How severe?”

Yarta shrugged.

“Severe enough that he still doesn’t dare set foot in my house.”

Noah couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“I almost feel sorry for your son.”

“Sorry?” Yarta snorted. “If I hadn’t beaten some sense into him back then, Xavia might not have grown into the young woman she is today.”

Noah slowly nodded.

“I can’t argue with that.”

Yarta poured more wine into their glasses.

“Besides, have you forgotten? Because of them, the two of us nearly lost our minds every week.”

He raised his glass.

“Come to think of it, it’s strange that we can sit at the same table like this.”

Noah smiled faintly.

“Back then, every time we met, we always found something to argue about.”

“And neither of us was willing to back down.”

“You’re still stubborn.”

Yarta chuckled. “It seems you haven’t changed much either.”

The two men looked at each other for several moments.

The smiles on their faces gradually faded.

Yarta let out a quiet breath.

“Fortunately, age has made us a little wiser.”

Noah nodded.

“Otherwise, we might still be busy arguing about the past.”

The room became quiet again.

A few seconds later, Noah said, “At first, I thought Eric was the son of Cole, your youngest.”

Yarta raised an eyebrow.

“It turns out he’s John’s son.”

Noah slowly nodded. “Yes. That’s how it is.”

He finished the remaining wine in his glass, then slowly rose to his feet.

“It seems one evening won’t be enough to catch up on all the stories we’ve missed.”

Yarta stood as well, smiling.

“Then next time, it will be my turn to invite you.”

Noah returned his smile.

⸻

The dinner finally came to an end.

Before Xavia left the Brown Mansion, Noah gave her several luxurious gifts as a token of his gratitude.

After saying their goodbyes, Yarta and Xavia left the mansion.

The room became quiet once more.

Noah turned toward Eric.

“It has been a long time since I last saw Yarta. As it happened, I also had a reason to invite Miss Xavia. As for your two friends, you should thank them personally.”

Eric nodded respectfully.

“All right, Grandpa.”

Noah glanced at the cast still covering Eric’s right arm.

“But don’t go out yet. Your arm hasn’t healed. Invite them here and ask Robert to prepare something for them.”

He paused and turned his gaze toward the window.

“There are many things I need to take care of tomorrow.”