From Terrorist Cell to Diamond Prison

Chapter 16

The elderly man sensed someone standing beside him and murmured, "Is it mealtime already? I haven't had enough sun yet."

The man before her was a mere shadow of the grandfather Rosalie remembered. Tears slipped down her face, falling gently onto his hand. He slowly opened his eyes at the touch, blinking up at her in the sunlight.

"You're not… my nurse. You just look so much like my granddaughter."

"Grandfather, it's me. It's Rosalie. I'm back."

She held his hand tightly, still struggling to believe she was really here, that he was here, alive and well. His eyes filled with tears as he stared at her, and he reached up, gently cupping her face, studying it in awe.

"You really are Rosalie. How did you get back?"

She could see the uncertainty in his eyes, as if he was afraid to blink, afraid he might lose her again. His first question was, "What happened? Did someone hurt you?"

His words pierced through her, dredging up all the hidden hurts and grievances she'd kept buried. She leaned into him, hugging him tightly, letting herself cry the way she hadn't since she was a child, as if the years had fallen away, taking her back to those days. Back then, when she lost her parents and everyone else called her a "harbinger of misfortune," her grandfather had been the only one who stood by her. The only one who comforted her, who held her.

"Our Rosalie is the best child in the world," he used to say. "Look at these roses. Aren't they like her? Beautiful, just like her."

He had fiercely protected her through her childhood, and now, with him so frail and vulnerable, Rosalie knew it was her turn to care for him.

They talked for hours, and to Rosalie, it felt like a dream, a dream she never wanted to end.

After a while, she took a deep breath and asked, "Did you send me abroad on purpose all those years ago?"

He nodded, wiping her tears away gently.

"I have so many children, yet hardly any who bring me peace. After your parents were gone, your aunts and uncles were all too eager to claim your mother's inheritance. None of them would have spared you."

"When I was diagnosed with a tumor, I thought my days were numbered. Keeping you close would've put you at risk if anything happened to me."

His expression grew distant, as though he was remembering those dark days.

"I couldn't protect you openly, so I came up with a plan to stage your 'kidnapping.' I chose someone who could look after you in my absence. Thankfully, Luke took good care of you all these years. I chose the right person."

Rosalie had always felt like someone was quietly watching over her, and she had believed that person was Luke. She had never realized that her grandfather's love had been the force behind everything.

Now, with him here, alive and safe, little else seemed to matter. But Rosalie still needed to know the truth about her parents' deaths.

"Was my parents' death connected to Aunt and the others?"

The conversation stretched into the evening. As dusk settled, Rosalie finally left the nursing home...

Meanwhile, across the country, a phone screen displayed footage of Rosalie walking out of the nursing home.

"It seems Miss Rosalie has learned everything. Should we approach her now?" someone asked.

The man watching paused the video, his gaze locked on Rosalie's face, illuminated on the screen. He stared, deep in thought, silent for a long moment.

"Let's head back to the hotel. It's not time yet."

As the car drove on, the scenery outside passed unnoticed. This was Rosalie's homeland, a world apart from the one they came from.