Chapter 272
After she finished speaking, Hannah turned to the thirteen grandchildren behind her. “Easton, Sutton, Wesley, Norris, Sebastian, Xavier, Claudio, Henrik, Oscar, Percival, Bernard, Cyrus, Daniel-come here, all of you. Say hello to your grandfather p>
The thirteen Richards grandchildren lined up in front of Fortune and greeted him in unison, “Hello, Grandpa p>
“Wonderful, wonderful.” Fortune’s face lit up with genuine delight at the sight of so many children.
Once everyone had been introduced, they all settled onto the living room sofas to chat. Thankfully, Caitlin had bought a fully furnished house; otherwise, with over thirty people, there would’ve been nowhere for everyone to sit.
Caitlin found herself sandwiched between Hannah and Keira. The two elderly women each held one of Caitlin’s arms, their faces beaming with joy.
Keira picked up where she’d left off. “Hannah, and Freya’s uncles and aunts-I’ll be honest, I’ve always suspected that the car accident all those years ago, the one that took Stuart, Carey, and Freya, wasn’t just a random tragedy. I think it was deliberate. If it hadn’t been, Freya would never have ended up all the way in Verdant Grove, miles from home p>
She turned to Fortune. “Grandpa, now that everyone’s here, could you tell us how you found Freya all those years ago p>
At her words, Fortune seemed to drift back nineteen years to that fateful morning. He spoke slowly, his voice carrying the weight of memory.
“It was spring, but still cold out. I was up early tending my flock, and as I passed by an irrigation ditch, I heard a child crying. At first, I thought I’d imagined it, so I didn’t pay much attention. But when I came back with the sheep, I heard it again. This time, the crying was much weaker-like a kitten’s mewl p>
People in the mountains called the irrigation ditch a “gully.” So, the story went that Fortune had found Caitlin in a gully-but in truth, it was a small canal.
He continued, “I started searching along the canal, and sure enough, I hadn’t gone far when I found Catie. She was wearing a blue coat, covered in blood. When I picked her up, her tiny voice was hoarse from crying, her whole body limp except for her eyes, which still moved. Her face was so pale, she barely seemed alive-breathing more out than in. There were workers nearby, and when they saw me carrying a baby, they all came over. They took one look and said she wouldn’t survive, told me to leave her. But looking at her, so pitiful, I just couldn’t. I brought her home. It’s a miracle she made it. When I got back, I fed her some sweet water, gave her a warm bath. I didn’t know if it would help, but somehow, she pulled through p>
“Not only did she survive, she even managed a little smile at me. Right then, I decided I’d raise this child as my own granddaughter p>
As Fortune’s story unfolded, the room grew heavy with emotion. Keira, Hannah, and the entire Richards family listened, their hearts aching, tears flowing once
more.
Abandoned in a canal. Covered in blood.
It was unimaginable-how could a three-month-old baby endure such horrors and survive long enough to be found?
Warren, his eyes red, spoke up. “Mr. Kensington, when you found Freya in the canal, was anyone else there with her?” After all, Carey had disappeared with Freya; if Freya was found in the canal, could Carey have been there too?
Everyone turned to Fortune, waiting anxiously for his answer.
“No,” Fortune shook his head. “Catie was all alone in the canal p>
Disappointment flickered in everyone’s eyes at his reply.
Then, as if remembering something, Fortune added, “But I still have the little clothes and necklace Catie was wearing when I found her. If you’d like, I can show them to you. Maybe there’s a clue we missed p>