Chapter 78
She’d always hoped her granddaughter would one day inherit the sprawling family business. But fate had other plans. Before the girl even had a chance to grow up, disaster struck and turned their world upside down.
Keira had never been one to cry easily.
When her husband died young, she bore the crushing weight of grief and responsibility, managing to hold together the vast Gonzales Holdings while raising her two children alone.
Later, when tragedy struck again and her beloved son slipped into a coma, when both her daughter-in-law and granddaughter vanished without a trace, she still gritted her teeth and pressed on. She kept faith that someday, somehow, she’d find them and her family would be whole again.
But now-
Nineteen years had passed.
She’d gone from a vibrant forty-two-year-old to a woman of sixty-one, worn thin by loss and waiting.
Hope was slipping away, little by little. She felt her body failing her, growing weaker with each passing year.
Despair like this could hollow out a soul.
She didn’t know if she’d even live to see her granddaughter come home.
Every night, her dreams would bring those she’d lost back to her. Every morning, she’d wake to the same cold emptiness.
No one else could possibly understand what that felt like.
No one could truly share her pain.
How she longed to find her granddaughter!
Over the years, dozens of girls had come to the Gonzales family, hoping to be reunited with their birthright. Some even looked strikingly like Stuart. But after every DNA test, Keira’s fragile hope would shatter again.
“Freya will come home, Mom. She will,” Amanda whispered, hugging her mother tightly, her own eyes rimmed red. “She has to. And you still have Ann-Ann is your granddaughter too. She loves you and will always be here to take care of you, to bring you joy p>
Ann was Amanda’s daughter-Ann Templeton, twenty-two years old. Gifted, accomplished, the picture of a young heiress.
“Ann is Ann, and Freya is Freya,” Keira said, wiping at her tears. “Both are Gonzales by blood, but it’s not the same. Ann isn’t Freya. They’re different, no
matter what anyone says p>
She wanted her Freya.
No one else would do.
No one could ever take her place.
Amanda lowered her gaze, hiding the emotion that flickered in her eyes.
Keira didn’t notice her daughter’s subtle change in expression. Instead, she spoke
again, “Amanda, come with me. Let’s go see your brother p>
Though Stuart remained in a vegetative state, Keira visited him every day,
spending an hour by his side.
“Of course, Mom.” Amanda nodded, gently supporting Keira as they walked to the other side of the estate.
Mother and daughter soon reached Stuart’s room.
Good genes ran strong in the Gonzales family. Stuart had been striking in his youth. Even now, well into his forties, after years confined to a bed, his hair streaked with gray and wrinkles etched deep at the corners of his eyes, he still had the handsome features of a man in his prime. Lying there, his breathing was steady-if not for the feeding tube taped beneath his nose, you might not realize he was anything but asleep.
Keira sat at the bedside and clasped her son’s hand, her voice hoarse with anguish. “Stuart, please_won’t you wake up? Just open your eyes and talk to me p>
“If you wake up, you can tell me what really happened that day-why the accident happened p>
“All these years don’t you care about your mother’s pain? Don’t you want to help find Carey and Freya p>
Keira had never believed the car crash was just an accident.
It felt wrong. Too deliberate.
She suspected someone with a grudge had orchestrated the whole thing.
But back then, the investigation was hampered by a torrential storm that ruined most of the evidence. By the time the police arrived, the scene had been nearly obliterated. Some perished, some disappeared, others like Stuart-were left in limbo. Forensic experts found nothing that would point to a culprit, so the case was closed as a tragic accident.
Stuart was the only one left who might know the truth. Only he could reveal what really happened that night, and bring justice to those responsible.
Amanda stood silently behind her mother, tears brimming in her eyes as she listened. She leaned forward and took Stuart’s hand in hers. “Stuart, please… Wake up. I’ve been waiting for this day for nineteen years p>
Just then, a housekeeper walked in, carrying a bag of medication.
Amanda wiped her tears. “Let me give Stuart his medicine today p>
The housekeeper handed her the medication, already crushed into a fine powder. Amanda mixed it with water and, with practiced hands, fed it to Stuart through his feeding tube—a task she’d done herself every few days for years.
Her bond with her brother ran deep.
Keira watched her son, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Stuart, my boy, how am I supposed to go on with you lying here like this? How am I supposed to go on p>