Chapter 192: The Truth Came To Light

"Isobel..."

Leon’s voice was barely more than a rasp, but it carried from the patients’ bed into the living area, cutting through the thick silence between Morgan and Kristoff.

Both men immediately turned toward the old man’s bed.

Randy and Yana were already moving. They scrambled off the couch and hurried toward Leon, their earlier curiosity forgotten.

Isobel rose from her own bed and crossed the room quickly. She sat on the edge of Leon’s mattress, leaning toward him with worry etched across her face.

"Uncle, you’re awake." Her voice softened. "How are you feeling now?"

Leon took a slow breath.

"I’m better." He placed a trembling hand against his chest. "It feels... lighter. As if someone finally lifted a stone from it."

His tired eyes settled on Isobel.

For a long moment, he simply stared.

There was something in her face that made his heart ache. The shape of her face. The curve of her lips. The familiar softness of her expression.

Just like Rosella’s.

For one fleeting moment, he could almost see his beloved sister standing before him again.

Then Morgan stepped closer.

Kristoff followed immediately, positioning himself beside Isobel. If Morgan intended to stand near the old man, Kristoff would make sure he stood closer.

But the moment Leon saw Morgan, something changed.

The frailty vanished from his face.

His eyes widened. His breath caught violently in his throat.

Then, with startling strength, Leon pushed himself upright.

"You..."

His voice trembled.

Morgan stopped.

Leon stared at him as though he were looking at a ghost.

"You! You damned scumbag!"

The shout tore through the room.

Everyone froze.

Leon pointed a shaking finger at Morgan, his entire body trembling with fury.

"What the hell are you doing here?! How dare you show your face to me!"

Confusion swept across the room.

Kristoff and Isobel exchanged bewildered looks before turning back to Morgan.

What is happening?

Kristoff raised an eyebrow.

Does the old man know Morgan?

"Uncle?" Isobel reached for Leon’s arm. "What do you mean? Do you know him?"

"Know him?"

Leon let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh.

"How could I forget him?"

His breathing became ragged.

"That face..." His eyes burned into Morgan’s. "That cursed face."

Morgan remained silent, his brows furrowing.

Leon’s expression twisted with old hatred.

"His name is Albert!" he roared. "Albert—the ungrateful bastard who deceived my sister!"

The room went deathly quiet.

"Rosella saved that man!" Leon continued, his voice cracking with rage. "She gave him everything! She trusted him! She loved him!"

His fist struck weakly against the mattress.

"And what did that bastard do?"

His voice broke.

"He used her!"

Leon’s chest heaved.

"After he got what he wanted from her, he disappeared! Just vanished!"

Tears suddenly gathered in the corners of his eyes, but his fury only intensified.

"And my sister..."

His voice dropped to a broken whisper.

"My poor Rosella..."

He swallowed painfully.

"She died because of him."

Kristoff froze. Something about Leon’s words made the pieces in his mind shift.

He instinctively stepped backward, suddenly content to remain on the sidelines.

Isobel, however, was still trying to calm her uncle.

"Uncle, you’re mistaken."

Leon whipped his head toward her.

"Mistaken?"

"Yes." Isobel gently squeezed his arm. "His name is Morgan."

The anger in Leon’s face faltered.

Morgan. Not Albert.

Of course.

Isobel finally understood what was happening.

Her uncle’s previous high fever had muddled his memories. Just as he had mistaken her for Rosella, he was now mistaking Morgan for someone from his past.

Morgan must have resembled Julian when he was younger.

Leon slowly lifted a hand and rubbed his face.

"I must be getting senile."

He released a long, exhausted sigh.

"I’m remembering things that happened too long ago."

His gaze returned to Morgan, this time more carefully.

He studied every line of the younger man’s face.

Then his eyes narrowed.

"You really do resemble Albert."

Leon paused.

"Although..."

His expression softened by the smallest degree.

"You’re much more handsome."

A startled laugh escaped Morgan. That, at least, was something he couldn’t argue with.

He resembled his father by nearly eighty percent. The remaining twenty percent came from his mother, Leanne. Everyone who knew the family had always said the same thing.

Morgan had inherited the best features from both of them.

"You’re right, Uncle," Morgan said with a grin. "I am definitely more handsome than my father."

Leon blinked.

His eyes widened.

"Your father?"

The amusement disappeared from his face.

"You..."

Leon slowly leaned forward.

"You’re really Albert’s son?"

Morgan’s smile faded slightly.

Before he could answer, realization seemed to strike Leon.

His face flushed crimson. His hands began to shake.

"That bastard!"

The sudden roar made everyone jump.

"He already had a son!"

Leon gripped the blanket in both fists.

"He already had a family, and he still went after my sister?!"

His voice rose with every word.

"What kind of monster does that?!"

"Uncle—"

"Rosella loved him!"

The words came out as a cry of anguish.

"She loved that bastard with everything she had!"

Leon slammed his fist against the mattress again.

"And he lied to her! He let her believe she was the only woman in his life!"

His breathing became strained, but the fury driving him seemed stronger than his failing body.

"My poor sister..."

His voice cracked.

"She went to her grave believing that man loved her."

The hatred radiating from Leon was so raw that Morgan instinctively took a step backward.

"My father’s name is Julian," he said carefully hoping to diffuse the tension.

Leon went completely still.

"Julian?"

His expression slowly transformed from anger to disbelief.

Then he laughed.

A sharp, bitter laugh that quickly turned into a violent fit of coughing.

"So even his name was fake..."

"Uncle!"

Isobel immediately reached for him, alarmed by the way his body shook.

Leon coughed into his fist, struggling to catch his breath.

Kristoff, meanwhile, barely heard any of it.

His mind was racing.

Who is Albert? Isn’t Morgan’s father Julian?

He looked at Morgan.

Then at Leon.

Unless...

A ridiculous possibility surfaced in his mind. One was happy to entertain.

The more he thought about Leon’s words, the more the pieces seemed to fit the puzzle.

Isobel’s resemblance to Rosella.

Leon mistaking Isobel for his dead sister.

Leon mistaking Morgan for Albert.

And now this strange connection between Morgan’s father and the man named Albert.

Kristoff’s heartbeat quickened.

Could it be...?