Sam, in a state of semi-consciousness, seemed to see that familiar figure moving farther away.
“No… don’t go, Father… come back…”
He used all his strength to try to stop his father from leaving, but he was too ill, his consciousness nearly collapsing, and he couldn’t speak.
He could only watch helplessly as his father’s figure disappeared into the woods.
Gregory left with three elite guards, leaving the rest to protect Gracie and Sam.
Gracie spent the entire night in fear, unable to sleep.
Sam wasn’t much better. He felt as if he were being torn in two, his body in pain and torment; yet his soul was exceptionally clear, aware of everything happening around him.
As dawn approached, the sun began to peek over the distant mountains. The morning breeze woke everyone up.
Gracie clasped her hands together anxiously, holding Sam while staring in the direction Gregory had left.
“Dawn is breaking…”
If Gregory hadn’t returned by now, there were only two possibilities.
First, he had encountered the enemy and met with misfortune.
Second, he hadn’t found the Falling Petals.
Neither scenario was something Gracie wanted to see.
She stared blankly into the woods, counting the seconds in her mind.
If Gregory hadn’t returned by the time she counted from “100” to “0,” she would go find him herself.
“3.”
Only two seconds left.
“2.”
“Just one second left.”
In the final second, just as Gracie decided to hand Sam over to the guards and go find Gregory herself, he returned, accompanied by a man she had never seen before-a complete stranger.
Gracie didn’t pay much attention to the stranger; her eyes were only on Gregory, who was covered in blood, causing her face to turn pale with fear.
She ran over to support him. “Gregory, are you alright? How did you get so badly injured?”
“Cough… I’m fine. Here… quickly give this Falling Petals to Sam.”
How could he be alright?
Gracie saw blood continuously flowing from his leg, quickly staining the ground pink.
“Gregory.”
As Gracie anxiously wondered who to save first, the stranger spoke up.
“Gracie, go save your nephew first. I’ll take care of Gregory.”
In such a critical moment, Gracie didn’t fully trust this man, especially since he didn’t look like a good person.
He appeared to be around forty-seven or forty-eight years old, slightly chubby, wearing glasses, and had a calculating look when he smiled.
Gregory understood her concern and spoke through his pain. “Don’t worry, he’s an old friend of mine. He won’t harm me. Go save Sam first; I’ll be fine.”
“Alright.”
Hearing Gregory say this himself, Gracie finally turned and left.
Sam didn’t see the man’s face clearly but vaguely heard his father call him an “old friend.”
At that time, he didn’t think much of it and assumed his father had contacted this person for help.
After taking the Falling Petals, he fell into a coma again.
When he woke up again, they were in a different place.
His father was severely injured. The group of ten had dwindled down to just the three of them and a masked young man in black clothes.
The “old friend” his father mentioned was nowhere to be seen.
“Sam, you’re awake! That’s great!”
Gracie was the first to notice he was awake and quickly helped him up from the ground.
“Mommy~”
In his memory, this was the first time Sam called her that. Gracie was so moved that tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
“Sam, you… you finally acknowledge me!”
For so many years, although she had always been by his side watching him grow up, Gracie had always accompanied him as an “aunt.”
Having her biological son right in front of her but unable to acknowledge him had tormented her for over twenty years.
She thought she would never hear him call her “Mom” in this lifetime.
“I finally… finally waited for this moment, Sam… my son!”
Sam let her hold him tightly. Her tears fell on his chest, filled with both grievance and relief.
“Mom.”
He called out again.
“Yes, I’m here!”
Seeing them recognize each other as mother and son brought tears to Gregory’s eyes as well. He hobbled over on his injured leg.
He opened his arms and embraced them both tightly. The family of three held each other close.
“It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me… you and Sam wouldn’t have been unable to recognize each other all these years.”
“Sam, your mother has suffered a lot for you. From now on, you must treat her well. Don’t be as rude and disrespectful as before.”
Sam hadn’t known Gracie was his biological mother; he only saw her as Kelvin’s mother in his mind.
She treated him very well, almost always accommodating him.
At first, he liked her because he found maternal warmth in Gracie.
He even envied Kelvin for having such a beautiful and gentle mother.
Until one day, he accidentally saw Gracie and his father hugging each other. At around ten years old, he wasn’t completely ignorant anymore.
He understood some things that he shouldn’t have at that age.
His father was betraying his mother!
And why was Gracie, who was Kelvin’s mother, doing such things with his father?
“Could it be that she treated me better than Kelvin because she loved my father?”
Sam was an extreme person with an extreme personality!
When he liked someone, he would trust them unconditionally;
But once he found out they had deceived him, no matter the reason, he wouldn’t forgive them!
This applied to Kelvin and also to Gracie.
From that day on, he hated her!
He hated her hypocrisy and hated that she used him to get close to his father…
Because of Gracie, he also began to dislike Kelvin.
He wanted this mother and son duo to pay for their lies!
As he grew older and learned more about his father’s numerous affairs, he realized Gracie was just one of many women who held some value to his father.
Sam even felt some sympathy for her.
He had once used childish words to sarcastically persuade her to leave the Lucas family, but she chose to stay for the man she loved deeply.
Only now did Sam understand that part of the reason Gracie didn’t want to leave back then was because of him!
For a woman who lived for love, her lover and child were everything to her.
Wherever they were was where her home was!
Who would want to leave a home they built themselves?
He had hurt her too much!
Listening to Sam’s apology brought tears of joy to Gracie’s eyes. She gently held his hand and said, “Silly child, I won’t be angry with you. The past is behind us. From now on, our family will live happily together.”
This was her dream and also her extravagant hope.
“Yes, but we need to find a way to escape Chulae’s pursuers first. Dad… who is this person beside you?”
Sam suddenly mentioned the young man next to Gregory.
The latter wore a black mask covering his face and a matching cap hiding his eyes-his appearance suspicious.
Gregory didn’t sense anything wrong and happily introduced the person to his son.
“This is a helper left by my old friend. All those people died under Chulae’s pursuers’ guns.”
“Old friend? Why have I never heard you mention him before?” Sam habitually asked more questions.
“Well… we met many years ago; you haven’t met him.”
“He has been living abroad all these years. This time I managed to get the Falling Petals to save you and escape thanks to his help.” Gregory’s tone was full of gratitude.
When he had power and influence, people around him were all sycophants;
In times of trouble, only Declan truly helped him!
Hearing this from his father triggered some memories in Sam’s mind.
It must have been the person who brought his father back when he was unconscious.
“So where is your good friend now? Why isn’t he here…”
“He said he went out to find reinforcements and left a personal bodyguard to protect us. Let’s wait a bit longer… he should be back soon.”
Is that person really reliable?
Sam feared not that he wouldn’t return but that he might be an undercover agent sent by Chulae-what then?
As night fell and darkness descended,
The friend who went out for reinforcements hadn’t returned. Instead, they were surrounded by Chulae’s troops.
In desperation, Gregory told Sam to take his mother and escape through a side path while he and the young man distracted the troops.