After hanging up, Marcus went through the photos one by one. Could the woman Grace mentioned be the one in these pictures?


    Once Marcus returned to The Herbalist''s Sanctuary, he went straight to see Charles.


    As soon as he sat down, he ced the phone in front of his grandfather.


    "Grandpa, the person tied to the number Grace gave us is the one who sent us those photos."


    Charles gave Sheldon a look, and Sheldon immediately handed over his reading sses. "Mr. Holden Senior, here you go."


    "Thank you." Charles put on the sses and carefully studied the photos, swiping through each one slowly. After viewing them all, he fell into a long silence.


    "Grandpa, the woman in these photos-what''s her rtionship to you and Grandma?" Marcus poured himself a cup of herbal tea as he asked casually. "I''ve never met Grandma, but if I''m not mistaken, this woman is probably Grandma''s biological sister, right?"


    "Yes. She was your grandmother''s younger sister," Charles finally said. "I put away all the photos of her from the house. Technically, you should call her your grandaunt. But she died many years ago-before your grandmother did.


    "Your grandmother passed, and I was busy raising your father and Cassie. I didn''t want to look at those photos anymore. Every time I did, they would bring back memories. I promised your grandmother I''d raise your father and Cassie well, and that I''d never remarry for the rest of my life.


    "I did keep my promise never to remarry, but I failed to raise Cassie properly. When I die, I don''t even know how I''ll face your grandmother in the afterlife." As he spoke, Charles'' eyes turned red. Maybe it was seeing those photos again that stirred emotions he could no longer suppress.


    "I thought I wouldn''t look at your grandmother''s photo again until the day I died. I didn''t expect it to show up in your hands."


    "Grandpa, Grace said the person who coerced her into swapping the babies promised to make the Langley family the richest in Amberton—if she did what she was told. If the person behind this is Grandma''s sister, do you still believe she''s really dead?"


    Marcus wasn''t sentimental. He had no emotional attachment to someone he had never met. He was simply analyzing the photos and what truth they were trying to reveal.


    "I''m certain she''s dead. Your grandmother and I both attended her funeral."


    "Grandpa, the way that woman looks at you in these photos-it''s affectionate," Marcus said calmly. "So, I''d like you to tell me honestly-was there a love triangle between the three of you?"


    "Nonsense!" Charles mmed the phone back down on the table. "Marcus, you''re bing more and more outrageous. Watch your words.


    "She was your grandaunt, your grandmother''s blood sister. Your grandmother and I had a deep, loving rtionship. How could there be any talk of a love triangle? By asking this, you''re insulting me and the dead."


    "Am I?" Marcus picked up his phone and opened a message Natalie had sent him just two minutes earlier. "Then take a look at this girl, Grandpa."


    Charles looked at the screen. It showed a 17 or 18-year-old girl, arms full of colorful plush toys, smiling so widely that her eyes nearly disappeared. That smile was practically identical to that of the woman in the photos-Marcus'' grandaunt.


    "Grandpa, can dead people give birth to children who look this much like them?" Marcus asked tly. "Nat''s going to bring this girl back with her."


    "She looks too much like her," Charles murmured, stunned. "But Yvette... Yvette really died."


    "Grandpa, tell me the story between the three of you," Marcus said as he sipped his herbal tea. "Let''s just treat it like a casual chat between grandfather and grandson.


    "You never talked much to me about Grandma or my parents. When I was a kid, I had so many things to study We didn''t talk much. But I''ve always been curious about the love stories in our family-between you and Grandma, between my parents."


    Charles reached out. "Give me the phone."


    "Here." Marcus handed it over. Charles opened the same set of photos again, and


    as he looked through them, his old eyes began to redden.


    "Your grandmother''s name was Vivian Jenkins. Her younger sister was Yvette.Jenkins. The Jenkins family used to be a major family in Dithoria. Your grandmother and I were childhood


    sweethearts-engaged and married early.


    "But one day, the Jenkins family suffered a sudden disaster. It happened overnight —before anyone could react, the family was gone. Many died, and some disappeared.


    "Yvette died during that incident too. Vivian was extremely close to her. She never recovered from the blow-fell ill shortly afterward."


    "What kind of disaster was it that took down the Jenkins family?" Marcus asked as Charles stared at the photo with teary eyes.


    "The Jenkins family-" Charles'' voice trembled.


    "Have some tea, Grandpa." Marcus poured him a cup of herbal tea. "There''s no rush. Take your time."


    Charles took the cup, but his hand was shaking so badly that some of the tea spilled despite Marcus only pouring a little.


    "Don''t worry, Grandpa," Marcus said, reaching out to steady his hand. "Sheldon, bring a jacket for Grandpa."


    "Yes, Mr. Marcus." Sheldon hurried off.


    Once Sheldon was gone, Marcus got up and sat beside Charles. "Grandpa, is it possible that Grandma''s sister didn''t die?"


    "That''s impossible," Charles replied


    instantly saw it with my own eyes. Her body was burned beyond recognition. I was the one who arranged the Jenkins family''s funeral.


    "Vivian wasn''t feeling well that day, so I took her to the hospital instead of going back to the Jenkins residence. That''s the only reason she wasn''t caught in the


    fire."


    "So the disaster that struck the Jenkins family was a fire?" Marcus asked.


    Charles nodded. "Yes. One night, a fire consumed the entire estate. Over a hundred members of the Jenkins family died. Except for Vivian, no one survived.


    "Afterward, I took Vivian''s phone away, cut off the inte in her hospital room, and warned everyone not to say a word in front of her.


    "I stayed with her while secretly handling all the funeral arrangements. Yvette, the sister she loved most, was burned beyond recognition when they pulled her out.


    "I was afraid Vivian would find out, so I arranged the burial as quickly as possible.


    "The site where the Jenkins estate once stood waster redeveloped into what''s now Luminara Park."