Moments later, the gate opened slowly, giving Grandpa Rafael, Joanne, and Lucas access to enter.
The three people smiled triumphantly.
They gazed at the magnificent building before them with concern and hope.
With steady steps, Grandpa Rafael led the way to the entrance of the mansion, followed by Joanne and Lucas who walked with mixed feelings.
They couldn't wait to meet Achmed Al-Futtaim, their maternal grandfather, and Maya Al-Futtaim, their maternal grandmother.
The two children were certainly hoping to bridge the gap created between them.
Suddenly the security guard's hand intercepted their steps.
“Wait, you guys wait here!”
Grandpa Rafael and his two grandchildren looked at each other.
“Why?” asked little Joanne in surprise.
“We're waiting for a pickup, it's impossible to walk to the main entrance. The mansion is quite far away.” The security guard explained in a flat voic
Melinda felt a softness in her heart as she saw her shaken daughter. She approached Silvia and gently took her hand.“No, dear. Grandpa and Grandma will never leave you. We will protect them, together. But we must also be careful of anyone who tries to disturb us."Silvia's face showed relief, but worry still lingered in her teary eyes. ”What will we do now, Mama?”Melinda gripped Silvia's hand tightly. “We'll resolve this, dear. Together, we'll resolve this.”“How will we resolve it?” Silvia asked innocently.Melinda took a deep breath, trying to formulate the next plan. “First, we must ensure that anyone claiming to be my biological grandchild is legitimate. We will ask someone to gather their family records and verify their identity.”Silvia nodded, following every word her mother said with full attention. “Alright, Mom. What do we do after that?”Melinda looked at h
“Mom, can I come in?” Silvia knocked on her mother's door late at night. Melinda felt her body and mind were exhausted from working nonstop, dealing with countless issues at the office every day, while Afgan couldn't manage anything because he was still in a coma.“Wait a moment.” With a weary gait and a heavy body, Melinda moved to open her bedroom door.Silvia stood at the door, hugging her favorite doll.“Mom,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears.“What's wrong?” Melinda quickly took Silvia's hand and pulled her into a hug.“I'm so scared, Mom.”“Come here and tell me!”Melinda led Silvia into the room and closed the door. She guided her daughter to sit on the edge of the bed.Melinda walked to the mini bar, poured some warm water, and handed it to Silvia.“Drink this, then take a deep breath befo
The old man had worked as Achmed's assistant for decades, so he knew how Achmed operated at all times. He understood Achmed's harsh nature and the man's actions throughout his life better than anyone.The man bowed his head, feeling utterly defeated. His son's fate was once again in Achmed's hands, and his efforts to support Melinda were in vain.“Why did you decide to betray me? Is what Melinda offers better than what I could give you throughout your life?”The man named Bram bowed his head and wiped the tears from his eyelids. A man shouldn't cry, even in old age. With the back of his hand, Bram quickly wiped away his tears.“She gave the branch manager position to my son. I know my son isn't very skilled at work, but this old hand can't help him. Then you...”Bram looked at Achmed to gauge his employer's reaction.“You didn't do anything to help my only son.”“What?!” Achmed shouted a
“What do you mean? What happened here earlier?” Achmed asked, glancing at the servant who had been accompanying the children all along.The servant nodded, then approached Achmed and whispered something politely into the old grandfather's ear.Achmed nodded in understanding.“Oh, you misunderstood,” he said softly after grasping the situation.With a warm smile, Achmed approached the two little children.“Are you upset by Silvia's behavior?”Joanne puckered her lips and shook her head, while Lucas chose to answer honestly.“She might think we want to take Grandpa or Grandma away, but we never thought of that,” Joanne said softly and carefully.“Come here and give Grandpa a hug,” Achmed said with teary eyes.Seeing the sincerity in her gra
“Alright, then, Grandma will accompany Silvia to the park to play. Would you like that?”Maya looked at Silvia with compassion. “Of course, Silvia. Let's go to the playground.”“Let's bring Lucas and Joanne along too.”“No, I just want Grandma to come with me. As for those two children, they can go back to where they came from.”Maya looked at Silvia, then alternately at Lucas and Joanne.“It's okay, Grandma. We've had enough fun; we'll go back and look for Grandpa Rafael.”Maya exhaled heavily; she really didn't want this separation, but she also couldn't make Silvia feel left out because of a slap she hadn't noticed.“Let's go,” Grandma said, taking Silvia's hand.Silvia nodded hesitantly, her eyes still betraying her dissatisfaction. “Alright, but I don't know if I can enjoy this situation. My cheek still hurts.”“A
Maya paused for a moment before finally answering, “I understand, dear. I'll try harder to make you feel valued. We'll discuss this further another time.”Meanwhile, Joanne could only look down with a sad face, hurt by Silvia's treatment. She felt she didn't understand what she had done to make Silvia so angry with her.“Wait a moment,” Maya said shortly afterward. Maya immediately approached Joanne and checked her wound, while Lucas responded by pushing Silvia.Lucas pushed Silvia until the little girl fell to the floor, her annoyed expression clearly visible on her face. “Why did you do that, Silvia? What's wrong with you?”“Huh?” Maya tried to pull Silvia, who wanted to raise her hand and resist what Lucas was doing.Silvia glared at Lucas, still full of anger. “What's wrong? What's wrong is that Grandma considers you two h