Chapter 3

After pulling myself together, I returned to Giselle's hospital room.

When she woke up, she stayed curled beneath the blanket, unwilling to come out.

Seeing her trembling under the covers broke my heart. Without missing a beat, I approached her and pulled her into my arms.

Giselle pressed herself against me and sobbed. "Grandpa, it hurts so much. I feel awful. Tricia and the others beat me up and bullied me. They even said I was born to be picked on because I was an orphan.

"But I do have a mom and dad. Didn't they promise they'd come home when I turned ten? I'm 15 now. Why haven't they come back? Did I do something wrong? Don't they want me anymore? Was it because I snuck ice cream home when I was little?

"Grandpa, can you tell Mom and Dad I know I was wrong? I'll never eat ice cream again. I'll be good. I miss them so much. If Mom and Dad were still here, they wouldn't dare bully me."

Her cries hit me like a punch to the gut, and my hand closed around the medals in my pocket.

Ever since the general had given them to me six years ago, I had kept them hidden away. I never dared let Giselle see them. If she ever learned that her parents had died in service, it would mean she was truly an orphan.

I clenched my teeth, fighting back the tears. How could I ever tell her that her parents were never coming home?

"Grandpa, you said only bad kids get punished. But I didn't do anything wrong. Yet, they still came after me."

As I swallowed the ache in my chest, I smoothed her hair and reassured her, "Elle, you've always been a good kid. They're the bad ones, and people like that always pay the price."

Giselle looked up at me, her eyes shining with tears and hope.

…

It took everything I had to soothe Giselle to sleep. Then, I went to the police station to report what had happened.

However, the officers' response crushed me.

Tricia's parents were the wealthiest in the city, with relatives serving as officials. Even the police were helpless against them.

One of the police officers sighed before giving me a look of sympathy. "The Flemings have relatives among the city's top officials. They even have connections at the state level. You can't go up against their family. It's best to just let it go."

With that, I left the station in despair. Even the police couldn't do a thing about them, and the realization sent an icy chill through me.

Just then, my phone buzzed. When I opened the message and saw what it was, my chest tightened.

It was a video of Giselle being bullied.