Chapter 923: Chapter 922
In the living room.
A crowd gathered around Bernard.
"Grandpa, please, wake up." Chasel’s tone was filled with concern and worry.
"With your level of mental fortitude, why bother to watch the video?" Sean hadn’t expected the old man to be so frail that he’d pass out right after the video ended.
Next to them, Cornelia closed her eyes in grief, letting her tears flow unchecked.
"Granny, don’t cry over it. Let’s just pretend we never had that granddaughter. Shedding tears for someone like that isn’t worth it," Belinda Griffith consoled her, patting her back empathetically.
Cornelia was feeling too upset and too angry.
She had thought their granddaughter’s return would add warmth and joy to the household. But she could never have imagined... never in her wildest dreams, that Serena could do such heinous things
behind their backs!
Had they not seen the video today, they’d have remained unaware of the hardships Rose had endured!
At that moment, one of the sharp-eyed servants spotted Rosemary, as if seeing a beacon of hope, her eyes lighting up.
"Ms. Rose’s here!"
Everyone turned as Rosemary made her entrance, her strides brisk yet graceful. Despite rushing, her cool and confident presence still managed to turn heads.
"Is Granny here?" Rosemary smiled warmly at Cornelia. Not having time for a catch-up, she knelt beside the couch, her delicate and fair fingers checking Grandpa Bernard’s pulse, "It is caused by vascular
compression from emotional stress."
Swiftly opening her medical kit, she selected a fine needle and expertly located the corresponding pressure point.
After a few pricks, and a short wait, Bernard slowly opened his eyes.
Everyone crowded around him, their faces alight with joy.
"Ms. Rose’s amazing. Just a few needles and he’s alright."
"Mr. Collins is awake!"
"Grandpa, you’re finally up."
As Bernard’s blurry vision cleared and he recognized Rosemary, his emotions overwhelmed him again,and tears streamed down his face.
"My child, this family has wronged you." he grasped Rosemary’s hand, visibly shaken.
"Grandpa, please take deep breaths. Your health is what’s most important," Rosemary soothed him gently, "This family hasn’t wronged me. On the contrary, I’ve received so much care and warmth here I
can’t even count. The ones who did wrong are Serena, Erik, and Martha. They’ve been fanning the flames, leading her down the wrong path. There’s no need for self-blame; this isn’t your fault."
"If we hadn’t been so blind to people’s true natures, you wouldn’t have suffered here for so long, my poor granddaughter."
Bernard, ordinarily resolute, couldn’t help but embrace Rosemary, crying like a child, "We’re so sorry,we’ve been fools, keeping such people close. You must be so upset, my child, I’m so sorry."
Rosemary patted his back gently, "I’m not the one who should be upset. Serena is the one who should be. She had everything going for her but she squandered it. Now she must be filled with regret."
"It’s freezing out—be careful not to get your tears on Rose’s clothes." Sean stepped in and separated them, "What’s the big deal, huh? It’s just realizing we’ve been raising a viper all this time. Well, that
viper’s been dealt with, and is half-dead. If you feel like you owe Rose, just take care of her—send her checks, buy her gifts, spend some quality time with her. What is this crying for."
"You little rascal..." Bernard feigned anger and raised his hand as if to swat him, but Sean’s words
broke through his sorrow and coaxed a reluctant chuckle from him.
"Come on, you’re too old for this waterworks show. And you, Granny, you’re usually such a tough cookie—that’s out of character for you. Back in the day, if anyone dared cross one of ours, you’d be the first to grab a baseball bat and go knocking on their door."
Cornelia shot him a stern glance. That boy always spoke his mind, no filter, but her mood visibly lifted.
The tempest of grief and anger within her was finally calming down.
"Both of you, stop scaring Rose," Sean continued, patting Rosemary on the head. "This poor girl was working too hard—after returning to this home, she’s been running around saving people; it’s almost driving her to exhaustion."
"Rose, come here next to Grandma," Cornelia finally said, wiping away her tears and gesturing for Rosemary to come closer. "Sean’s right. Instead of drowning in the past regrets, what we need to do now is make it up to you. There’s no point in rehashing the past, but I still owe you an apology, a real heartfelt one. We thought you and Serena could get along, but we never anticipated her jealousy and
resentment to reach such extremes."
"Grandma, you don’t owe me anything. What I’ve found in this family in the last six months is far more than I ever got from the Harris in the past eighteen years—more than a million times over. Everyone
in the Collins family has been so kind to me, and I’m just happy to be back home with all of you."
Hearing her say this, everyone’s hearts softened, and their eyes welled up.
What they had given her was nothing compared to the attention they’d showered on Serena for eighteen years.
The meticulous care and concern they’d lavished on Serena couldn’t be compared to what Rosemary had received.
Yet this child held no grudges and was full of gratitude and contentment.
They became emotional once more, and their eyes reddened with tears.
"Esteemed Sirs and Madams, Clark is back!"
Just then, a servant rushed in with the news.
The elders quickly wiped their tears and composed themselves, not wanting to show any further signs of distress.
Clark stepped through the front door to a scene that surprised him. "What’s all this commotion about? Why’s everyone here?"
All his grandparents were there!
He greeted everyone in the living room one by one. As he drew closer, he noticed the red-rimmed eyes, but only Rosemary greeted him with a smile. "Clark, you’re here?"
Clark affectionately ruffled her hair. Seeing her always washed away his fatigue, leaving him basking in a sense of joy.
"I’ve been slammed with work—wrapped up a few projects, designed some systems, and even built a brand-new firewall. I would’ve been home sooner, but there was a homicide in the neighboring city. The case was urgent, so I stayed until I finished the autopsies on a few victims."
After explaining himself, Clark asked, "So what’s up? What was everyone talking about? Why the tearful eyes?"
"It’s about the surveillance footage from the abandoned building project."
With Rosemary’s brief hint, Clark grasped the situation. He’d seen the footage from the derelict site, and his sister had updated him on everything afterward. He’d been checking in on her frequently, worrying
about her well-being in their video calls.
But as it turned out, Rosemary was doing just fine; the incident hadn’t affected her daily life in the slightest. She carried on as usual, but his family, on the other hand, seemed to be having a harder time shaking off their sadness and anger.