Chapter 409 Blood Finds Home

    Chapter 409 Blood Finds Home

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    “Yes. I am,” answered a calm, resonant baritone–Everett Fanc–pushing the door wide before crossing the threshold.

    Quinn’s gaze darted toward the older man striding toward her, then back at her brother.

    The resemnce was uncanny–two profiles carved from the same marble, separated only by the fine lines that years had etched into Everett’s brow.

    She had once thought that when Rowan reached old age, he might look like this tycoon, believing the thought a coincidence in a crowded world of strangers.

    Yet if Everett truly was their mother’s brother, the likeness belonged not to chance but to blood. Because–he was their uncle.

    “You… You’re finally awake!” Everett whispered, voice rough with a rush of emotions he could no longer cage.

    He had bolted here the instant Leander’s call came through, abandoning boardrooms and schedules without a backward nce.

    At the ident site that day, shock had mmed into him so brutally that his legs folded; darkness swallowed him before the wail of sirens faded.

    When awareness returned, he found Quinn lying motionless beneath stark hospital lights, herplexion drained of all color, breath so faint it scarcely disturbed the sheets.

    On the nightstand rested the ruby ne the Fane family had pursued for more than half a century. Tears streaked down his cheeks before he could speak a word.

    Fifty years of searching–half a lifetime chasing a sliver of crimson hope.

    Atst, he had uncovered his sister’s trail and, with it, the children she entrusted to the world.

    The cruel reality was that his sister was gone. These two children were the living thread she had sewn into the Fane tapestry–a gift heaven had spared for him alone.

    After doctors promised Quinn’s life no longer hung by a thread, Everett drove to the Hero’s Memorial Garden and spent an entire day by his sister’s

    grave.

    He sat from first light until the sky blushed with dusk.

    There, he turned page after page of the dossier he hadpiled, piecing together every year

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    17:14 Thu, Sep 18 ..

    Chapter 409 Blood Finds Home

    she had lived apart from the Fane name.

    :

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    Line by line he read, discovering the quiet, ordinary victories that had filled her borrowed decades.

    Relief washed over him. The Bridger family had cherished her, and her husband had been a steadfastpanion.

    Her story closed inpleteness–home, husband, children—and in the final heartbeat, she and her husband clung to one another.

    When Everett reached thest paragraph, tears blurred the ink until her life story dissolved into faint, water–stained ghosts upon the

    paper.

    Regret piled upon regret until Everett felt as though the cemetery air could not hold another ounce of grief. He med himself for finding his little sister sote, for failing every duty an older brother should uphold.

    Worst of all, their bond hadsted a mere three years–an eye–blink against the stretch of a lifetime.

    “I am sorry–so sorry, Yara. I found you far toote. I never should have let go of your hand back then–never. Your children—and your husband’s–are as good as mine now. I will spend everything I have to shelter them for all their days.”

    From this moment forward, those two children would be his very heartbeat.

    Still wet–eyed, Everett rose and walked toward Quinn. “Quinn, I am your uncle–your mother Arlene’s elder brother,” he said, voice trembling. “I am sorry. You and Rowan have suffered because I failed you. It will never happen again.”

    Quinn stared, stunned by the raw remorse in the face of the Fane patriarch, a man she hadst seen wielding ruthless power without a flicker of warmth. He was unrecognizable.

    Is this brokenhearted iman /iitruly /iimy /iiuncle/ii? /i

    Her silence stretched, and Everett’s hopeful gaze flickered, dimming like a candle starved of air.

    “I know I wronged you,” he murmured. “I even almost hurt you that day. Years ago, your mother vanished because of me. I failed to hold her hand. If you cannot ept me, I will understand. But should you ever need the Fane family, we will stand behind you with everything we have. I ask for nothing else only that you and Rowan live in peace. Your mother can no longer protect you. From today on, your uncle will.”

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    Chapter 409 Blood Finds Home

    Every syble seeped into Quinn’s ears, heavy as rainwater against stone.

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    To the business world, Everett was a cunning titan whose mere strategy could topple empires. Now he looked like nothing more than an old man drowning in remorse, every inch of hauteur washed away by pain.

    Quinn parted her lips, the word slipping out before she could think. “Uncle Everett.”

    “Everett jerked as though struck by lightning, eyes widening in disbelief.

    He opened his mouth, hesitating, terrified that if he questioned her the fragile miracle would shatter.”

    The greater the hope, the deeper the fall.

    “Uncle Everett,” she repeated, firmer this time.

    Only then did reality catch him. Tears flooded his eyes as he stared at her, stunned. “I’m here. I’m here,” he choked out. “Thank you… Thank you for epting me.”