Chapter 42 Hidden Roots
The three of them rushed to the address written on the back of the photograph. It was a small, quiet courtyard.
Finished
Quinn stepped up and knocked on the door. There was no sound from inside. She waited a long while, but no one came to open it.
So she gently pushed the door open and stepped inside. “Hello? Is anyone here?”
In the center of the main room, someone was lying in a recliner. Her voice stirred him awake.
“Ugh… who is it, disturbing my nap?” The voice was lazy and laced with irritation.
When Quinn saw the man’s face, her eyes widened in shock. “It’s you?!”
Kane smiled, as if he had expected her.
It was the same old man who had helped her repair her pocket watch. Quinn couldn’t believe it.
Kane stood up with his hands behind his back and motioned for Quinn to sit.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a long moment. “Doesn’t make sense… you got here so fast. I didn’t even get the chance to give you a heads–up.”
All three of them looked at him, confused.
Marcus’s eyes darkened for a split second–something ungraspable flashed through them–then he spoke calmly.
“You’re the one who’s been blocking the information.”
He studied the old man carefully. Everything about him looked ordinary. The house, the yard–it all seemed normal.
But it was too normal. So normal it looked staged.
“You’re a sharp one,” Kane said with a chuckle.
Quinn didn’t understand. Her tone grew anxious. “Who are you? Why are you blocking information? And why warn me?”
They were strangers–why help her at all?
Or maybe… was he really helping?
“Come on, all of you, take a seat,” Kane said, motioning them to sit at the small wooden round table. He poured each of them a cup of tea before leaning back in his chair. “Let me tell you an old story, all right?”
It turned out, the director of the orphanage where Quinn had grown up had once been Kane’s close friend. But the two had gone their separate ways after a heated argument in their youth.
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Chapter 42 Hidden Roots
That was why he had helped Quinn–again and again.
Why had the orphanage director given Quinn the watch?
Because Kane was from this town–the birthplace of the silverleaf flower.
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Finished
“You’re allergic to silverleaf, like I am?” Quinn had been frowning ever since she arrived. That connection surprised her.
Kane nodded.
He hadn’t thought much of it at first. But when he learned from the doctor that Quinn had the same allergy. he understood what the director was trying to do.
“So in a way, it was him who led you here with the watch.”
His fingers tapped softly on the armrest of his chair.
“Your origins are… special. If someone uncovers that secret, it could be a matter of life and death for you.”
Quinn didn’t understand. “But if I’m allergic, I’d know right away. Who’d be stupid enough to use something like that to harm me?”
Kane smiled knowingly.
“You’re still too young. Tell me why is it that only you could smell the silverleaf scent in your grandfather’s room?”
Quinn’s heart dropped. She jumped to her feet, her voice shaking. “How do you know about that?”
She had never told anyone. Even when she’d visited her grandfather with Zayden, she hadn’t mentioned the smell. Back then, she hadn’t even known what it was herself.
But this seemingly ordinary old man knew everything.
Who was he?
“There are a lot of things I can’t tell you right now,” Kane said gently. “You could smell it because of your allergy. It made you sensitive. But everyone else?”
He pointed to Zayden and Marcus, seated beside her. Neither of them said a word.
Zayden looked at the old man thoughtfully. There was something familiar about him, something he couldn’t quite place.
“So what they did,” Kane continued, “was control the amount. They placed silverleaf around you in just the right amounts so you wouldn’t notice. But over time, your memory would fade. In severe cases, it could lead to organ failure. Even doctors wouldn’t be able to figure out the cause.”
Quinn thought of her grandfather’s condition. A chill ran through her body. Her eyes stung with tears, but she refused to let them fall.
“Sir, do you have a way to save my grandfather? If you do, please tell me. I’ll pay whatever it takes.”
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Chapter 42 Hidden Roots
Marcus gently patted her tightly clenched hand. “Don’t rush. Let him talk”