This only made Gordon angrier. “I’m your grandfather!”
“If you don’t agree, please leave.”
Gordon held back his temper. “Let’s hear it.”
“Not one word about the past.”
“What, are you feeling guilty now? Regretful? You…”
Gordon was about to mock him, but Jasper cut him off. “If you don’t agree, please leave.”
“…Fine.”
“And no passive–aggressive remarks or veiled insults.”
Finally, just before Gordon exploded with rage, he was allowed in.
Tatiana was engrossed in the television, which was playing a nature documentary. She had loved watching them as a child.
Hearing footsteps, she turned. Her eyes lit up. “Grandpa!”
That one word, full of joy and energy, made the old man’s eyes well up.
“Aye! My girl!”
Jasper hung back, watching their affectionate reunion with a faint smile. It seemed that seeing her smile now lessened his guilt. A self–deceiving way to forgive himself. A deception in the name of protection.
Gordon saw right through him. When Tatiana wasn’t looking, he gave Jasper a knowing, pointed look. “Liar.”
Jasper’s expression didn’t change. “You should go.”
Gordon snorted. “If she ever remembers, your sins will be even greater.”
Jasper was silent.
Gordon didn’t stay long. Once he confirmed that, aside from her mind, she was physically fine, he left.
Tatiana was reluctant to see him go. She turned to Jasper and said, “Jasper, I want to go home.”
Home? To the Lowell family?
There was no reason to go back there. Besides, they weren’t her real family.
“This is your home.”
The moment he said it, Tatiana’s eyes filled with tears that began to fall. She cried instantly.
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The sight of her tears sent him into a panic. “Don’t cry.”
“I want to go home! Sob… I want to go home! I miss Mom and Dad! I want to go home!”
No matter how he coaxed her, she insisted on going home. Seeing her about to dissolve into a puddle of tears, Jasper compromised.
“Alright. I’ll take you home. But we have to go at night. You have to stop crying, okay?”
Tatiana’s tears stopped, and she beamed. She nodded obediently. “Okay!”
Jasper pressed his brow. It was the first time he’d ever felt so completely overwhelmed. Why had he never realized how much her tears affected him?
To prevent the ruse from falling apart, he had to go to the Lowell family himself.
They had been terrified of him ever since the last incident, afraid he would try to drag Bianca off for an abortion again.
Lauren shouted frantically, “Bianca’s not here! You can’t take her!”
To protect the Jackson heir, Marilyn had taken Bianca away, worried Jasper would have another fit of madness.
He said flatly, “I’m not looking for her.”
Chester’s voice was tight with anxiety. “Then what do you want?”
He paused for a moment. “I’m bringing your daughter home.”
The words struck them like a thunderbolt. The Lowells were stunned.
“What kind of joke is this!”
Jasper wasn’t joking. He told them the truth: Tatiana was alive, but she had lost her memory and regressed to the age of seven.
Ignoring their shock, he ordered them to play their parts. They were not to reveal the truth under any circumstances, and most importantly, they were not to harm her.
Otherwise, the Lowell family would be bankrupt.
Chester was infuriated by his shamelessness but didn’t dare defy him. After all, Jasper was fully capable of doing it.
Lauren, however, didn’t resist. She only wept silently. “As long as she’s alive…”
After securing their agreement, Jasper stationed numerous bodyguards around the Lowell property and had every mirror in the villa removed. Only then did he bring Tatiana back.
“Dad! Mom! I’m home!”
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