"My little girl..."
The old man's voice trembled.
His wrinkled eyes never left me. Tears pooled in them, as if he were looking at someone who had been lost for a long time.
I took a step back instead.
"Grandpa?"
I didn't even realize I'd said the word.
The old man nodded repeatedly.
"Yes... Grandpa."
He stepped closer.
But after only a few steps, Revan raised a hand and stopped him.
"Stop right there."
The old man didn't get angry.
Instead, he smiled faintly.
"You're still the same, Revan. Always so cautious."
"I'm just making sure Nara is safe."
At the sound of my name, the old man looked at me again, his eyes reddening.
"All this time... you've been called Nara?"
I nodded slowly.
"That's the name your biological parents gave you."
My heart began pounding faster.
"So... you really knew them?"
"I didn't just know them."
He drew a long breath.
"Your father is my son."
My body went rigid.
That meant...
The man standing before me was my biological grandfather.
The tears that had begun to dry flowed again.
Without realizing it, I stepped toward him.
"If that's true..."
My voice trembled.
"...why did you let me live like this, Grandpa?"
The smile disappeared from the old man's face.
He lowered his head.
"Grandpa failed to find you."
"No."
I shook my head hard.
"For twenty-two years?"
"A man as rich as you couldn't find one child?"
My question left him silent.
His gaze filled with regret.
"You're right."
"I failed."
"Twenty-two years is the biggest failure of my life."
Silence descended.
For the first time, I saw a man who looked so strong crying right in front of me.
He didn't even try to hide it.
"Your father never stopped looking for you."
Those words made me raise my head.
"My biological father?"
"Yes."
"Where is he?"
The old man's face turned sorrowful.
"To this day..."
"...he's still searching."
I furrowed my brow.
"What do you mean, Grandpa?"
Before he could answer, the masked man who had arrived earlier let out a quiet laugh.
"Don't believe everything he says."
Everyone turned toward him.
The man removed the mask that had been covering his face.
I was shocked.
He turned out to be no older than thirty-five.
His face was clean-cut.
His gaze was sharp.
"I'm tired of watching this family drama."
The old man immediately clenched his fists.
"Armand!"
"It's been a long time, Grand Master."
Revan narrowed his eyes.
"So it really was you all along."
The man named Armand smiled casually.
"Of course."
"I was only carrying out orders."
"Whose orders?" I asked impulsively.
Armand's gaze immediately shifted to me.
"The person who destroyed your family."
My chest tightened again.
"My family?"
"Yes."
"Your biological family."
The old man immediately shouted.
"Shut up!"
But Armand ignored him.
"Twenty-two years ago, your family wasn't an ordinary family."
"They were the most influential family around."
"Their wealth was enough to make many people afraid."
I grew even more confused.
"Then what happened?"
"One night..."
Armand smiled faintly.
"...someone betrayed your family."
The atmosphere suddenly turned ominous.
"Both your parents were attacked."
"Your entire extended family was torn apart."
"And you..."
He pointed straight at me.
"...disappeared."
I looked at the old man.
He closed his eyes.
His tears fell again.
"It's true."
My entire body went limp.
That meant...
None of this was a lie.
I really had come from another family.
"Grandpa."
"Yes, sweetheart."
"Then..."
I drew a deep breath.
"...who saved me back then?"
The old man hadn't had a chance to answer.
My adoptive Dad stepped forward instead.
"I did."
Everyone immediately turned toward him.
He stood there, his face pale.
"I was the one who took Nara away that night."
I stood frozen.
"Why?"
"I was ordered to."
"By whom?"
Dad shook his head.
"I never saw his face."
"All I knew was..."
"...if I failed to take Nara away, you would be killed that very night."
Silence filled the room again.
All this time, I'd thought he had kidnapped me.
But...
he had actually saved my life.
Yet before I could feel relieved, Dad spoke again.
"I did save you."
He lowered his head.
"But I'm also the one who made you suffer for twenty-two years."
My sobs broke loose again.
I didn't know whether to hate him or thank him.
Before anyone could say another word, Revan's phone rang loudly.
He looked at the screen, and his expression changed drastically.
"We're too late..."
"What do you mean?" Grandpa asked.
Revan raised his head, his eyes filled with a look I'd never seen before.
"We just got word."
"The person who ordered the search for Nara for twenty-two years..."
"...finally found out that Nara had been found."
My heart pounded violently.
"Who is he?"
Revan gripped his phone even tighter.
"The man responsible for the destruction of your family."
"And..."
Revan's voice grew heavier.
"...he's on his way here."