Chapter 168
Martha let out a quiet sigh, lost in old memories.
She rarely talked about the past. At home, there was no one to confide in, and she didn’t like bringing it up with people she knew well. It made her feel like one of those bitter old women who could never let go–crying about the same things and expecting others to comfort her.
But now, her eyes stung.
“He wasn’t always like this. When he was little, he was a handful–always in trouble. Out of all the kids his age, he was the wild one. No one could control him, and his grades were awful.
“Once, he yanked a female teacher’s hair at school. They called us in, and his father whipped him with a leather belt. He still talked back, and it really pissed his father off.”
When she noticed Valeria’s surprise, Martha smiled, holding back her tears. “You wouldn’t expect it, right? He was like that when he was a kid, but he changed a lot after that.”
She actually preferred the old Sebastian rather than the man he had become.
“He… He was always at the top of the class. First in the grade, and he—” Valeria started, but
Avery shot her a warning look, silently telling her to drop it.
“He has an older brother named Florian. They’re twins. I had them late in life, and they felt like a gift from God. However, their personalities couldn’t have been more different. Florian had a steady and calm personality.
“At six, their father had already started grooming him to take over the family business. He was good at everything.
“Sebastian was the opposite–a troublemaker. When Florian was practising his oral skills, Sebastian was playing outside. But on their eighth birthday, they got kidnapped and didn’t even get a chance to eat any cake.“`
“At the time, Nicholas was expanding the company aggressively. Grant Group grew fast and took the top spot in the industry, but he made plenty of enemies. The boys were gone for seven days.
On the eighth day, the kidnappers told us to bring ransom money and contracts if we wanted them back. When we got there… they had stuffed both boys in a dog cage. With a full–grown Rottweiler. They were torn up with bites, bleeding everywhere.”
Avery’s voice asked as she said, “Mrs. Grant Sr., please don’t say any more.”
Valeria’s grip on her glass tightened until her knuckles turned white. Her lips trembled, but no
words came out.
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Martha wiped her tears and continued, “We paid ten billion dollars in ransom and handed over the contracts. But Florian was already dead when we got them out. His whole back was shredded from protecting Sebastian.
“His back was covered with bite marks and knife wounds. He was bleeding internally and got infected. His body was rotting.
“Sebastian was barely breathing. He spent six months in the hospital and didn’t say a word at
all.
“After that incident, he changed. He became quiet and stopped getting himself into trouble. He started studying all the same courses Florian had. It was like… he was trying to become his brother, but he wasn’t the same person anymore.”
A tear rolled down Valeria’s cheek. Her breath caught, stuck in her throat. She had never imagined that this was something Sebastian had gone through.
Martha covered her face while Avery stroked her back. “Mrs. Grant Sr., it’s all in the past now.”
“I can never look past this. Those people shoved Florian and Sebastian into a cage barely big enough to sit in. That Rottweiler got hungry and started biting Florian’s flesh. Florian was literally eaten alive. His body rotted away.
“Sebastian stayed by his brother’s decaying body for seven days. It changed him completely. How am I supposed to get over that?
“In fact, Sebastian actually loves animals. He used to like cats and dogs. When he was little, he once brought home a stray dog and tossed it onto his father’s bed. Nicholas gave him a good lesson for that.”
Valeria felt her chest ache. So that was why he never wanted a pet dog. He kept his distance so much that Valeria never really got to know who he truly was.
No wonder the first time she saw him, he was wearing a crisp white school uniform, buttoned all the way to the top, smoking as he walked out of the internet café.
That was the real him.
Beneath his cold and distant look, there was a restless, unpredictable side to him.
Valeria didn’t know how to comfort Martha. Words felt hollow because she knew some things couldn’t be fixed. Just like how Valeria had lost a son, too.
Chapter 169
