NovelGoldChapter 410 Ethan felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He drew in a deep breath, forcing himself to steady his nerves, then slowly reached out and shoved open the rusted iron gate. The metal screeched in protest, echoing through the still air. He stepped inside the old house. Everything was exactly as it had been ten years ago-nothing out of place, no sign that thad passed.
Except, ten years ago, the place had gleamed with warmth and life. Now, every surface was muffled beneath a thick layer of dust.
"Mom? Dad? Claire?" Ethan's voice bounced around the empty foyer, swallowed by silence. "Where are you guys?" He looked around. The familiar furniture and trinkets seemed to whisper memories of happier days. But now, the only thing that lingered here was silence.
Ethan wandered through the sprawling house, each step feeling like he was searching for echoes from the past.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtHe passed his parents' room, where their belongings still sat exactly where they always had-only now, everything was shrouded in dust.
His own room was just as he remembered, yet somehow impossibly foreign.
At last, he found himself at the door to what used to be Claire's little room at the end of the hall.
He remembered the last the'd cin here the day he'd found Claire's award certificates and her acceptance letter from Prestige University.
Back then, the guilt and heartbreak had overwhelmed him so badly he'd coughed up blood.
He'd also seen her diary that day, but the pain was too raw to open it.
Now, stepping inside, he found the room unchanged since that moment all those years ago.
The desk sat untouched, the folding cot stillst the wall, and the corners were stacked with old boxes and forgotten things-just as before.
Ethan walked to the desk and pulled open the top drawer. The diary was still there, right where she'd left it.
He picked it up, sat down on the creaky cot, and opened to the first page.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe paper was yellowed with age, but the handwriting was still perfectly clear.
Gently, Ethan ran his fingers across the page, feeling as if he could almost touch Claire's emotions from back then.
**June 12, 2007. Friday. Sunny.** *Today, I finally have a mom and dad. And even a handsbig brother who's the CEO of a real company.* *They cand broughthfrom the orphanage.* *I went from being a nobody-just a forgotten orphan-to the real daughter of the Linwood family. I keep thinking this must be a dream.* *All my life, I wished for parents. I never thought my wish would actually ctrue.* *My father is tall and dignified-even though he's older, he still looks so handsome, like a movie star dad.* *My mother is elegant and stylish, always dressed to impress-beautiful and wealthy, the kind of woman who turns heads wherever she goes.* *And my brother? He got all of their best features. How did I get so lucky to be a Linwood?*
As Ethan read, the memory of that day cflooding back the bright afternoon sun, driving his parents to the orphanage to bring Claire home.
He could see it all-Claire standing nervously in the doorway, clutching her worn, faded clothes, hair a little messy, her face a mixture of anxiety and hope.
He remembered the way he'd frowned the moment he saw her, unable to hide his disdain. "She's! Ook his 'so short and looks half-starved. Are you sure she's really a Linwood? She looks nothing like us-more like a street urchin, if you ask me."
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