Chapter 207 - A Grandfather's Warmth

You are Katherine Young.

The old man's words rang in Katherine's ear. Her stomach twisted even more and she felt like throwing up. Despite looking calm on the outside, the shock in her eyes and the extreme feeling of uneasiness within her almost caused her to pass out.

There was silence in the room apart from the loud thumping echoing in her ear which she thought must be her heart pounding relentlessly—slamming against her ribcage. Katherine thought it was ridiculous. How could she be Katherine Young? She was Katherine Miller! They must be mistaken.

For a while, no one spoke as though they were waiting for her to say something first. 

Deborah Young was even more speechless. God knows what was running in her head but she was so pale white as she stared at Katherine, unable to come to terms with what she first thought was just a scary coincidence which became an absolute truth—a nightmare. How was it possible? How could this woman be that Katherine? Without anyone else noticing, her knuckles had turned white from clutching the table napkin so hard that she almost tore it apart.

"..." A small huff escaped from Katherine's mouth. "I… I don't understand." It was all that she could say. 

She tried so hard to put every piece of the puzzle that she had in her head but it was useless. With so many empty years before five years ago, she didn't have a lot of memories to work with. Everything was just so confusing for her. All those nightmares, including the one she saw during the most recent session she had with Dr. Jeffrey Evans. She didn't know what was real. And now this old man was telling her she was his granddaughter? How absurd.

Seeing the confusion on her face, Chairman Young nodded and understood how difficult it must be for her. He slightly squeezed her hand in his as if it was going to help in making her believe what he was telling her. "You must be confused. I know this is a lot to take in…" His other hand came up to his chest, patting it as he said, "But I believe that you are my granddaughter. There is no mistake. You look just like your mother… the wife of my son."

Her eyes darted to the side, trying so hard to make sense of what Chairman Young just announced. 'Katherine Young…' she said in her mind over and over again. "Katherine Young," she muttered under breath as though she wanted to hear it from herself and despite the confusion, her heart fluttered at how natural it sounded in her ears. For the first time in five years, she found something that seemed so real to her. 

She recalled back when she had woken up from the coma and came to find her identification documents. She had read her name 'Katherine Miller' a hundred times but it didn't seem… real.

"But how?" she questioned.

Chairman Young was taken aback and raised a brow. She repeated, "How is this possible? How am I Katherine Young?"

The corners of his mouth turned down, "I wish I knew. I wish you could tell me what happened to you…"

Katherine shook her head, opening her mouth like she was about to say something but didn't really know what. Her gaze settled on her hand that the old man was holding; surprised and not surprised that it didn't feel unpleasant. If anything, she actually felt oddly comfortable with the way he was gripping her hand. It felt warm.

It was so different from Damien's warmth. This was the kind of warmth which… she didn't even have anything to compare it to. How would she know what a grandparent's warmth feels like? Her mind suddenly brought her to how Nana held her several times. It wasn't the same but it was somehow close.

"Ah," Chairman Young released Katherine's hand and turned to Frank, holding his palm out to his assistant as if he was asking for something. Frank immediately took out a thick manila envelope from his inner coat and handed it to his Master. "You may want to look at these pictures. It may help you remember," he said, giving the envelope to Katherine.

Hesitantly, she received the envelope and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She didn't take out the entire stock inside the envelope, instead, she only took out the first picture on top and held it in front of her. 

It was a family portrait of three – a man, a woman, and a girl. She stared at it for a long time, feeling pain and emptiness in her chest. A drop of liquid fell on the picture and her fingers subconsciously touched her eyes only to find that she was in tears and she didn't even know why.

Chairman Young smiled and started telling her about the picture that she was holding but she couldn't hear a thing about what he was saying. Her eyes were settled on the family picture while all her other senses were shut off – she couldn't hear anything nor taste, smell or feel at the moment… Nothing.

…

The Gentlemen's Club

It had been more than an hour since Damien spoke to Katherine and he had been restless since. He and five other men were seated in a VIP area, discussing business that would involve billions of dollars over a round of drinks. The club was relatively empty because it was still afternoon and the show that evening wasn't going to start until nine p.m.

He was half-listening to what they were talking about but his mind would always wander towards the phone call that he had with Katherine earlier.

She had assured him that everything was fine but he had a gut feeling that it was not. Maybe he was just overthinking things but he couldn't help but worry about it. The meeting he had today with his friends had been set up since a month ago because the others were all so busy with their own businesses that it was the only day they were all available.

He had thought about ditching it but he couldn't just do so, which was why he stayed for a couple of hours more, trying to keep himself composed while they dabbled in the planning.

Caleb clamped Damien's shoulder as he nodded to the side. They walked a few meters away from the table and Caleb asked, "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Damien replied casually.

"No. Something's bothering you. You have been distracted since we got here."

Damien sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he told his friend, "I called Katherine earlier. She told me that she was having lunch with Chairman Young."

"What?" Caleb leaned back, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"I don't know. I don't even know how they know each other. It's strange..."

"Well… I introduced them one time when I brought Katherine around to see some establishments. You know, for the contractor bidding? It was the same day as Young Corporation's library restoration project's opening. Do you think this has something to do with that? You... don't think they're trying to buy her support?"

Damien shook his head, "I don't think so. I don't know. I've never heard of Young Corporation using underhanded methods. But hasn't Chairman Young stepped out of the scene already? He hasn't done any first-hand deals since… as of what I know. He'd already handed the company over to his daughter."

"Huh… That is indeed strange. Have you called to check up on her?"

"No… she told me she would text me after but I haven't heard from her since." Damien whipped out his phone and there were no calls or texts from Katherine.

Before Caleb could even suggest to call her, Damien had already dialed Katherine's number on his screen. He held his breath, listening to the multiple rings from his speaker, releasing his breath only when he heard the operator's voice asking if he was going to leave a voice message.

Damien tried calling again but she still did not answer. He turned to Caleb who was watching him the entire time and before he could even ask, his friend already nodded his head, giving him a go signal.

"Thanks." Damien sprinted out of the club and jumped into his car.