The Surrogate He Discarded

”In the hospital,” Isobel blurted out.

The moment the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake. She had sent the wrong message—and judging by the sudden silence on the other end of the call, everyone had heard it.

”What?”

Chairs scraped sharply against the floor.

One by one, everyone around the dining table rose from their seats, alarm flashing across their faces.

Kristine instinctively pressed a hand to her chest, while Julian’s brows knitted together in concern.

Leanne visibly paled, and even Judy, who had remained relatively detached from the conversation, leaned closer to Morgan, her expression suddenly tense.

”Why don’t you ask her to switch to a video call?” Leanne suggested, her voice betraying her uneasiness.

”It’s not what you think!” Isobel hurriedly explained.

”I’m fine. It’s not me who’s in the hospital.”

A collective sigh of relief escaped the room.

Morgan, however, remained tense.

”Then why are you in the hospital, Sis?” he demanded. ”Are you hurt? Wait there. I’m coming.”

”It’s okay, Bro. I’m not hurt.” Isobel paused, then added, ”I found my uncle.”

”Your uncle?” Morgan repeated, his voice rising.

”Rosella’s brother?”

At the mention of the name, Julian’s expression changed.

His shoulders stiffened, and the color seemed to drain from his face.

”Wait there,” Morgan said firmly. ”I’ll come and get you.”

”It’s really okay, Bro. I can handle it.”

There was a brief silence.

Then Isobel remembered something else.

”I also forgot to call earlier. I’m sorry.” Her voice sounded apologetic. ” I won’t be coming home for dinner tonight.”

”Stay there,” Morgan said, his tone leaving no room for argument. ”I’ll be there soon.”

The call ended.

Morgan immediately reached for his jacket and turned toward the door.

”You haven’t eaten anything,” Kristine reminded him.

”I’ll eat when I get back. If I’m too late, I’ll eat at the hospital.”

”I’ll go with you,” Julian offered, already beginning to rise.

Morgan stopped him with a look.

”No, Dad.”

Julian froze.

”You’re the last person her uncle would want to see,” Morgan continued bluntly. ”I’m pretty sure he’d want to skin you alive.”

The words struck harder than Morgan intended.

Julian’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

After a long moment, he slowly lowered himself back into his chair. His shoulders sagged, the weight of the past suddenly pressing down on him.

Morgan wasn’t wrong.

After everything that had happened to Rosella, Julian had no right to expect a warm welcome from the brother she had left behind.

Leon must have hated him back then. Especially when he left without saying goodbye and did not bother to send word after that.

Julian lowered his gaze to the untouched food on the table.

For the first time that evening, he found himself wondering what kind of man Leon had become—and whether, after all these years, he would ever forgive the man whose disappearance had led to his sister’s tragic death.

...

At the hospital, Randy and Yana sat huddled close to Isobel, occupying the front row of metal chairs in the waiting area reserved for companions of patients rushed into the emergency room.

Isobel barely noticed the uncomfortable seats beneath her.

Her mind was still reeling from the revelation that the two beggars she had rescued earlier were actually her uncle’s grandchildren.

Their mother was her only first cousin on her mother’s side—the last living link to a family Isobel had never known existed.

No wonder she had felt inexplicably drawn to the two children from the moment she saw them. Something deep inside her had urged her to help them, a strange pull she could not explain until now.

Perhaps it was the bond of blood, a connection so deeply buried that even years of separation could not erase it.

Or perhaps it was her mother, Rosella. ℴℴ𝘮

Maybe from somewhere beyond this world, Rosella had been watching over the children, silently guiding Isobel toward the grandchildren she had never known existed.

The thought made Isobel’s heart ache.

For the first time in her life, she wondered if she had truly been alone all these years.

Perhaps her mother had never completely left her.

Perhaps, in her own mysterious way, Rosella had been leading her back to the family she had never met.

A faint warmth spread through Isobel’s chest.

Then a distant siren suddenly tore through her chaotic thoughts.

Isobel snapped back to reality.

One siren became two.

Then three.

Within moments, the sound grew louder, faster, more urgent—until the entire emergency ward seemed to hold its breath.

The noise became a chorus of sirens that wailed outside, growing louder as they approached.

The waiting area erupted into commotion.

Orderlies rushed toward the emergency entrance. Even several janitors abandoned their usual duties and hurried after them, pushing empty wheelchairs and stretchers toward the doors.

”Hurry! Get all available personnel ready!” a doctor in a white coat barked.

”There’s been a major accident in the Old Town. An old residential complex collapsed. More than a dozen people are injured!”

The announcement sent a ripple of unease through the waiting area.

Isobel instinctively turned toward the emergency entrance.

The Old Town lay only two kilometers downriver from East Bridge, on the opposite bank of the river. Unlike the modern districts surrounding it, the historic quarter had remained almost untouched by time.

As its name suggested, the Old Town was a sprawling heritage district filled with centuries-old buildings and narrow cobblestone streets that stretched for nearly a kilometer. Carriages had once traveled those roads, their wheels rattling over the uneven stones while the rhythmic clip-clop of horses echoed between the weathered colonial houses.

Even now, antique streetlamps cast a warm glow over the old stone facades, preserving an atmosphere that belonged to another era.

Modern vehicles were banned from the district, allowing its historic character to remain protected under the watchful eye of the National Heritage Council.

Isobel’s eyes widened.

She suddenly remembered hearing that one of the old castles in the district was undergoing extensive renovations.

Could that be where the accident happened?

A strange uneasiness settled in Isobel’s chest.

She turned toward the emergency room as another stretcher disappeared behind the swinging doors.

Then a man entered, his clothes stained with blood.

Isobel froze.