Chapter 1101


    The atmosphere suddenly got so serious that even Carmen held her tongue while she was sitting in


    Anna’sp. She observed her surroundings wide-eyed, knowing that she wasn’t allowed to interject when


    the grown-ups were talking about important stuff. On the other hand, Anne didn’t care about that, for she


    still reached out to hold Anna’s arm while calling out to thetter. “Aunt Anna—”


    However, Anna shot her a prating nce that was devoid of all her earlier gentleness. Now, the look


    in her eyes was one of frostiness, and she made it clear to Anne to keep silent while she said in a


    hushed voice, “Shut up and hear what Mr. Fletcher has to say.” However, her sternness melted away into


    tenderness as soon as she turned back to Carmen. Still holding onto Carmen, she allowed Carmen to


    lean into her embrace, whereas Carmen sat there in silentpliance while observing her surroundings.


    Although Anne said nothing, she was in fact feeling aggrieved. She bit on her lip, her eyes reddening as


    stole nces at Carmen, who had taken Anna’s bracelet. It was handed over to Sophia, who put it into


    her bag after wrapping it using her handkerchief.


    The situation left Anne feeling resentful. She didn’t understand why Anna would give the bracelet to that


    child, nor did she understand why Carmen seemed to be liked by everyone, so much so that both Louis


    and Anna would present her with such expensive gifts. However, she dared not vocalize any of her


    intense hatred. Indeed, she could throw a hissy fit in front of Louis, but she feared Anna. She didn’t have


    the courage to stand up against Anna, nor did she dare throw a tantrum while in Anna’s presence.


    Meanwhile, Mark was observing the younger generation while sitting beside Louis. Although he


    seemed to have something to say, he eventually decided against it. “Louis, I think you should be the


    one to divulge this.”


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Nodding his head, Louis heaved a sigh while ncing between Michael and Anna before revealing the


    secret that the Osbornes had kept hidden for decades. “The truth is, I used to be a Yard, but my family


    took on the surname of Osborne starting from my father’s generation.”


    So the rumors are true… The crowd seemed to be anticipating that, as none of them looked too


    astonished. After all, Xena and Anna’s identical appearance was indicative enough of their identity as


    twins, whereas it was widely known that the Osbornes used to be vassals to the Yards.


    Meanwhile, Louis began telling them the stories of the past. “The whole story is in fact about the


    consequences of my ancestors’ actions. My grandfather disobeyed the rules that his ancestors set down


    by colluding with foreigners in his attempt to restore the past glory of the Yards. However, he wound up


    leading the enemies into Cethos, which the Yards paid for dearly. My grandfather was the head of the


    n who made that decision back then. He paid the ultimate price for it, as he was killed on the cruise.”


    The Fletchers knew what happenedter on. While Louis’ grandfather brought with him the enemies of


    Cethos in an attempt to return to Lombardi River to revive the Yard Dynasty, they made their way into the


    country on a cruise. However, Mark’s father caught wind of their return beforehand, so he led the


    Fletchers in an assault to take over the cruise, killing Louis’ grandfather and countless of his fellow kin in


    the process. Only children and womenfolk survived the massacre that happened on the open sea.


    Before he was even born, Louis’ father lost his own father and all of his uncles, so he would be


    considered as thest remaining heir of the Yard Family when he was born. The situation meant that he


    would be threatened by the branch family that had been plotting to overthrow them all the while.


    Therefore, the Osbornes took him away. They changed his surname in order to protect him, but it also


    meant that the Yards lost their sole legitimate heir, which left the family in the branch family’s control for


    decades.


    Neither Louis nor his father were twins, so the Yards didn’t perceive them as threats, even forgetting


    them eventually. However, Louis himself had twin daughters, which quickly painted a target on their


    backs. It resulted in the Yards sending hitmen after his twin daughters, forcing Louis to flee the country to


    find refuge all over the world.


    The Yards were so powerful back then that no ce was safe from them except for Cethos. They


    couldn’t do anything while in Cethos, as the country itself was intolerant of their presence.


    “So, I smuggled both my daughters, namely Anna and Xena, back into Cethos in hopes of surviving the


    ordeal, only to lose Anna in the process.” Louis teared up at the mention of that particr section, but he


    quickly changed the topic while looking at Michael. “However, the Yards weren’t about to dawdle while


    waiting for me to find Anna. I was without money nor connections, whereas Xena was ill, but luckily for


    us, I was still able to secure my friend’s assistance.”


    Louis was full of gratitude when he mentioned his friend. “She brought me home. She treated Xena, as


    well as provided us with the necessary protection. We spent five years under her protection before


    returning to our own country.”


    Staring at Michael, Louis went on to say, “The friend who offered us her protection was none other than


    your mother, Elizabeth Murray. Your parents saved Xena and I, which allowed us to reunite with Anna


    later on. Unfortunately, both your parents died an untimely death, so I never had the chance to repay


    them for their kindness.”


    Following Louis’ story, Mark said, “The Fletchers and Yards have aplicated rtionship with each


    other. Theo decided to protect Louis anyway even after knowing that Louis was a direct descendant of


    the Yards. He went as far as issuing a warning to the Yards, which served to protect Louis from further


    harm. Seeking revenge from each other will only result in a vicious cycle without an end in sight, so the


    Fletchers and Yards decided toe to a truce after all is said and done.”


    The story gave the rest of the upants in the room a lot of rity on their past. Meanwhile, Mark


    continued, “Due to the dire circumstances back then, everything was done in secret without leaving


    behind any form of written documentation. Everyone who was involved was also sworn to secrecy. After


    all those years, I almost forgot about what happened, but now that Louis has found both his daughters


    and returned them to the Yard Family, it’s time to make things official.”


    Anna didn’t shy away from the mention of the history of the Yards. “After being exiled from Cethos, the


    Yards settled down in a foreignnd, but they never tried to regain their status in Cethos with the help of


    foreigners. A hundred years ago, my ancestors broke themandment, so we were destined to suffer


    such a fate. Therefore, the Fletchers shouldn’t be med for our downfall. In order to atone for my


    ancestors’ past mistakes, I had been collecting the artefacts that were lost due to the war back then.


    Every small step is a worthwhile effort in our atonement.”


    Now that Anna was back in Cethos, she donated all of the artefacts to the country unconditionally. Upon


    hearing Anna’s story, Sophia admired her even more for her righteousness. Meanwhile, Anna looked at


    Mark with gratitude. “I only came to know fairly recently that it was Theo and Elizabeth who saved my


    family. I am grateful for their efforts, as well as yours, Mr. Fletcher.”


    With a wave of his hand, Mark said, “It’s nothing.”


    It wasn’t until then that Sophia knew about the shared history between the Yards and the Fletchers.


    Seeing how righteous of a person Anna was gave Sophia an even better impression of her. On the other


    hand, both Michael and Cooper fell silent after that, as none of them ever knew the full extent of the


    story.


    However, there were certain parts that Cooper already knew about, so the story served to fill in some


    missing details, whereas Michael had made his own deductions based on what little he knew. Without a


    doubt, the baby whom Annabel’s mother brought home from the train station was none other than Anna.


    After the full story was ryed, Mark had the Yards and Sophia’s family stay for a meal. On the other


    hand, Anna seemed to have taken a great liking to Carmen as she had been holding Carmen throughout


    the meal, and even Sophia had to move to sit beside Anna.


    In the meantime, Cooper kept his silence throughout the meal, but his sharp gaze never left Anna, as he


    was observing her tastes and preferences, only to find them to be exactly the same as Annabel’s. Even if


    a person were to lose their memories, their tastes and habits would be retained in their subconscious,


    much like Sophia who retained hers even after suffering from amnesia.