Deep in thought, she skimmed through the diagnosis and stopped at the section that stated other irregularities that were noticed.
'A tattoo of a massive beast, numerous scars, bullet holes, and knife marks. Just what has he passed through to get here? I also can't shake off the feeling that this isn't a plot.'
Worry flashed across her face about the life of the boy before her. What sort of life he must have lived since growing up. She was his grandmother after all. At the same time, skepticism and suspicion arose. She was also a mother and grandmother to many and, more importantly, the leader of a massive family empire.
If it was a plot, then it was a good one, and she needed to discover its roots as soon as possible.
'Either way, nothing else can be done about this situation other than to accept him, for he is one of us.'
Rose lowered the medical report onto the bedside table.
"For now," she said quietly, "there's only one thing I want you to understand."
She paused, searching his face.
"You don't have to answer where you've been."
Jul looked at her without speaking.
"I can see you've been through things most people never should." Her eyes drifted briefly toward the bandages wrapped around his body. "Whatever happened... we'll learn the truth in time.
Silence settled between them.
Rose drew a slow breath before continuing. "There are things you deserve to know."
She folded her hands together.
"While you were gone… your father passed away."
Jul remained expressionless.
"And two years ago…" she continued softly, "…your grandfather followed him."
'This is strange.' Jul mused, 'Honestly, I know all of this. Their names, history, even down to their personal details about a missing heir years ago.'
As a member of an organization also based within the same region the Mercers were based in, it was almost a requirement to know about them.
'Though, who would have thought that all this while, I was that lost heir had I never left the region to begin with.'
A faint smile, heavy with regret, appeared on her face as she spoke, "They both believed you would come home one day. Because of that, I too believed it."
Her gaze met his once more.
"That's why we never stopped looking."
At some point, any normal family would have given up. However, the Mercer family weren't ordinary. It wasn't founded by a normal person with a normal mindset.
She stood from her chair.
"On behalf of the Mercer family…" she said, inclining her head slightly, "I'm sorry."
"Sorry we couldn't find you. Sorry for whatever you endured during those fifteen years. On behalf of the family, all we can do now is atone. Whatever happened before today…"
She looked at him with a mixture of guilt, relief, and resolve.
"…you're home now. You're a Mercer."
A brief silence passed between them.
"Atone, huh?" Jul said, his face fixed on the ceiling.
"Yes, atone," Rose repeated, staring at her grandson with complex emotions. She didn't need anyone to tell her. This lost boy, now a man, had faced a lot.
For a moment, Jul reminisced about everything that had happened to him, everything he had done, and how everything led up to this moment.
"Fifteen years…"
In those fifteen years, he had earned something more valuable than wealth. It was something many sought and died for. An achievement. A recognition.
A name.
Everything he did was associated with that name. Every action, every word, every move he made, was always attributed to that name.
To many, it was just a name. Yet the same name is what struck fear into the hearts of several when they heard it, a name that made even the cruelest people think several times before making any move.
He wasn't even going to be surprised if Rose had an inkling of his identity.
Now lying here beneath the identity of another life, a more influential and powerful one at that, made him gauge his other life.
He opened his mouth to speak the most honest words he had ever said in the past fifteen years,
"I fought. Over and over again… At some point, Jul Mercer died."
Rose listened, unmoving.
"I don't regret the decisions I made, the things I did, the name I made for myself, because in the end it was all worth it. In the end, those decisions were made by me, for me, and at last, I survived."
'It's only a pity, kid. How long can I live as Jul Mercer?'