Whispers Turn to Whimpers: Could He Ever Change?



"Grandma..." Gilbert mumbled, his head hung low, drowning in a sea of shame.

"You won't talk, huh?"

Sylvia turned to grab Francis. "What about you? Where's your brother? What did you do with him?"

"Grandma..." Francis, too, found himself lost for words.

"You knew all along he was an impostor..."

Sylvia's eyes were clouded with confusion and age.

Then, it struck her like a cold breeze, "I understand now. The boy who came back with you that year... wasn't Gilbert, was he?"

Francis remained silent, his silence a loud admission.

"Oh..."

Sylvia closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks as the realization hit her hard.

She remembered!

The Gilbert who had returned was different; the once gentle and quiet grandson had become defiant and reckless...

"I thought, I really thought..."

Her words trailed off into a whisper.

She had thought his drastic change was due to surviving a kidnapping, not that he had been replaced entirely!

Such a revelation!

The overwhelming joy of having her grandson back had blinded her to the truth.

Now, the joy was replaced with sorrow.

"Gilbert, Gilbert... my boy!"

Sylvia clutched Francis's shirt, demanding, "Where did you take my grandson? Answer me! Give my Gilbert back to me!"

"Grandma..." Francis's face was a picture of helplessness. "My brother... he's gone."

Had his brother not been lost, would he have ever thought to replace him?

Without their parents, he couldn't bear the thought of their grandmother losing yet another family member...

That's why he brought back the person standing before her as Gilbert.

Sylvia froze, her breathing becoming labored.

"Gilbert, Gilbert... My Gilbert is gone?"

Her grief erupted into a cry, "My Gilbert was gone all along, oh no..."

Suddenly, she couldn't catch her breath.

Her eyes rolled back as she collapsed into Francis's arms.

"Grandma!"

"Grandma!"

Francis caught the elderly woman,

while Gilbert quickly moved to heet

taking her into his arms due to his brother's lingering injury.

"I'll call for help!"

"Right!"

Together, they rushed Sylvia to the hospital.

At the hospital, standing side by side, the brothers faced the grim reality.

"It's all my fault; I'm the reason Grandma is in this state," Gilbert said, his brows knotted with guilt.

"Don't say that."

Francis glanced at his brother.

"Bringing you back was my idea et

You were just going along withat. If anything, I'm to blame, not you."

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"No."

Gilbert shook his head, his eyes downcast.

"Before I met you, I was nobody... You gave me a life, a purpose. I can't put this on you."

Francis fell silent, understanding the depth of his brother's loyalty.

Considering that Gilbert hadn'tProperty of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

et

seized the Johnson family fortune during his years of absence, how could he doubt his brother's integrity?

"That package..."

Francis changed the subject. "I've already asked Sawyer to look into it. That person... they're the real cause of Grandma's pain!"