Chapter 128: Do You Remember?
Franklin Whitman and Yolanda Young were a mess of emotions.
They had tried to prepare themselves before Caroline Whitman arrived, but it was clear that it hadn’t been enough.
Their wildest guess had been that the child was somehow related to Caroline Whitman and Adrian Grant, but they never imagined it would be like this.
Honestly, if it hadn’t been their own daughter, they probably would have taken her to have her head examined at a psychiatric hospital.
"Darling, has the pressure at work been too much lately? Are you losing your mind? Why don’t I take you to see a psychiatrist?"
Franklin Whitman asked, his voice laced with hesitation.
The Whitman Group had grown so quickly over the years, and his daughter’s contributions were undeniable. That was precisely why he couldn’t bring himself to believe she had actually lost her mind.
Caroline Whitman pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation. ’I knew it. I knew this was exactly how my parents would react.’
’Unfortunately, Ryan’s appearance was just timed poorly. If he had suddenly materialized in the old family mansion, they might have actually believed it.’
’Even now, if I have Ryan reveal some of Franklin and Yolanda’s old secrets, my parents will probably just assume I was the one feeding him the lines from behind the scenes.’
’Still, this is the only way to prove it.’
Adrian had said that the main reason Jonathan Grant and the others were convinced was because of what happened with Zoe Grant.
Caroline decided she had to take the gamble and resort to the old cliché. "Dad, Mom, if you don’t believe me, you can have Ryan tell you a few things about your past."
Yolanda Young replied, "Don’t you already know everything about our past? What’s the point in asking now?"
Seeing Yolanda’s reaction, Caroline thought, ’Just as I expected.’
Caroline said, "I’m not a psychic. How could I possibly know everything about you two? Maybe Ryan knows something I don’t."
Yolanda Young and Franklin Whitman exchanged a look.
’What else could they do?’ Since their daughter had insisted, they might as well play along.
Besides, they were curious to see if it was really as miraculous as she claimed.
Yolanda Young asked Miss Lynch to bring the boy upstairs.
"Are you guys having a meeting?"
Ryan Grant asked curiously as soon as he entered the study and saw the three adults sitting together.
He couldn’t remember ever seeing a scene like this before.
"So you know what a meeting is, huh?" Franklin Whitman chuckled.
’After just a few days with the kid,’ Franklin thought, ’I’ve realized this little tyke knows a surprising number of words.’
"I know. Back then, whenever Mom and Dad were in the study, they were always talking about important things—either work or meetings. Sometimes Dad would drag me into the study to check my homework and make me practice my writing."
Previously, when the child was constantly talking about his "mom and dad," Franklin Whitman and Yolanda Young hadn’t paid it much mind.
But now, hearing Ryan Grant say the words "Mom and Dad" again, they shot a meaningful look at Caroline Whitman.
A question suddenly occurred to them. During the time the boy wasn’t with them or at Jonathan Grant’s place, could it be that Caroline and Adrian were raising him... together?
And if they were raising a child together, they were probably living together.
Caroline pretended not to notice their loaded glances.
She turned, crouched down, and said to Ryan, "Remember what I told you before? That Grandpa and Grandma’s memories aren’t what they used to be."
"I remember. Mom said I shouldn’t upset them, or they might have an episode."
Ryan even knew to lean in close to her ear and whisper it so the others wouldn’t hear.
Franklin Whitman, Yolanda Young: "..."
’So this was how she was spreading rumors about us behind our backs?’ they thought.
Caroline ignored the two intense stares boring into her. "They’re having trouble remembering a few things right now. Can my sweet boy help them remember? Like, maybe some of Grandpa and Grandma’s little secrets..."
Ryan blinked. "Okay."
He ran over to Franklin Whitman and tugged on his large, pudgy hand. "Grandpa, Grandpa, come closer."
He motioned for Franklin to lean down, and Franklin complied. Ryan raised a small hand and whispered something in his ear.
Ryan was an excellent secret-keeper, a true bearer of confidences. Caroline and Yolanda, standing right there, couldn’t hear a single word the boy whispered.
What they did see, however, was Franklin Whitman’s suddenly exaggerated expression. His eyes bulged, his jowls quivered, and his back went ramrod straight as he stared down at Ryan in all seriousness.
"How could you possibly know that?!"
"Grandpa, did you really forget? You’re the one who told me."
"When did I tell you that?"
Ryan blinked his innocent eyes. "That time you took me fishing. I heard you telling the other grandpas, and you even told me not to tell Mom or Grandma."
Caroline: "..."
’What the heck?’
’Did her dad really hide some dirty little secret from her?’
Feeling the probing stares of the mother-daughter duo, Franklin suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
But at the same time, he was utterly baffled. "When did that happen?"
He couldn’t recall ever taking the boy fishing. After all, Caroline had specifically told him not to let the boy be seen by any of her business acquaintances.
So how could he have dared to take the boy fishing with his old cronies? The most he ever did was take him to see Gavin Grant and Jonathan Grant’s family.
Besides, when he took Ryan to see Gavin and Jonathan, they didn’t fish; they played chess.
Ryan started to worry. ’Grandpa’s memory really is getting worse and worse.’
"It was after my third birthday."
Yolanda had seen Franklin’s reaction. That look of shock on his face told her that the boy had definitely hit a nerve.
She shot him a sideways glance. "Franklin Whitman, what have you been hiding from your daughter and me?"
Hearing his full name, Franklin rubbed his nose guiltily. "Well, it was a few years ago... I sank a few million into an investment that went belly-up. I didn’t have the guts to tell you."
If some second-generation heirs are desperate to prove their worth, then Franklin Whitman was a first-generation founder who still felt the need to prove himself.
Back then, the Whitman Group was just starting to take off, and Franklin felt his luck had finally turned. He decided to try his hand at a new venture without relying on his daughter.
He ended up taking some bad investment advice and lost every penny.
’He’d actually lowballed the number just now. It wasn’t a few million—it was over ten million!!!’
’The thought alone made his heart ache!’
He had kept this secret buried deep in his heart and had never told a soul.
Franklin couldn’t imagine that in a few years, he would actually be sharing this story with his old fishing buddies. ’That’s impossible, right?’
Caroline never thought her father still had such a desire to prove himself.
She hesitated before speaking. "The economy hasn’t been great these past few years, Dad. You can’t be so impulsive anymore."
Yolanda added, "That’s right. Don’t go making more trouble for Caroline."
Franklin looked a little embarrassed. "Hey, I learned my lesson the hard way, didn’t I? From now on, I’ll definitely discuss things with my daughter first."
Caroline: "..."
’It’s for the best,’ she thought. ’Everyone has to stumble and fall. You only learn a lesson after you’ve hit a wall yourself.’
’If Dad’s business ventures had always been smooth sailing, it might not have been a good thing in the long run.’
Seeing that Franklin was now mostly convinced, Yolanda muttered to herself,
"’Could it really be this miraculous?’"
She beckoned Ryan over. "Ryan, why don’t you tell Grandma the little secret I told you before?"
Ryan patiently walked over to Yolanda and said in a breathy whisper, "Grandma, lean in closer and I’ll tell you."
Yolanda complied.
Caroline and Franklin watched them curiously, seeing Ryan acting all mysterious, his lips moving as he mumbled something unintelligible.
After a moment, Ryan lowered himself from his tiptoes and looked at Yolanda with anticipation. "Grandma, do you remember now?"
Yolanda looked down at Tiny, her expression a mixture of complex emotions.