Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid novel Chapter 347

Chapter 347: Chapter 347 Pieces of the Past

Rose stood frozen.

"...Mine?"

The single word barely made it past her lips.

She had come to ask about the jade pendant so she could answer Grace’s questions. Grace had hoped the Bennett family might be willing to sell it to the Taylor family someday.

Instead...

Her grandfather had just told her it had once belonged to her.

Rose struggled to process what she’d heard.

Her childhood memories were fragmented at best.

After everything that had happened to her family, her early years had become little more than scattered flashes. Anything before the age of six existed only as blurred images and emotions she could no longer piece together.

Gabriel continued staring at the picture on her phone.

His usually cloudy eyes seemed unusually clear.

"You were such a handful," he murmured with a fond smile. "Always climbing trees, running around, getting into places you weren’t supposed to."

He chuckled softly to himself.

"Your mother worried you’d crack the jade one day, so she put it away for safekeeping."

He tapped the photo gently.

"You were too young to understand."

"It wasn’t safe to leave something that valuable at the Hill house."

"So we kept it locked away at the antique store."

His smile faded.

"And your father..."

The old man’s expression darkened.

"He couldn’t be trusted with something like that."

His voice trailed off.

His thoughts had already begun wandering elsewhere.

Rose sat perfectly still.

Her pulse thundered in her ears.

One impossible thought refused to leave her mind.

The Taylor family...

That pendant...

Why did they care so much about something that had once belonged to me?

Before she could ask another question, Gabriel suddenly looked around the room.

"Where’s Morgan?"

His voice had become anxious.

"Why hasn’t she visited me?"

The abrupt change caught Rose completely off guard.

Her grandfather’s brief moment of clarity had already begun slipping away.

He no longer remembered where his daughter was.

He only knew he missed her.

Rose forced a smile despite the sting behind her eyes.

"Mom’s been busy lately."

"You know how she is."

"She’ll come see you soon."

Gabriel sighed.

"I suppose..."

He nodded slowly.

"She always works too hard."

*****

After leaving Gabriel’s room, Rose didn’t head for the elevator.

Instead, she sat alone on a bench outside the rehabilitation wing.

Her mind refused to slow down.

Too many things had happened in too short a time.

Her mother’s accident.

Daisy’s crimes.

The forged ownership records.

The pendant.

Each revelation felt connected somehow.

Almost as though invisible hands had spent years arranging every piece...

Only for the entire puzzle to suddenly fall into place.

She had no idea how long she’d been sitting there.

Footsteps echoed down the quiet hallway.

A pair of polished black dress shoes stopped in front of her.

Rose looked up.

Ryan stood there with one hand in his pocket, looking down at her.

"What are you thinking about?"

She blinked.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit a friend who’s recovering from surgery."

He nodded toward the elevators.

"And while I’m here, I figured I’d stop by and see your grandfather."

Rose couldn’t help thinking how strange the timing was.

"What a coincidence."

Then, almost without thinking, she added, "You seem to have a lot of free time these days."

She knew Kingswell Group had taken a serious hit after confidential strategic plans had been leaked.

Seeing Ryan at the hospital in the middle of the afternoon wasn’t something she would have expected before.

Ryan ignored the implication.

Instead, he looked at her calmly.

"You don’t have to worry."

Rose frowned.

"I’m not worried."

"I mean you don’t need to feel obligated because I drove you yesterday."

He spoke matter-of-factly.

"We’re divorced."

"I wasn’t expecting anything."

Rose stood.

"That’s exactly my point."

She looked him straight in the eye.

"We’re divorced."

"You don’t owe me anything."

"And I don’t owe you."

"My grandfather doesn’t know we’ve separated."

"If you keep visiting him, he’ll only get the wrong idea."

She paused.

"It’ll only make things harder later."

Ryan remained seated.

"So divorce means two people can never speak again?"

Rose frowned.

"Isn’t that how it usually works?"

He looked at her quietly.

"You’re very good at cutting people out of your life."

There wasn’t any anger in his voice.

"They could’ve just taken the original."

"The counterfeit wasn’t cheap either."

"It was carved from genuine jade."

"So why go through all that trouble?"

Ryan remained silent.

James answered his own question.

"The only explanation is they learned about it from Bennett Antiques."

"But somehow..."

"They never got their hands on the real one."

Ryan finally spoke.

"Maybe."

James laughed softly.

"I don’t care how strange it is."

"This has to be a good sign."

"I knew my sister was still alive."

"We finally have another lead."

Every item displayed inside Bennett Antiques came with detailed acquisition records.

If the store still had documentation for the pendant...

Someone would know exactly where it came from.

Ryan listened quietly before asking,

"Have you considered another possibility?"

James paused.

"What do you mean?"

Ryan’s voice stayed even.

"The pendant has been with the Bennett family all these years."

"So ask yourself one question."

"Why?"

Silence answered him.

Ryan continued.

"If it’s really that important..."

"Why wasn’t it ever sold?"

"Why keep it hidden away?"

"And while you’re investigating..."

"You should probably learn more about the Bennett family themselves."

James stopped breathing for a moment.

When he finally spoke again, his voice was much quieter.

"...You think there’s a connection."

"I’m saying you should verify the facts before drawing conclusions."

Ryan stood.

"Especially after everything that’s happened with Samantha."

"The Taylor family has already attracted enough attention."

"Keep a low profile."

With that, Ryan ended the call.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and headed toward the rehabilitation wing.

Rose had made one thing perfectly clear.

She didn’t want him visiting Gabriel anymore.

Ryan acknowledged her opinion.

Then ignored it completely.

A few moments later, he pushed open the rehabilitation center’s doors and walked inside.