Chapter 959 Winston is Back
In the living room.
A crowd had gathered around Carl, their faces etched with concern.
"Grandfather, please wake up..." Ethan's voice carried both worry and urgency.
"I told you your heart couldn't handle watching that footage," Dennis muttered, incredulous that the elderly man had collapsed the moment the video ended.
Nearby, Winslow sat with her eyes squeezed shut, tears streaming down her cheeks unchecked.
"Don't cry, Ms. Nelson," Vanessa said gently, rubbing Winslow's back in consolation. "We should act as if that granddaughter never existed. Someone like her isn't worth your tears."
Winslow's heart ached with a mixture of grief and rage. She had imagined that finding their lost granddaughter would bring warmth and joy to their home—never in her wildest nightmares had she expected Lola to commit such unconscionable acts behind their backs. Without today's video evidence, they would never have known the extent of Abella's suffering.
A sharp-eyed servant spotted Abella approaching and brightened immediately, as if witnessing salvation itself.
"Ms. Medici is here!"
Every head turned toward her entrance. Despite her hurried pace, Abella moved with an effortless grace that commanded attention—her cool, confident presence both striking and reassuring.
"Grandmother, you're here?" Abella offered Winslow a warm smile before kneeling beside the sofa. Her slender fingers found Carl's wrist with practiced precision. "Emotional shock has caused vascular compression, leading to syncope."
Without hesitation, she unrolled her acupuncture kit and selected a fine needle, placing it at the corresponding pressure point with surgical accuracy. After several strategic insertions, Carl's eyelids fluttered open.
The room erupted in relieved exclamations as everyone crowded around him.
"Ms. Medici is remarkable—just a few needles and he's recovered!"
"Thank heavens Mr. Medici is awake!"
"Grandfather, you're finally back with us."
As Carl's vision cleared through the cacophony of voices, his gaze settled on Abella's face. His emotions immediately overwhelmed him again, tears spilling over.
"Abella, this family has failed you." He grasped Abella's hand with trembling fingers, his voice breaking.
"Grandfather, breathe deeply first—your health is what matters," Abella soothed him gently. "This family hasn't failed me. On the contrary, the love and warmth I've received here is beyond measure. The wrongdoing belongs to Lola, and to Jacob and Maria who manipulated her into making those choices. You mustn't blame yourselves—this has nothing to do with any of you."
"If we hadn't been so blind to her true nature, you wouldn't have endured six months of suffering in this house... My poor granddaughter."
Carl, who had maintained his dignity throughout a lifetime of challenges, now held Abella close and wept like a child. "We've wronged you terribly. We were such fools to keep someone like that close to us... You must have been so heartbroken, child. I'm so sorry."
Abella patted his back consolingly. "I wasn't heartbroken—she's the one who should be devastated. She had everything handed to her and threw it all away. She must be drowning in regret now."
"Grandfather, it's freezing out here, and you're getting tears all over Abella's clothes." Dennis intervened, pulling them apart. "This isn't worth such dramatics. So we discovered we'd been harboring a viper—big deal. We've already dealt with her appropriately. If you feel you owe Abella something, then show it through actions: money, gifts, time spent together. What's all this weeping going to accomplish?"
"You impudent boy." Carl raised his hand as if to swat him, but Dennis's irreverent words actually coaxed a reluctant smile through his tears.
"Come on, you're both grown adults. Wipe those tears away. And Grandmother, this crying doesn't suit your iron lady reputation. In the old days, if someone dared hurt our family, you would have marched over there with a baseball bat."
Winslow shot him a reproachful look—the boy's tongue was as sharp as ever—but her mood had noticeably lifted, the tempest of her grief finally beginning to subside.
"Stop terrorizing Abella, both of you," Dennis continued, affectionately ruffling Abella's hair. "This poor girl has been run ragged since coming home—always someone to save, always some crisis to handle."
"Abella, come sit beside me," Winslow said, dabbing at her eyes and beckoning Abella closer. "Dennis is right—instead of wallowing in regret, we should focus on making amends. Words can't undo the past, but I still need to apologize. We thought you and Lola could coexist peacefully. We never imagined her jealousy and resentment ran so deep."
"Grandmother, please don't feel indebted to me. In the six months since I've been home, I've received more love than I did in eighteen years with the Wilson family—a thousand times more. Everyone in the Medici family has been wonderful to me. I'm genuinely happy to be reunited with all of you."
Her words hit everyone like a punch to the gut. They realized with painful clarity that what they'd given her paled in comparison to the eighteen years of attention they'd lavished on Lola. Every detail of care, every consideration they'd shown the false granddaughter far exceeded what Abella had received. Yet this remarkable girl harbored no resentment—only gratitude.
Their emotional defenses crumbled again, eyes reddening with fresh tears.
"Sir, Madam, Mr. Winston Medici has returned!" a servant announced breathlessly.
Both elderly couples quickly wiped their faces and struggled to compose themselves, determined not to lose control again.
Winston paused in the doorway, taken aback by the scene before him. "What's all this? Quite the gathering we have here."
Both sets of grandparents were present? He made his rounds greeting everyone, and as he drew closer, noticed their red-rimmed eyes. Only Abella smiled brightly at him.
"Winston, you're back?"
He ruffled her hair with tender affection—seeing her always dissolved his exhaustion, leaving only pure contentment.
"I've been tied up with several cases recently—built some new systems, installed cutting-edge firewalls. I could have returned sooner, but there was a high-profile murder in the neighboring city. The pressure was intense, so I stayed to complete the autopsies on several victims before coming home."
Winston's tone remained characteristically gentle as he surveyed the room. "What's happened here? What were you all discussing? Why does everyone look like they've been crying?"
"The warehouse surveillance footage," Abella said simply.
That single phrase told Winston everything he needed to know. He'd seen the footage himself and had spoken with Abella extensively about the aftermath, checking on her emotional state repeatedly through calls and video chats.
He'd discovered that his sister had emerged remarkably unscathed—the incident hadn't disrupted her daily routine in the slightest. She continued her work with characteristic determination. It was his family members who seemed unable to move past their grief and outrage.
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