The Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 391: [ Volume 1] Chaper 390- A moment of mistake.

Chapter 391: [ Volume 1] Chaper 390- A moment of mistake.

Before Ray could finish, Ryan cut him off. His voice was steady, but there was an undeniable weight behind his words.

"That she chose to protect us," Ryan said, meeting Ray’s burning gaze. "That she didn’t care about herself. That she transferred her power to a child she believed could handle it, a child she thought had the strongest will to protect her."

The room fell into silence.

Ray’s hand froze mid-air, his grip on Ryan’s collar loosening as his brother’s words echoed in his mind. His breath hitched, his heart pounding as realization hit him like a crashing wave.

Yes, Esme had said it herself—the power would only be transferred to the child she had the strongest desire to protect. But in his blinding rage, he hadn’t truly listened. He had been so consumed by his emotions that he had ignored the truth right in front of him.

Ryan’s voice broke through his spiraling thoughts again.

"Let’s be clear, bro. Are you really angry at Esme because of what she did? Or are you angry at yourself?"

Ray’s eyes flickered with something unspoken, something raw.

"Are you truly angry at her? Or are you just furious at yourself because you couldn’t find her all these years—knowing she was still here, in this city?"

At that moment, it felt like Ryan had slapped him across the face. His body suddenly felt weak, like all his energy had been drained. His hands fell to his sides, his mind a chaotic storm of thoughts.

Was he really angry at Esme?

Or was he angry at himself for failing to protect her? For not searching harder? For letting her slip away when she had been suffering in silence all this time?

He turned to his other brothers, seeking some kind of answer. But they merely lowered their heads, unwilling to meet his gaze. They had heard everything too. And yet, no one spoke.

Not because they had nothing to say. But because there were no words that could ease the weight of this truth.

Ryan adjusted his collar, brushing off the wrinkles where Ray had grabbed him. His voice was calmer now, but the weight of his words didn’t lessen.

"I know," he said. "I know that out of all of us, you were the most vulnerable. You suffered the most. Nearly dying in a hospital bed, taking care of the children, the company—everything. But do you really have to blame her? Do you really have to take all that anger out on her?"

His voice dropped slightly, a bitter edge creeping in.

"We didn’t even ask how she was, Ray."

The room felt impossibly small.

"Do you know what it means to wake up after three years in a coma? To open your eyes to a world that’s completely changed? She had no one. No doctor, no friend, no family to help her adjust. She couldn’t return to her own home. She couldn’t meet the people she once knew. For the world, Esme was dead."

Ryan’s voice faltered, but only for a second.

"And yet, the first thing she did—the very first thing—was protect us."

Ray swallowed, his throat dry.

"She could’ve stayed hidden. She could’ve disappeared, just like she did for the past three years. If she had, not even the organization would’ve found her. But instead, she stepped into the light. She let them see her. She caused an uproar—because she knew that if she didn’t, they’d come for us instead."

Silence fell again.

Ryan let the silence linger for a moment before speaking again, his voice softer but no less firm.

"Let’s be honest, brother... Do you really think what she did was wrong? Are you absolutely sure you wouldn’t have done the same if you were in her place?"

Ray opened his mouth, ready to snap back—to say that he would never, could never, do something like that to his children. But the words wouldn’t come.

For the first time, his conviction wavered.

Why?

Why couldn’t he say it?

His throat tightened as he tried to form the words, but they refused to come out. Because deep down, beneath all the anger and resentment, something else lurked—doubt.

Would he really have chosen differently? 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

If he had been in Esme’s place—if he had to choose between children he had never seen and the lives of his brothers and Esme, would he have made a different decision? Would he have risked everything for an unknown future while the people he loved stood in danger right in front of him?

His hands clenched at his sides, but his mind was a whirlwind of emotions. He wanted to be angry, to hold onto his frustration, but it was slipping through his fingers like sand.

Because the truth was, he didn’t know.

And maybe—just maybe—he had been wrong all along.

Ryan took a step closer, his voice quieter now, almost pleading.

"Brother, I know. I understand your anger. The children... they aren’t just yours. We love them too. They are ours as well. But the love you feel for them might be different—you carried them in your womb for months, you felt their every movement, their every breath before they were even born. But let’s not forget... Esme is their mother too."

Ray’s breath hitched.

"Do you remember earlier," Ryan continued, "how she was caressing the scribbles the children made on the wall? The way she looked at them... her expression..."

Ray’s mind reeled as the memory surfaced—unbidden, vivid.

Esme, standing by the wall, her fingers ghosting over the crude drawings the children had scrawled. The way she had traced each uneven line with such tenderness, as if it were the most precious thing in the world. The way her eyes had shimmered, her lashes damp, her lips trembling with the weight of emotions she never spoke aloud.

Her warmth had been undeniable, overflowing.

She had looked at those scribbles the way a mother looks at something irreplaceable.

Ray swallowed hard, his throat tight.

He had been so caught up in his anger, his pain, that he hadn’t really seen her back then. But now, as the memory replayed, it was like looking at it for the first time.

Esme had loved them.

She still loved them.

And that realization shook something deep within him.