Chapter 718
The car had been on the road for solid two hours before it finally pulled up at the military compound.
The place was crawling with security, with guards posted every five steps.
Steve rolled down his window, showing his face before he was allowed in.
lan had initially planned to leave as soon as Steve got out of the car, but Steve piped up, “Come and chill in my office for a bit.”
He didn’t really have a choice, so he followed Steve out of the car.
They made their way through the building to Steve’s office.
Surprisingly, there was a family photo on Steve’s desk, even Selena was included in it. The family of four looked quite happy together.
lan didn’t quite remember the occasion when it was clicked, so he picked up the frame to take a closer look.
Seeing lan’s interest, Steve, secretly thrilled, immediately pulled out a photo album.
“This album contains pictures of you from when you were a kid. These are from your years in the army, this one is from when you got a medal, and here’s you getting whipped by your grandfather. You were kneeling in the cold, about to pass out.”
lan didn’t remember much, but seeing the picture of himself kneeling, something flickered in his eyes.
Memories related to his time in the army started to come back, but that was it.
Steve didn’t dare disturb him, he sat in his office chair, watching lan slowly flip through the album.
When he saw Eric, lan’s fingers stopped.
He didn’t really remember his older brother, but Eric’s face was obviously gentle.
Unlike lan’s stern aura, Eric was always smiling and talking, and his voice was gentle. Nobody found any reason to dislike him: …
Steve had someone serve two cups of coffee and put one in front of lan.
“You and Eric were really close, you know. When you were in the military, he visited you a couple of times.”
“Really?” He couldn’t quite remember.
“Eric cared a lot about you.”
lan took his time, not finishing with the album until the last picture. It was a picture of Eric around 18 or 19 years old, taken not long before he had died.
Seeing that picture, Steve’s heart sank.
“This was a few days before he was sent on that mission, we were having drinks.”
He wasn’t good at expressing his feelings. Even though he cared about his sons, he often didn’t know how to express himself.
Eric was like the embodiment of kindness, always taking the initiative to chat with his dad, to have drinks with him.
“What did you guys talk about that day?” lan’s tone was indifferent. From the picture, it was clear they were having a good time.
“He said he had a crush on a girl, but I was pretty hammered that night, so I didn’t catch her name.”
“If he already had a girl he liked, why did he still take on such a dangerous mission?”
Steve was silent for a while before he sighed.
“In the Raymond family, each generation has one member who works at the top level. It’s a family tradition. Your brother was the chosen one of this generation. To be more accurate, he volunteered. He was only twelve, but he was incredibly smart, especially in research, he was a prodigy. Being chosen means living like me, restricted by the position, barely having any normal human emotions, even the chance to see family is rare. We work until we retire, but the leaders gave their word, if he could complete that mission, they would give him more time off, even end the contract early.”
lan was gripping the album tightly.
He knew what was coming next, he didn’t need Steve to say it.
He fell in love with someone. Young people can’t stand being apart, so he wanted more time off to be with the girl. So, he decided to risk it.
But he lost, staking his life on it.
Turned out, the genius Eric was also a hopeless romantic.
lan closed the album, seeing Steve rubbing his brow.
“That night I was drunk; I can’t remember the girl’s name he mentioned. If I did, I might be able to find the clues he left behind.”
Because it was his first time chatting with his son, he lost control and got drunk, missing the most important piece of information.
lan put the album back, saying nonchalantly, “I’ll find that woman.”
Steve didn’t say anything, his hand reaching into his pocket, clutching the cross.
But when he saw lan’s retreating figure, he opened his mouth, then sighed.
“Do you want to stay for dinner?”
“No, thank you”
He still had a two–hour drive home; he would be late if he didn’t leave now.
lan walked towards the door, but he had seen too many pictures and was recalling too many memories, his head was pounding even more as it was working overtime to piece everything together.
The next second, he fell out of the doorway.
“lan!”
Steve hurriedly called for a doctor, also checking lan’s previous medical records.
“Doctor, how is he?”
“Mr. Raymond, please calm down. He just received too much information; his brain got overstimulated. He will be fine when he wakes up.”
Steve blamed himself, knowing lan had a head injury, he shouldn’t have let him look at those pictures.
At seven, Maja set off for the restaurant on time.
When she arrived, she found the restaurant empty.
The table was covered in flowers, candles were lit, and the city’s night view was visible from there.
Suddenly, she was reminded of Samuel Brown’s cheesy moves, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
Flowers, fireworks, and candlelit dinner,
A little smile appeared on her lips; she felt a little warm in her heart.
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