Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

Lacey raced down the emergency stairwell and out of the apartment building, catching

up to Jason on the street.

"Wait!" she called out.

Jason stopped but didn't turn around.

She walked slowly to face him, noting his stoic expression as she pulled out the photograph.

"The old man never lost his son's photo," she said quietly.

Jason looked down at the image without surprise, his face remarkably calm.

"This is you in the photo," Lacey pressed. "You're the son he's been searching for, aren't you?"

Jason remained silent-the evidence was undeniable.

"Why won't you acknowledge him? Is there some misunderstanding between you two?"

Jason shoved his hands in his pockets and moved aside, absently kicking a small stone. "He doesn't recognize me either. He..."

Lacey interrupted, "He may have lost his memory due to illness, but even though he's forgotten almost everything else, he remembers one thing-finding his son."

Jason's foot stopped mid-kick. For a good ten seconds, he stood frozen, as if even his breathing had been deliberately quieted.

"You told me your parents divorced before your college entrance exams, and your father left and never returned," Lacey continued. "Maybe he wanted to see you but couldn't. He must have discovered you were studying here and traveled all this way to find you. Surviving in a foreign country without knowing the language isn't easy. He probably suffered greatly searching for you. Perhaps his current mental state is the result of his overwhelming longing for you."

After a long silence, Jason finally spoke evenly, "Lacey, I'm in my thirties, not some rebellious teenager-though I wasn't even rebellious back then. I always tried to be a good son, a good student. I have a moral compass. I don't hate him, and I'm not refusing to acknowledge him. After all these years and everything that's happened— including my mother's death, which he wasn't present for-I did resent him for his apparent indifference. I assumed he'd started a new family and forgotten about us. Now he appears suddenly, in such a desperate state... I just wasn't prepared to face him."

Hearing this, Lacey felt a wave of sadness wash over her.

She understood Jason's pain and his inner conflict.

"I understand. You just need time. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."

Jason looked at her gratefully. "Lacey, thank you."

Lacey swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled. "It's nothing. Before I knew he was your father, he was just a stranger to me, and I would have helped anyone in his situation."

She left unsaid that now, knowing he was Jason's father, she would willingly care for the old man for the rest of his life.

After Jason left, Lacey returned to check on Jason's father, David Foster.

He was still awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, likely thinking about his son again. Lacey approached him and held out the photograph. "Is this the picture you've been looking for?"

David's dull eyes fell on the photo and suddenly brightened. He grabbed it eagerly, looking at it over and over with excitement. "My son! My son!"

Seeing David smile at last brought Lacey a sense of relief.

But the smile was fleeting. Soon he grew sad again, his rough fingers tracing the face in the photo. "Where are you?"

"Don't worry," Lacey reassured him. "Trust me, I'll help you find your son. Look, I've already found your photo."

Two days later, two Harmonians a young man and an older woman-arrived at the apartment, looking travel-worn.

"David, I've finally found you!" the woman cried, rushing to David's side. It appeared to be a touching reunion-at least from her side.

David, by contrast, showed little reaction to their arrival.

Perhaps he didn't remember them, or perhaps he didn't want to.

The woman continued her emotional display. "David, you left without warning. I've been searching desperately for you. I never imagined you'd go abroad-how was I supposed to find you?"

Lacey assumed they must be David's family. She approached the woman and explained David's condition.

Upon hearing this, the woman fell silent, her expression changing dramatically.

The young man who had accompanied her also looked stunned, glancing between David and the woman.

The woman dropped her act. She quickly released David's arm as if he were contagious and stepped away to stand with the young man. Her gaze toward David transformed from familial to utterly foreign.

The young man snorted dismissively. "Mom, we thought he'd made a fortune abroad. Who knew he'd end up so pathetic?"

Lacey felt deeply uncomfortable with this remark but held her tongue. Considering they were David's family, she patiently explained that he needed both family support and medical treatment.

The woman exchanged glances with the young man, then looked back at David with a cold sneer. "I divorced him years ago. We have nothing to do with him anymore." Lacey was completely stunned.

This woman had just put on a show of deep emotion, and now claimed no connection.

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As if anticipating Lacey's disbelief, the woman nmediately pulled divorce papers from her bag, explaining that David had been gone for years and she had processed the divorce through the courts. Legally, they had no relationship anymore.

Lacey couldn't understand how someone could be so callously pragmatic.

"If you have no relationship with him, why did you come here?" she asked with a sardonic smile.

"How was I supposed to know he'd ended up like this? Had I known, I wouldn't have bothered coming at all."

Despite her shamelessness, the woman spoke with remarkable self-righteousness. Lacey was speechless, realizing there was no reasoning with someone so devoid of conscience.

"Mom, let's go home," the young man said. "No point wasting time on someone who's nothing to us."

He had barely finished speaking when a sudden punch sent him reeling.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you hit him! Have you no decency?" The woman shielded her son protectively-suddenly concerned with propriety.

Lacey stared at Jason in shock.

She had never seen him resort to violence before.

Jason had thrown just one punch, but the menacing aura emanating from him was chilling. Though the young man seemed indignant, he was too intimidated to retaliate.

"If you have no connection to him, then get out!" Jason said coldly.

Though clearly upset that her son had been struck, the woman restrained herself— likely considering their unfamiliar surroundings in a foreign country, where pressing the issue would gain them nothing.

Finally, the woman hurried away with her son.

Lacey later learned that Jason had contacted the police back home to find their contact information and notify them to come. Jason had always believed David had established a new family, thinking reuniting him with them would be the best solution. He hadn't known his father had left them years ago, nor that they would be so heartlessly practical.

Their coming and going seemed to have no emotional impact on David. He simply continued holding the photograph, gazing at the image of his son.

David clearly didn't realize that the son he longed for day and night stood right before him.

Since David's family had abandoned him, Jason naturally took responsibility.

He wanted to take David back to their home country, but David refused to leave, insisting his son was here. He believed his son was simply not ready to forgive him yet, but would come see him when he was ready.

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This situation left Jason feeling helpless. He couldn't articulate his emotions-whether frustration, anger, or sorrow-perhaps it was all of these.

One sat on the bed murmuring about his son; the other stood by the window,

brooding.

Lacey watched Jason's silhouette, knowing he must be suffering deeply.

She approached David, kneeling beside him with a gentle smile. "I promised to help

you find your son. Do you trust me?"

David slowly looked at her, then at the photo in his hands.

Over these past days, he must have felt Lacey's care and remembered how she had returned his precious photo.

After a moment of internal struggle, he finally nodded. "I trust you."noveldrama

Lacey smiled with relief. "Then, will you come with us? I know where your son is."

"You really know where my son is?" David suddenly gripped Lacey's arm, his eyes filled with desperate longing.

Lacey glanced at Jason, then nodded firmly. "Yes. Trust me."

Taking David back home proved complicated. He had no identification documents, so Jason had to arrange a paternity test to prove their relationship. With the help of the Harmonian Embassy, they finally secured a passport for David.

With everything in place, Jason and Lacey successfully boarded the flight home with

David.

Just before entering the cabin, David turned back for one last look, as if reluctant to

leave.

After they were seated, Lacey fastened David's seatbelt for him.

Shortly after, a Harmonian man walked past with a young boy.

David's gaze followed the child, and he suddenly began to sob, murmuring, "My son,

my son."

David wept bitterly, drawing concerned glances from nearby passengers. A flight attendant came over to ask if they needed assistance.

"Please don't cry. I promise I'll help you find your son," Lacey tried to console him.

But watching the little boy had apparently reminded him of his own son, and he continued to weep inconsolably.

From the seat beside them, Jason suddenly spoke, "I am your son."