Chapter 548

September arrived quietly.

The autumn wind was brisk, and the forests were dyed in layers of color. Seattle was immersed in a sea of gold.

At the airport arrival gate, a middle-aged man in a wheelchair slowly appeared.

He was neatly dressed, with a lean face and calm, bright eyes. There was no trace of despondency about him.

Julian Klein spotted him from afar and immediately quickened his pace to meet him.

Reaching the wheelchair, he suddenly knelt down and gave the man a solid hug.

"Dad, welcome back."

Matthew Klein raised his hand and patted his son's back, a faint smile touching his lips.

"You've worked hard, son."

Julian took the wheelchair from the servant and personally pushed his father outside.

Eugene was already waiting by the car. Seeing them emerge, he respectfully opened the car door.

"Mr. Klein, it's been a long time."

"Yes, it has been," Matthew nodded slightly. "You and the young master have been in the country for a while now. Have you adjusted well?"

"We have, very well. Thank you for your concern, sir."

With Eugene and Julian's assistance, Matthew settled into the car.

Outside the window, Seattle's skyscrapers stood tall, and the streets were bustling. It was a world apart from the city in his memory.

He watched quietly, a barely perceptible flicker of emotion passing through his eyes.

After a moment, he spoke softly, "Let's go to 37 Maple Street in the old town first."

Eugene acknowledged and started the GPS. The car sped onto the wide road, heading towards the direction of the past.

Matthew had thought he would never set foot on this land again in his lifetime.

But today, he had returned.

He knew things had changed, and people were gone. Yet, a stubborn conviction deep in his heart had urged him back to where it all began.

Julian watched his father's slightly tense profile in the rearview mirror and sighed inwardly.

Dad, you came back after all.

I knew you would.

The drive from the airport to 37 Maple Street took about forty minutes.

The car slowly stopped in front of an upscale residential community.

Before them stood orderly buildings and meticulously landscaped greenery. Where was the shadow of number 37?

His former home had long been swallowed by the river of time, leaving no trace.

Only the roadside sign bearing the words "Maple Street" remained in its place.

Those three words were painfully familiar, yet their familiarity brought a bittersweet ache to his heart.

Sitting in the car, Matthew gazed at the completely unfamiliar scene outside the window, his heart feeling hollow.

Nearly thirty years had passed.

He had finally returned. He was truly back.

Even though his legs could no longer carry him, the warmth of this land beneath his feet was still heart-wrenchingly familiar.

Contradiction, struggle, resentment, acceptance... a whirlwind of emotions churned within him.

But this time, upon his return, he was determined to rise from the ashes like a phoenix, reborn.

The pain he had vowed to forget, the wounds he had promised to bury, now grew and revived like wild grass the moment he stood on this soil.

Countless sleepless nights of tossing and turning, that unbearable experience, now surfaced clearly once more. It was like fine needles pricking his heart, drawing no blood but piercing straight to the bone.

He silently stared out the window, his gaze gradually becoming vacant.

Several minutes later, he finally spoke to Eugene in a calm tone, "Drive back."

Julian didn't know what this place meant to his father.

But seeing the fleeting loneliness in his father's eyes, he understood perfectly.

This place must hold the obsession of half his father's life.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so eager to come here for a look the moment he stepped off the plane.

Although Albert Sullivan tried his best to conceal the fact that he had regained his memory, he still aroused Patriarch Sullivan's suspicion.

Noticing Albert's daily early departures and late returns, his whereabouts unpredictable, the Patriarch secretly had someone follow him.

Upon learning that Albert had not only visited the cemetery to pay respects to Lillian Ashcroft but had also been actively investigating past events for days, the Patriarch's blood pressure spiked that very night, requiring emergency hospitalization.

In the hospital room, Eleanor Sullivan looked at her husband's flushed face and labored breathing, feeling both anxious and worried.

"Old man, what's wrong with you again? You were fine. How did your blood pressure shoot up so suddenly and so severely?"