Chapter 217 Buried Memories
Heather was staying at the Platinum Haven Hotel, so finding her wasn’t difficult.
When she opened the door, she didn’t look the least bit surprised. It was as though she’d already predicted I would come. Behind her calm expression, she seemed to have answers already prepared.
"Come in, Isabella. Would you like something to drink? How about some honey water?"
"Sure, thank you."
We sat down facing each other, and Heather spoke first, her tone was gentle. "Do you know about Armando's Alchemy Notes?"
That book again!
"I heard that my mother's family had a great alchemist as an ancestor. This notebook was one of my mom's wedding gifts. Back then, my grandfather gave this book to my teacher Doyle and asked him to take me on as a student." As I spoke, I kept my eyes fixed on Heather.
Heather’s gaze softened, tinged with a quiet sorrow. “Then you likely don’t know that Doyle learned of the book’s existence because of me.”
I froze, my heart suddenly in turmoil.
"I'm an art conservator. Years ago, your grandfather hired me to restore the damaged cover of Armando's Alchemy Notes. I'd known Doyle for years, and when I learned he was searching for an ancient pharmaceutical technique, I mentioned the book to him." She paused, her voice gentle but certain. "However, his willingness to take you as a student was probably more about appreciating your talent."
I suddenly understood. Doyle used to say that he and I were destined to become teacher and student, this is what he meant!
Back then, Doyle had gone to my grandfather's house specifically for that book, and happened to run into me holding it. I’d even inadvertently led him to it. Fate began weaving our threads together at that very moment.
I suppressed the emotions stirring in my heart and asked cautiously, "What's so special about that book? Five years ago, if it weren't for the rumor that it contained a formula for eternal life, my family wouldn't have suffered such a disaster!"
Heather let out a long sigh. "Whether or not the book actually contains a formula for eternal life, you should know better than me. I'm not a healer, I can't understand what's written in it. But I'd rather believe it's just an ordinary book."
"Then why was there such a rumor?" I clenched my fists. "The source of that rumor was Michelle!"
At this, Heather's gaze drifted into the distance, as if she were sinking into very old memories.
"Many years ago, there was a man named Sawyer. He loved medicine and was once a good friend of your grandfather's. He came from a poor family, and your grandfather kindly sponsored his medical studies. Unfortunately, his son and daughter-in-law were falsely accused by a high-ranking official and died in prison, leaving behind only a young granddaughter."
"Sawyer happened to hear about Armando's Alchemy Notes and learned that it contained many formulas for poisons. He borrowed the book from your grandfather, and that borrowing lasted ten years."
I instinctively frowned.
"He wanted to study poisons to avenge his son." Heather touched her chest, as if there was a knot of grief lodged there.
"He killed the murderer, but then was attacked in revenge by the man's family and was seriously injured. With his last breath, he escaped home and told his granddaughter, who had depended on him since childhood, to take Armando's Alchemy Notes to your grandfather's house for shelter. Your grandfather saw that the child was alone and helpless, so he took her in. She was about the same age as your mother, and they practically grew up together."
The orphan girl's identity was becoming clear.
My fingers tightened slightly, and my voice grew colder. "She's Michelle!"
"Yes." Heather's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. "But she wasn't called Michelle back then. Her real name is Gina Volkov. Gina and your mother grew up together, as close as twin sisters."
I couldn't help but laugh coldly, my heart turning to ice.
That Michelle who destroyed my family, she once had an innocent face?
Heather seemed to see through my thoughts. She pressed her lips together and said with difficulty, "Gina had been learning from medical books on Sawyer's knee since she was little.From her earliest memory, the notebook had always been in her home. She likely believed it belonged to the Volkov family.”
I remembered Amelia saying that the Volkov family had a great court physician as an ancestor. It seemed natural that Michelle would have such a misunderstanding.
"When I accepted the commission to restore the book, it wasn't just the cover that was damaged, it was also covered with dense bloody handprints. A few days ago, I dug out my old restoration records and found this passage—'Gina came to ask me when I would return the book to her. I said it wasn't her book. I was about to explain when Gina turned and ran away.'"
Heather let out a helpless breath. “I believe she misunderstood. She thought Sawyer traded the book for your grandfather’s protection.”
"You're being too tactful." I sneered. "She hates us! She thinks we stole that book!"
Heather sighed again, she’d done that more times in this conversation than I could count.
"Gina—that is, Michelle—has a sensitive and proud personality. No matter how excellent she was, living under someone else's roof couldn't have been easy. And your mother had a bright, cheerful personality. People always loved to compare them."
"When she was in her teens, Michelle fell in love with a male teacher at school." Heather continued revealing the buried past. "Probably because she'd lacked a father's love since childhood, Michelle was very dependent on him. But in others' eyes, that man must have been taking advantage of her! Your mother told your grandfather about it, and later that teacher was fired and Michelle was forced to break up with him. It was from that moment on that Michelle and your mother completely broke apart."
"My mother did nothing wrong." I said firmly.
"Michelle clearly didn't think so." Heather sighed softly. "Later, Michelle sabotaged every one of your mother's relationships and nearly got your mother killed. Your grandfather was furious and cut off the adoption relationship with Michelle."
So this was the truth. No wonder Nicole never mentioned Michelle to us.
I fell into a long silence.
"After Michelle was driven away, she returned to her hometown, Silverpine Town. A year later, when your mother got married, she came back to Dawnharbor to ask for that book, and was naturally refused by your mother."
Was this fate's cruel joke?
That copy of Armando's Alchemy Notes, casually thrown in our attic and treated as an ordinary old book, was in Michelle's eyes the only thing her family had left her.
I thought of the intricate notes inside, most likely written by Sawyer himself.
If not for his obsession with revenge, Sawyer might have become a respected scholar. Michelle might never have been taken in by my grandfather. Their lives would have been entirely different.
"No matter how rough or tragic her fate was, it wasn't caused by my family!"
Michelle's sense of injustice and resentment didn't form overnight, it accumulated day by day, layer upon layer, building up and festering.
"My grandfather didn't wrong her! Neither did my mother, and neither did the Sorelli family!"
I looked straight at Heather and asked, "You’ve been searching for Michelle to tell her this truth, haven’t you?”
"It's useless." I said calmly but firmly. "She's determined to live in hatred. You'll never wake her up."
Heather's eyes were full of helplessness. "If we could clear up the misunderstanding..."
"I will never forgive her." I said coldly. "At this point, there's no way we can let go of our hatred, much less reconcile."