Chapter 5
As soon as they stepped inside the house, Ranzo's grandmother was the first to meet them at the door. A warm, welcoming smile lit up her aged face. "So, did my little princess enjoy the snowy mountains?"
Marine kept her head down, her silence heavy and suffocating. Suddenly, without a word, she collapsed into her grandmother's arms and began to sob uncontrollably.
The grandmother gasped, her eyes widening in shock. "My child! What happened? Why are you crying like this?" Her gaze instantly sharpened into a glare as she turned toward Ranzo. "RANZO! What did you do to my princess?"
Ranzo remained silent for a heartbeat, his face a mask of cold indifference. Then, he spoke, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "Grandmother, she's not a toddler anymore. I shouldn't have to explain basic sense to her. She was on her knees in the dirt, hugging some filthy beggar woman on the street. Girls from respectable families don't behave like that."
"Silence!" the grandmother snapped, her voice trembling with rage. "Go to your room. Now!"
Without another word, Ranzo turned and vanished into the hallway. The grandmother gently pulled Marine back, cupping her tear-stained face. "Stop crying, my darling. Tell me, where is this woman you're talking about?"
"She... she was in the alley right next to our house," Marine choked out through her sobs.
By now, the commotion had drawn Ranzo's parents out. His mother rushed to Marine's side, her face etched with worry. "My sweet girl, what's wrong? We sent you away smiling, and you come back broken. Did Ranzo cross the line again?"
His father stepped forward, his voice thick with protective instinct. "Marine, you know we can't stand to see a single tear in your eyes. I'll deal with Ranzo myself."
Marine looked at them, her heart aching. "No... it wasn't Ranzo's fault. It's just... that woman. When I saw her, I felt a connection I can't explain. I felt... like she was my real mother."
The father froze. "Where is she now?"
"In the alleyway," Marine whispered.
Without waiting for another word, the father bolted out of the house to search the street. Meanwhile, the mother and grandmother led Marine to the lounge.
The mother took a deep breath, her eyes softening. "Marine, look at me. We never wanted to keep you in the dark, which is why we told you long ago that we aren't your biological parents. But how can you claim a beggar on the street is your mother?"
Marine stared into her mother's eyes, her gaze desperate. "I don't know! But when I looked into her eyes, I saw a mother's love. I felt it."
The mother took Marine's hands in hers, her voice trembling slightly. "Have I or Ranzo's father ever given you less love than Ranzo? Is that why you're searching for it in a stranger?"
"No!" Marine shook her head frantically. "You gave me everything. You loved me just like Ranzo. But please... I need to know. How did I become a part of this family? Was I bought? Was there a deal?"
Just then, the father returned, breathless and pale. "I checked every corner of the neighborhood. There is no woman there. The alley is empty."
"Sit down," the mother said firmly. "It's time. I'm going to tell Marine the truth."
"No!" the father protested. "She's like a fragile flower. She won't be able to handle the weight of that day."
"I have to know!" Marine cried out. "I promise I'll be strong. I just need the truth."
The grandmother looked at the father and nodded. "If she wants to know her reality, we cannot stop her. Sit down and be quiet."
The father slumped into a chair, whispering to his wife, "Do you really think she can handle the details of that night?"
The mother ignored him, turning her full attention to Marine. She offered a sad, bittersweet smile. "It was seventeen years ago... the night of Ranzo's second birthday."
The Flashback: 17 Years Ago
Rain lashed against the windshield as Ranzo's parents drove home through the deserted outskirts of the city. The mother held baby Ranzo in her lap, kissing his forehead.
"I'm so happy our little boy made it to two years," she whispered. "After losing our first two sons at birth... Ranzo feels like a miracle. He's so strong already."
The father smiled, his hand steady on the steering wheel. "He'll be a brave man, just like his old man."
The mother's smile faded into a look of longing. "I only wish I could have a daughter. If I ever am blessed with one, I swear I would never let anything happen to her."
Suddenly, the car sputtered and died. "Out of gas," the father groaned. "Stay inside. I have a spare can in the trunk."
As he stood outside pouring fuel, a haunting sound drifted through the cold night air—the shrill, desperate cry of a baby.
The mother stepped out of the car, her heart racing. "Do you hear that?"
"Yeah," the father replied, looking around nervously. "Sounds like it's coming from nearby. But it's late and it's dangerous. We should just go."
"Give me Ranzo," the mother said, handing the sleeping boy to her husband. "I'm going to check. It sounds so close."
She grabbed a flashlight and followed the sound. A few yards away, near a massive pile of trash and discarded crates, she saw it—a small, tattered cardboard box.
She ran to it, her breath catching in her throat. "No... it can't be."
She pulled the flaps open. Inside, a tiny, beautiful baby girl was screaming, her face red from the cold. The mother's eyes instantly filled with tears. She reached down, lifting the infant with trembling hands and pulling her close to her chest.
"You poor, innocent soul," she sobbed. "What kind of heartless monsters would leave you in a place like this?"
The father caught up to her, gasping as he saw the child in his wife's arms. He fell to his knees. "So that was the voice we heard..."
The mother looked at him, her face wet with tears. "From this day on, she is mine. I will not leave her alone in this cruel world."
The father smiled through his own tears. "She belongs to our family now. I will be her father, and I will protect her until my last breath."
The mother looked down at the baby, who was now staring up with wide, bright eyes. "Marine. Your name will be Marine... because you are more beautiful than a flower. Thank God for giving me the chance to be a mother to this angel."
Back to the Present
"So that is the story, Marine," the mother whispered. "We never wanted you to feel the pain of knowing how you were found."
Marine was motionless, tears streaming down her face. Her voice was barely a shadow. "So I was wrong... I wasn't sold. I was thrown away. My own flesh and blood threw me into the trash."
She looked at her parents, her eyes reflecting a sea of grief. "I don't know if I can ever repay the debt of what you did for me... you saved my life."
The mother pulled Marine into a crushing embrace. "There is no debt, my child! You are the light of this house. You are the reason we have joy in our lives."
The father and grandmother joined the embrace, all of them weeping together. "You are our everything, Marine."
Outside the lounge, hidden in the shadows of the hallway, Ranzo stood still. He had heard every word. He looked down at the floor, his eyes unusually soft, shimmering with a rare unshed moisture.
Suddenly, a single tear escaped his eye and hit the floor.
He instantly wiped it away, his face hardening back into a mask of stone. Without a sound, he turned and walked back into his room.