part 63

Third Person POV

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"You said you still haven't regained your memories." Adam asked a still astounded Emma.

"I did." She replied.

"Yet, you know the name Elias Wagner?" Adam's tone held a hint of disbelief.

"Knowing the name doesn't mean I remember anything, Adam. I remember I told you Müller filled me in on almost my whole life." She told him.

"What did he tell you about him?" He asked her.

"Quite a lot," she said. "He told me enough to make the old man that died two decades ago, my role model. The tales of his brilliance, compassion, and ruthlessness made me realise how long I still have to go to be half the person he was. I admired how he showed leniency to those who deserved it, and ruthlessness to those who challenged his position. The only thing he failed to mention was him being the leader of the underworld once." Emma informed.

"Did he tell you about your kinship?" Adam asked cautiously.

"You don't have to be so cautious about it, Adam." Emma laughed lightly. "I know Elias was my maternal grandfather, and I'm honoured. The man is a legend on so many levels." She added.

1

Adam exhaled loudly in obvious relief, he was expecting her to have a different reaction, but thankfully she proved him wrong.

"Tell me this, Adam," she said.

"Yeah?"

"What happened after the leaders of the other families were executed for treason after the second attack? Who took their places?" She asked.

"The families of the workers that died on the first attack the heirs did, took their places, your grandfather, the head of the Monarchs picked them indirectly." He told her.

"Indirectly?" She asked.

"Yeah, since the identities of both the Monarchs and the Protecters were to be kept a secret, he had to do the selection indirectly. Therefore, he sent one of the palace workers, since they were his trusted personals, to deliver a message sealed with the Monarchs' seal to each family head of those families. He kept an eye on their whereabouts, knowing that one day he would need them to fill in some of the other families' places." He said.

"How did they do the oath without the one whom they'll serve missing?" She inquired.

"Your grandfather didn't miss it, he gathered them all outside the palace, after they accepted the invitation. He was standing on the wall of the palace behind a curtain, they only needed to see his ring and the unique tattoo of lion, lioness, and their pup on his hand, to know he's the head of the Monarchs." Adam said.

"You keep saying the Monarchs in plural, just how many people were in my family beside my grandparents and mom?" She asked.

"They were like every other family, the whole family was together, your aunts, uncles, and cousins. My grandpa told me that despite them being a big family, they had an incredible amount of harmony. Everybody cared and looked out for each other." Adam replied.

"How come Müller said my mom was always alone then? Where were they?"

"They all died in an attack on the palace by bandits, only my family was sure it wasn't the bandits' doing. Only your mother was found hidden in a secret in the kitchen that was specialised for transporting food to and from the palace. Your grandmother was found laying in a pool of her blood after her throat was slit few feet away from her, she apparently was the one who hid young miss Elsa at the time."

"Where were the Protecters when all of this happened?" She asked, indifferent.

"It happened almost a decade after the second attack, the underworld was in so much harmony that no one though any of this was possible. The Protecters were sent to another country to expand the kingdom and recruit new people, the head of the Monarchs ordered them himself." He told her, he didn't know why he was coming up with excuses for something that happened way before his mother even met his father, he only did.

"Chill out, hubby! I'm not about to hold your household responsible for something happened before I was born when I don't remember beyond five years ago." She chuckled at his uneasiness.

"You really don't care about any of this?" He asked her.

"Why should I? My grandfather made the decision himself, it's not my place to judge or blame." She said, nonchalantly. "I do, however, care about one thing." She said.

"And what that may be?"

"Were the Sampsons among the families my grandfather recruited in place of those excuted?" She asked.

"They were." Adam answered. "That's how your parents met, I was told they were inseparable since they were kids." He added.

"Were they now?" She chuckled sarcastically.

"Emma, your father had nothing to with any of this. No matter how I hate to admit it, both he and Rob's first and foremost priority was to keep you safe and away from the harm way, they just chose the wrong methods to do it." He told her. If it's up to him she would live her entire life without having any type contact with them, every fibre of his being was shouting at him to let her hate them all she wants since they deserve it. However, he just couldn't, he doesn't want her living her whole life resenting her only remaining blood related family. He wasn't doing it for them but for her.

"I told you once, Adam, and I'll repeat it again. I'm not the same old Emma, I'll not spend my whole life resenting a couple of old men and make it my life goal to destroy them. All this Emma cares about is settling scores. I want to have justice for my mother who was killed coldly, rest assured, I will target only those involved. The others, I could careless about them. They can jump over a cliff for all I care, I have no time wasting on useless emotions. Just make sure they stay away from me and the kids, we'll be fine then." She said carelessly.

This Emma was definitely different, she seemed like she came back only to avenge her mother.

Rob and David will surely be greatly upset, or maybe thrilled. She was like the A.L they wanted her to be for a very long time. Adam thought to himself.

"Why are you asking about your father's family then?" He asked.

"I'm trying to connect the dots, I have all the pieces of the puzzle to solve the mystery behind my mother's death, but I can't seem to fit them in." She said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"You said mom was my father's sole heir."

"Yes." He confirmed.

"And Müller said the man I interrogated five years ago said that both the identities of the Protectors and the Head Family were unknown to anybody, so how come they knew who to target to take reigns of the underworld?" She said.

"I find that odd too, I still couldn't figure out what exactly happened." Adam said. "The Protectors were dormant for a while after the Monarchs were massacred, we only took care of your mother from a distance, careful not to reveal neither of our identities while trying to keep the other families under control until your mother was of age to reign. Even she was unaware of our identities, she only knew we were the ones who helped managing her father's companies for her until they were handed to her at her 20th birthday. And that we were right behind her to protect her as she reigned over the underworld, our men were the ones who trained her to be the one she was meant to be but our names or location was never once revealed. Or so my father thought, until one day I received a letter with the seal of the Monarchs addressing me as the next in line of heading the Protecters." Adam revealed.

"What was the letter about?" Emma asked curiously.

"It said that you'll be coming back home soon, and that I'll have to take care of you. Your mother wrote that she wasn't going to identify herself in the letter in letters, that the seal is enough for me to know who's the sender. I didn't understand at that time, until the news of your mother death was out and I heard you were sent abroad to train." He said.

"What did she mean by 'coming home'?" Emma asked.

"Germany, Germany is the your home, she had Rob sending you here when the right time comes so that I can do her last order." He told her.

"What last order?"

"I was ordered to register our marriage the moment you step a foot in Germany, that you're in danger and that I have to make sure you have a legal heir to inherit your fortune if something were to happen to you, that way you will be safe. They won't target you when they know Elsa's fortune will not be theirs if they kill you." He replied. "Which I found weird." He added.

"Why?"

"The number one rule, the Monarchs established when the Protecters were found, is to never covet being a monarch. The Protectors were to only be protectors of the Monarchs' lineage. Nothing more, nothing less." Adam clarified.

"So mom, broke her own father's rule. She must've known something was brewing around her, something so evil that the only person who could protect me from was you." Emma assumed.

"She must've known it had to do with someone close, seeing she couldn't trust your own father with you and your brother's safety." Adam said.

"That's it!" Emma exclaimed, and stood up from the edge of the bed where she took a seat on earlier in their conversation.

"What?" Adam inquired.

"I see the whole picture now." She said smirking, evilly. "Now is my turn." She added, a creepy expression taking over her features.

A/N

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