People shot to their feet. Security guards rushed over and grabbed me, trying to pull me away.
I clung to my grandfather's wrist with everything I had.
My voice broke into a desperate plea：“Professor Dickerson, she's dying. Just see her one last time.”
“I swear I won't breathe a word about your life here. Just one visit. Please.”
Calm was a luxury I no longer had. I'd confirmed it. He was my grandfather, beyond any doubt.
The next second, a guard wrenched me back hard. Leon twisted his wrist free, his eyes sharp with warning.
I couldn't think anymore. The only thing left in my head was my grandmother's wish.
“Professor Dickerson, you've given so much to the world. Can't you spare a shred of mercy for my grandmother?”
He raised a hand and gave the guards an order.
“Get her out of here. I have a lecture to finish.”
Without a second thought, I threw myself to the ground. Tears streamed freely down my face.
My voice was raw, choked to a rasp：“Professor Dickerson, if they drag me out of here, I will bash my head against this wall and die right in front of you.”
“Imagine the headlines. Someone dies during the great Professor Dickerson's lecture. That won't do your reputation any favors.”
The guards froze.
The auditorium erupted in noise.
“What's going on? It looks like this woman's grandmother has some history with the professor.”
“An old flame, maybe?”
“Nobody fakes grief like that.”
No one left. They all wanted to see how this would end.
I dragged myself forward on my knees until I was right in front of him, seized the leg of his trousers, and screamed until my throat gave out.
“Professor Dickerson, I'm begging you. This is her only wish.”
He crouched down. He studied me for a long time before leaning close and whispering in my ear.
“Do not ruin my reputation. Do not drag my family into this.”
“I never loved your grandmother. She was the one who was obsessed with me, the one who clung to me and insisted on bearing me three children.”
“But what was I supposed to do? We were from different worlds. She was illiterate. I was a college man with a brilliant future ahead of me. She would have dragged me down.”
“I never went overseas. Those letters weren't even written by me. I paid someone to string her along, and that was more than generous. I didn't want her. I was never going to be with her.”
I stared at him, speechless. This was the man my grandmother had loved for most of her life.
He hadn't lost his memory. He knew everything.
He knew, and he felt no guilt. Only contempt.
My throat tasted of iron. My chest seized so tight I couldn't breathe.
Fine. Then I had no reason to protect his dignity anymore.
I gripped the edge of the podium and hauled myself to my feet, shaking with fury：“Leon Dickerson. Professor Dickerson.”
“This photo is my grandmother. The woman you abandoned forty-eight years ago.”
“She bore you three children and poured every ounce of herself into raising them alone.”
“And you? You ran from every responsibility you ever had. You're nothing but a deadbeat. And you're my grandfather.”
“Three days ago, from her hospital bed, she asked me to bring you back. She wanted to see you one last time. But you don't deserve it.”
Since he was this heartless, I wouldn't leave him a single shred of cover.
Now that everything was ripped open, a strange calm settled over me.
That was when my pager went off.
I was about to check it when Leon spoke, his voice smooth and composed.
The same polished grace he'd carried through his entire lecture.
“Young lady, you claim I'm your grandfather?”
“And that forty-eight years ago I abandoned some poor woman with three children?”
“I may not be the most famous man in my field, but I've dedicated my life to education. I've mentored countless leaders of this country.”
The pager buzzed again.
I looked down at the screen, and the blood drained from my face.
【Rebecca, your grandmother's almost gone.】
