Chapter 411
411
The figures on the screen hadn’t changed, but the relationships between them had.
“ Take a good look, ” Caitlin said coldly, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. “This is the real Yuncey family tree .
“ Clayton had only one child–Alexandra. He never had a son. Miles? He was just a godson, not a biological heir.
“Let me be clear–there is a difference between a legally adopted child and a godchild. The former is legally recognized. The latter is symbolic only. Miles was not adopted. He was merely Clayton’s godson, granted the Yuncey surname but with no blood relation whatsoever.
“ And if there’s no blood relation—what right does he have to claim legitimate succession?”
Quill’s face twisted with fury and panic. He shot up from his seat.
“Caitlin, stop spreading lies! You’re trying to rewrite history just so you can seize the Yuncey Group! Who’s going to believe your version of the family tree?”
Caitlin’s expression turned icy.
“I didn’t alter anything. What I’ve shown is the original. The one that was changed–was the one you forged.”
Her accusation rang through the room like thunder.
The rest of the Yuncey siblings were shaken. None of them had ever heard any of this before.
“Wait, are you saying we’re not really Yuncey blood?”
Cynthia was the first to ask, voice filled with disbelief.
“This can’t be right,” another said.
“Wasn’t Grandpa part of the Yuncey line? You mean he wasn’t?”
More voices joined in, murmuring, confused and shaken.
Quill’s forehead dripped cold sweat, his face pale like spoiled dough.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
The lie had started with Miles. Only Timothy, his wife, Quill , and a few select family members like Douglas knew the truth. The rest had never
been told–and no evidence remained. No witnesses left alive.
How had Caitlin uncovered it?
As the room buzzed with stunned voices, Quill shouted, “Enough! Shut up, all of you! Don’t fall for her twisted narrative. We are Yuncey blood, and no one can change that!”
Caitlin stared him down like a hawk sizing up its prey.
“You don’t belong here anymore, Quill.”
The use of his name without honorifics made him explode with rage.
“How dare you! I am your uncle!”
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“ You are no uncle of mine , ” Calliin shot back . “Not when you’ve sold your soul and betrayed your own blood for power
“ You … you’re making this all up…”
Quill charged toward her–but he didn’t get far.
Caitlin raised her leg and landed a sharp kick straight to his abdomen.
Quill crumpled to the ground in front of her, wheezing, face twisted in agony.
“ Caitlin!” he snarled through gritted teeth. “You’re out of control!”
“You don’t deserve to be called family,” Caitlin said, looming over him. “You plotted against your own sister. You’re nothing but a parasite clinging to stolen power.”
“I–I didn’t…”
He staggered to his feet, ready to attack again, but James stepped in front of Caitlin , blocking him completely.
“You know exactly what you’ve done,” Caitlin said coldly. “But the others don’t–so let me enlighten them.”
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the bomb to drop.
$
“Remember the Ingram fire? The one that killed nearly the entire family five years ago?”
Gasps echoed through the room.
Of course they remembered. That inferno had rocked all of Departure City. The Ingram Family–wiped out in a single night.
“That fire wasn’t an accident. It was arson. And the one who orchestrated it… was Quill.”
A wave of disbelief swept across the boardroom.
“No way!”
“He couldn’t have–why would he?”
Quill tried to yell over the chaos. “It’s not true! She’s slandering me!”
Caitlin turned to Cynthia.
“Cynthia was the only survivor, She saw someone enter the house before the blaze. But no one believed her–grief had driven her into a mental breakdown.”
Cynthia’s eyes filled with tears.
“I have proof,” Caitlin continued. “The man who set the fire was Wilson, Quill’s former assistant. For years, he blackmailed Quill. Quill paid him hush money… until he decided to silence him permanently.”
Gasps grew louder.
“We got to Wilson first and brought him here. Let’s hear it from him directly.”
As the doors opened, guards escorted Wilson into the boardroom.
He walked forward, eyes locked on Quill.
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411
“ You used me ,” he spat . “ I was broke. I needed money. You promised me a payout after the job – and now you want me dead ? ”
Quill looked like a man struck by lightning. He scanned the room , every eye fixed on him, judgment in their faces .
Then he laughed–cold, hollow, mad.
“ You think dragging in some washed–up thug will take me down? Please. You staged this whole thing!”
“I figured you wouldn’t admit it,” Caitlin said calmly. “Which is why I brought this.”
She took out her phone and tapped a button.
A recording played aloud.
Quill’s voice was unmistakable: planning the fire. Instructing Wilson. Promising payment. Telling him to disappear after the job.
Everyone heard it.
Every. Single. Word.
The room was stunned silent.
He did it. To stop Cynthia from taking over the Yuncey Group, he burned her family alive the night before her succession.
Cynthia’s tears fell freely.
She stared at Quill, her half–brother. Her parents, her siblings–murdered by the man who shared her blood.
And then her hand tightened around something hidden.
Without warning, she lunged forward.
A blade flashed in her hand.
Gasps erupted.
She aimed straight for Quill’s chest.
AD
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