"...He has departed... he is dead..." Sebastian whispered.

Those few syllables were more than enough to expose the violent storm raging within his chest.

A sudden warmth trickled down her neck. Scarlett went rigid as she perceived his silent tears, her hand automatically shifting to stroke his hair.

"...I am here." Feeling the moisture of his weeping, the intense ache tightening her own chest could no longer be ignored.

Sebastian, from this day forward, I will be the one to anchor you.

The personnel and relatives were all ushered out of the room.

The interior space was restricted strictly to the two of them, Sebastian's father, Chloe, and the wheelchair-bound second young master.

Alongside the corporate attorney.

Sebastian had already mastered his external expressions.

Though his aura remained heavily weighed down by a penetrating grief, he successfully locked it beneath a mask of absolute calm.

He released Scarlett from his embrace, slowly straightening his posture to track the individuals standing before him.

The father proved to be the most impatient, frantically pressing the attorney: "Please execute the official reading of the will without a single beat of delay."

His frantic urgency made it appear as though the man who had just perished weren't his own father, but some entirely irrelevant stranger.

Scarlett could only feel a penetrating chill as she watched.

The opportunistic greed was an absolute disgrace.

The grandfather was still resting on the bed, his body barely cold, yet this man was already directing his focus entirely toward wealth.

Sebastian maintained his firm grip on her hand, his thumb unconsciously tracing across the back of her skin.

His hand, which usually radiated a comfortable warmth, had turned exceptionally freezing.

Scarlett's heart suffered a subtle tightening, allowing him to maintain the clasp without harboring a single thought of pulling away.

He requires support, she reasoned.

The attorney adjusted his glasses, throwing open the leather portfolio to deliver the mandates: "According to the official will executed by Mr. Yao..."

"The primary corporate holdings within the dynasty group are to be transferred directly to the eldest grandson, Sebastian, totaling forty-six percent."

The corporate group had been established entirely by the grandfather's hand, his personal control totaling forty-nine percent. Now, forty-six percent of those active assets were being channeled directly into Sebastian's possession, leaving the remaining individuals to divide a worthless single percent among themselves!

The expressions of the three relatives shifted drastically, absolute shock written across their features, yet they managed to suppress their outbursts, as if anticipating a hidden catch.

"The remaining corporate holdings are to be divided equally among his son and his two younger grandsons."

What followed was the division of the real estate assets.

The father's brow furrowed tightly, pinning the attorney with a demanding glare: "That is the entirety of it? There are absolutely no underlying stipulations?"

The attorney checked the official documents, stating flatly: "Yes. The mandates restrict themselves entirely to the distribution of wealth; there are absolutely no requirements attached to the succession."

Chapter 39

The moment the syllables faded, with the absolute exception of Sebastian, the remaining three individuals suffered a violent shock.

The second young master was the first to react, the mask of gentle warmth completely shattering from his features as his eyes locked onto Sebastian with a venomous malice.

"You unraveled this from the absolute beginning!"

There was absolutely no necessity to listen to the remaining distribution of wealth.

The three of them stared at Sebastian, fully realizing they had been utterly played.

Sebastian himself froze for a brief fraction of a second, turning his eyes to look at the peaceful face of the old man resting on the bed, murmuring under his breath, "To think that you would go to such lengths..."

The mandate requiring a marriage certificate to secure the executive succession had functioned entirely as a calculation deployed by the old man.

He had determined the heir far in advance, yet fully aware that officially locking the succession onto Sebastian would trigger a full-scale corporate war against his person.

Therefore, he had deliberately leaked the narrative stating that only a married grandson could claim the throne, granting everyone an illusion of opportunity.

He had engineered a shield to disperse the hostility away from Sebastian.

And since Sebastian already harbored an active marriage alliance, executing that condition wouldn't have been a difficult struggle for him.

The logic seamlessly clicked in Scarlett's mind, and Sebastian reached the exact same conclusion concurrently.

Sebastian's eyes widened, absolute disbelief glinting within their depths as he stared at the tranquil face of the deceased old man.

She could perceive his hand trembling violently.

The adversaries across from them, however, had only just unmasked the truth.

"We functioned as nothing more than a convenient distraction from the absolute beginning!" Chloe sneered.

The father was the most profoundly shattered.

He stared at the attorney, his fingers twitching as if intending to violently rip the will from his hands to verify it himself.

"One percent... a single percent..." He stared down at his hands, his features twisting into a manic rage. "I have exhausted my entire existence working myself to the bone on his behalf, yet I am discarded with a worthless single percent!"

"I am his biological son!" The father shrieked in a manic fury, his eyes bloodshot as he advanced toward the bed.

He lunged toward the deceased old man, his hands hooking into claws as if intending to violently clasp his neck and shake him, "You wretched old bastard! I ought to have executed you years ago—"

The father had completely succumbed to insanity.

Tracking his manic frenzy, the bodyguards positioned in the corner moved like lightning, striking him unconscious and executing an immediate removal from the perimeter.

"An absolute lunatic," Chloe commented.

The second young master pinned Sebastian with a dark glare, his tone heavy: "You must have treated our frantic efforts as a grand farce this entire time, haven't you?"

Sebastian had absolutely no intention of offering him an answer, stating flatly, "The mechanical failure that triggered your vehicle collision years ago was not my doing."

Chloe froze briefly, turning his eyes to Sebastian, his gaze darkening significantly: "Are you implying that I was the architect behind that failure, Brother?"

The second young master went completely rigid. He looked down at his paralyzed legs, demanding of Sebastian: "What concrete evidence have you unearthed?"

Sebastian gave a firm nod, drawing out a digital drive and sliding it across to him: "You are free to process the files entirely on your own once you return to your vault."

Chloe tracked the object, his guard tightening significantly as he argued, "Second Brother, he functions as nothing more than an illegitimate parasite. We share the exact same maternal blood; surely you wouldn't offer your belief to his words over mine?"

The moment the syllables faded, Sebastian arched an elegant eyebrow, countering flatly, "How long do you intend to maintain that deception?"

He directed a finger toward the drive in Chloe's possession, "The DNA sequence data is archived right inside that drive. You carry absolutely no genetic connection to this family, let alone sharing maternal blood with my brother..."

An absolute, suffocating silence instantly devoured the room.

How on earth had Sebastian unmasked that secret?

Chloe’s features were marked by an absolute, unvarnished shock.

Sebastian stated levelly, "The late matriarch originally delivered a stillborn infant; you were covertly brought in from the outside to take its place."

"You unraveled that reality during your childhood, yet you maintained this innocent act for so long, which is truly..." His tone carried a distinct edge of quiet mockery, "...pathetic."

Tracking the chaotic, rapid shifts within the vault room, Scarlett’s pulse raced.

How much heavy burden had Sebastian consistently carried entirely on his own?

He was obligated to manage the sprawling corporate empire, while concurrently tracking down these hidden feuds; the exhaustion must be immense.

At this thought, her fingers gently brushed against the back of his hand.

Sebastian cast a brief glance over her, the corners of his lips curving into a silent, subtle smile, signaling that he was perfectly fine.

The second young master appeared completely shattered by the sudden cascade of revelations, his gaze entirely vacant as his logical mind struggled to master the data, murmuring, "Why on earth have you chosen to expose these truths to me tonight?"

Sebastian replied flatly, "To ensure you grasp the reality before you face your destruction."

"What?" The second young master froze.

Chapter 40

The vault door was violently pushed open.

"Good evening, Mr. Second Master and Mr. Chloe. Our investigation has yielded actionable evidence linking your persons to a full-scale embezzlement scheme and an active homicide contract. Please comply with our law enforcement officers immediately."

The second young master and Chloe were securely removed from the perimeter to undergo immediate interrogation, while the father was loaded into a corporate vehicle by his chauffeur once he regained consciousness.

The grandfather's remains were officially transferred to the medical repository, the funeral ceremonies scheduled to commence within three days.