Seraphina stopped when she reached the door, looking back at Caspian, who lay disheveled on the ground; her expression was as cold as winter ice.

"Remember, this is only the beginning."

With that, Seraphina strode out.

No sooner had she left than a bodyguard walked in with a lighter.

Caspian watched the lighter in his hand with terror.

"What are you doing? I’m the young master of the Sterling family! If you dare to do anything to me, I won't let you get away with it."

The bodyguard looked at him with mockery.

"There is no Sterling young master anymore, only a stray dog."

After speaking, the bodyguard lit the lighter, and countless fireworks exploded simultaneously.

The bodyguard quickly stood up and left after lighting the fireworks, locking the only exit tightly shut behind him.

In the confined space, the pungent smell of gunpowder lingered in Caspian’s nose like the scent of death. He struggled to move his body.

"Let me out! Seraphina, you can't do this to me!"

No sooner had his voice fallen than a massive firework sprayed toward him. In the next second, his vision was filled only with gray, thick smoke, and the violent pain racking his body made him wish for death.

Caspian clenched his palms tightly.

"Seraphina, if I suffer, I won't let you off, either."

Sterling Family Home.

Seraphina sat on the sofa, physically and mentally exhausted, looking impatiently at the assistant standing to the side.

"Still no word on Silas?"

The assistant kept his head low, not daring to speak.

Just then, the sound of the news came from the television behind them.

"The reconstruction of the cross-sea bridge in Country M has been officially handed over to the Lin Group. Previously, it could not be started due to the complexity of the demolition work, but now the Lin Group has hired a top-tier demolition engineer, and work officially began today."

The scene on the television changed, and the cross-sea bridge collapsed in a deafening boom.

Seraphina frowned even tighter as she watched the news.

"How did this project end up in the Lin family's hands? This project had been stagnant for so long because of the demolition expert—why would it suddenly start?"

Just as Seraphina was about to pull out her phone to check, the phone rang.

It was a call from the hospital.

"CEO, your mother has woken up and is now insisting on seeing you."

Seraphina hurried to stand up, grabbed her car keys, and walked out quickly.

Before Seraphina had even left, the television footage switched back to the press conference scene.

And sitting right in the center was Silas.

Chapter 19

After the press conference, Silas’s throat was raspy. Just as he wanted to return to the lounge to rest, his phone rang.

It was a call from back home.

"Silas, have you seen the news? Caspian has been publicly expelled from the Sterling family; he has absolutely nothing to do with them from now on."

"Those two used to play as siblings while having an affair behind everyone's back, but now they're fighting like dogs—it’s truly satisfying."

Hearing Seraphina’s name again, Silas furrowed his brow slightly.

"Their affairs are no longer any concern of mine."

His friend paused, then asked cautiously.

"But I heard that Seraphina is searching everywhere for news of you, and she’s even put out a reward of one million for anyone who provides your location. Now, everyone in Sterling City wants to find you."

Silas’s face remained calm.

"Everything between her and me is long in the past."

After speaking, Silas hung up the phone directly.

Silas looked at the link his friend had sent and clicked on it.

He saw Seraphina’s name still hanging high on the trending search list.

#SeraphinaPubliclyAnnouncesExpulsionOfCaspianFromSterlingFamily#

The comments were a mix of opinions.

"I think Seraphina just wanted to expel Caspian from the Sterling family first, so the two of them could be together openly."

"Seraphina didn't even care about her own daughter for Caspian's sake; this must be the groundwork she laid for marrying him later."

"Silas has left, so who is Seraphina putting on this 'devoted' act for? If I didn't know she liked her own brother, I would have really thought she loved Silas."

"A typical performative personality—stop acting. I think the person Seraphina loves most is only herself."

Just then, a slender hand directly closed the phone page for Silas.

"Stop looking at that. Look at this instead!"

Lydia handed a contract to Silas, which happened to cover his phone.

Silas looked at the share transfer agreement on it, stunned.

"What is this?"

Lydia raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips.

"This was exchanged for the 50% shares you gave me. It counts as your capital contribution for this project."

Silas was visibly stunned; he had thought their cooperation was just him handing over the Sterling shares and Lydia taking him away.

Lydia looked at Silas’s dazed state and tapped his forehead lightly.

"What are you thinking? This is what you deserve. If it weren't for your demolition technology, we never would have landed such a massive project."

Silas met Lydia’s deep, meaningful eyes, no longer feeling the need to be polite, and signed his name directly on the contract.

Seeing Silas sign, Lydia relaxed her hand which had been behind her back.

Then, she smilingly took Silas’s hand.

"Come on, I’ll take you somewhere."

Silas looked at Lydia, confused, but had no choice but to follow her to the back mountain of the Lin family estate.

There were mountains covered in grapevines and beautiful scenery.

Silas looked at Lydia, confused.

"Where exactly are you taking me?"

Just as he asked, Lydia stopped walking. Silas nearly bumped into her back, the scent of her hair lingering in his nostrils, causing him to catch his breath.

"We're here!"

Silas rubbed his nose awkwardly and was just about to ask her, but he froze in place when he saw the scene before him.

There were two new gravestones in front of him.

And on those headstones were the names of his mother and his daughter.

Lydia stood in the sunshine, looking at Silas with gentleness in her eyes.

"I was afraid you would miss your family, so I took the liberty of moving their ashes here."

As her words fell, Silas hugged the person in front of him tightly, a muffled voice coming from above Lydia’s head.

"Thank you, Lydia."

Lydia froze for a moment, then slowly looked up at the man in front of her, a smile gradually forming on her lips.

It should be me thanking you for finally coming to my side!

Chapter 20

Hospital.

Just as Seraphina walked into the ward, a vase was hurled fiercely toward her.

"You wicked thing! If I hadn't seen the news, I wouldn't have known about those things between you and Caspian. Even my granddaughter was killed because of the two of you."

"If you hadn't forced Silas away, your father wouldn't have died, and even your father's memorial service wouldn't have become a laughingstock in everyone's eyes because of you."

Bright red blood dripped down from Seraphina's forehead. She stood silently in place, not even knowing how to refute the accusations.

Seraphina's mother looked at her in heartbreak, large tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I should have let you let me die with your father back then. Living in this world like this is more painful to me than being killed."

Every word from her mother felt like a blade gouging at Seraphina's heart.

She desperately wanted to ask herself how things had reached this point.

Just then, the door to the ward was pushed open forcefully, and the assistant rushed in, panic-stricken.

"CEO, it's bad! Caspian has escaped, and now he is joining forces with the media to start a live stream, accusing you in front of the entire internet!"

Seraphina immediately took the tablet handed over by the assistant and opened it. She saw Caspian sitting in front of the camera, disheveled, with one eye blinded.

"Hello everyone, I am Caspian. I am here today to clarify my relationship with Seraphina."

"Seraphina is not normal. She has liked me since she was a child and has even tried to harass me multiple times. She is a total animal."

The voices from the live stream continued to pour out, and Seraphina's mother, lying on the hospital bed, was shaking uncontrollably with rage.

"Seraphina, your father and I lived upright and respected lives for a lifetime. I never thought that in my old age, I would be ruined at your hands. You might as well just let me die right now."

Having said that, a large mouthful of blood surged from her mother's mouth, and immediately after, she fell into a coma.

"Mom!"

Seraphina hurried to send her to the emergency room, and the doctor looked at her with a solemn face while holding the critical condition notification.

"CEO, your mother suffered a cerebral hemorrhage due to extreme emotional distress. We can only say we will do our best."