Chapter 716

“My meaning is simple. I don’t want to search for Atlantis anymore.”
Caitlin’s calm statement made Cecilia freeze in disbelief. “What? Why? Why now? We already agreed!”
“I don’t need it,” Caitlin replied quietly. “My brother’s cured. There’s no reason to keep risking lives.”
Her voice was steady, but Cecilia’s composure shattered. “Caitlin, you can’t just back out! You gave your word!”
She tried to reason with her, growing desperate. “Even if you don’t want to take the risk, what about your mother? Don’t you want to find her?”
“I do,” Caitlin said evenly. “But I’ll find her on my own. I don’t need you.”
Cecilia stared at her, stunned. It couldn’t end like this. Not when she was so close.
She laughed bitterly. “Ha… Caitlin, you think you’re clever, but without me, you’ll never find
your
mother.”
Caitlin’s lips curved in a faint, cold smile. “Who said I have to?”
“You… you mean you’re giving up?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve thought it through,” Caitlin said, her tone calm but resolute. “There’s no point in chasing something that has no answer. Every tragedy since I came back home started because of this search for my mother. If I had go from the beginning, maybe so many people wouldn’t have died. I won’t keep dragging innocent lives into this. I’m letting go.”
let
Her words were simple, but each one landed with the weight of conviction.
“No, no! Caitlin, you can’t just abandon her like that. That’s unfilial!” Cecilia’s voice trembled, her thoughts unraveling.
“Don’t try to guilt–trip me!” Caitlin snapped. “If I keep chasing after my mother, more people die. If I stop, more people live. One life for many–it’s worth it. As far as I’m concerned, my mother’s been dead for four years already.”
As Caitlin turned to leave, Cecilia rushed to block her path. “Then can you at least think about others, if not for yourself?”
“What are you trying to say?”
Caitlin’s patience was wearing thin, but she could tell Cecilia was leading up to something.
“Save the Yarbrough family. Please.”
Cecilia suddenly dropped to her knees, her eyes brimming with despair.
“ The Yarbrough family?” Caitlin frowned, looking down at her. “What do you mean, save you?”
Cecilia let out a long, trembling sigh before speaking again.
“The Yarbroughs are descendants of Atlantis. We were born of royal blood. Centuries ago, our kingdom fell to
rebellion.
“Your grandmother, from the Yuncey family, was Atlantean too. The Yunceys were sworn protectors of the royal line. The royal family entrusted them with the kingdom’s map before their deaths, believing they would one day restore Atlantis.
“But the Yunceys grew powerful, and that promise faded into history. Meanwhile, we Yarbroughs lived in hiding, barely surviving. Then something changed. A curse, maybe. One by one, our people fell ill–strange, incurable sicknesses.
“I became a doctor to save them, but my skills weren’t enough. Our ancestors left behind a legend–a cure said to exist in Atlantis, the Shard of Life. I begged your grandmother and your mother to help me, but they refused. They didn’t believe me.”
Tears streamed down Cecilia’s face as she spoke.
Caitlin stood silent, her thoughts racing. The pieces clicked together in her mind, forming a picture that was both impossible and horrifying.
Cecilia was a descendant of General Yarbrough? And her pursuit of the Shard of Life had all been for her people?
Caitlin looked at her and recited slowly, word by word, the translation Reginald had left behind.
“Cecilia, did you hear that? You’re still searching for the Shard of Life?”
Cecilia froze, her eyes wide as the truth sank in. “No… that can’t be. The Shard of Life… was a person? The King of Atlantis, Seradulf?
“And the Yarbroughs… we were his guardians? We fled to protect his heir? Then that means the true royal bloodline–the real descendants–are the Yunceys?”
Her voice broke. The world she had believed in her entire life collapsed around her.
For years, she had believed she was born of Atlantis. That her destiny was to restore the kingdom. That the Shard of Life was a divine relic.
But now, all of it–every story passed down by her ancestors–had turned to dust. Centuries of myth, twisted through time, had rewritten the truth. The Yunceys were the royal heirs, not her family.
Her life’s purpose had been built on a lie.
History, she realized, was cruel. And heavier than she could ever bear.
Caitlin’s voice trembled with fury. “I suspected you all along. You and Zorro–there had to be a connection. How else would the queen of S country end up poisoned by your Scentbane? Tell me! What’s your
relationship with him? He knows about Atlantis. You told him, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Cecilia said, her voice breaking. “I once believed I was a descendant of Atlantis. I wanted to restore the kingdom, but I needed allies. So I made a deal with Zorro and the Shadow Moon Pavilion.”
Caitlin pressed harder. “And what about The Seventh Door in D country? The Silent Order? Were they your doing too? Did you tell them you could give them the Shard of Life in exchange for their help?”
Cecilia nodded weakly.
Caitlin’s rage flared. “So all of it–these years of chaos, the lives lost, the wars–were your doing! You built this network, didn’t you? You’re the one behind everything!”
Even though she’d suspected it, Caitlin had always thought Cecilia was just a pawn, not the hand controlling it
all.
But now, she understood. One woman, driven by her belief and desperation, had manipulated entire nations. Chapters first released on
The others in the room stared at Cecilia in shock and disgust.
Caitlin’s anger boiled over. She struck Cecilia hard across the face. “Do you have any idea how many died because of you? How many innocent lives you destroyed with your selfish dream?”
Cecilia’s tears fell freely now. She finally understood how wrong she’d been.
I’m sorry, Caitlin,” she whispered hoarsely. “I wanted to save my people. I thought I was doing what was right. But I see it now–my obsession caused all this. If you want to hate me, hit me, I deserve it.”
Caitlin grabbed her by the collar, eyes blazing. “Killing you won’t fix anything. You want to make amends? Then find Zorro and tell him yourself–the Shard of Life isn’t a cure or an elixir. It’s a lie. Tell him to stop chasing ghosts. Do you hear me?”
“I’m sorry.” Cecilia whispered again, and a moment later, blood spilled from her lips. She swayed, her body trembling. “Please… save my people…”
“Cecilia, what’s happening? Stay with me!” Caitlin knelt beside her. “You promised to tell me–where’s my mother? Tell me where she is!”
“Maxwell…” Cecilia’s voice was barely a breath.
“What?” Caitlin leaned closer, pressing her ear near Cecilia’s lips. “Say it again…”
But Cecilia’s hand fell limp, her head slumping to one side.
“Cecilia! Cecilia!”
Caitlin shouted, shaking her, but the woman didn’t respond.
Caitlin pressed her fingers under Cecilia’s nose, then exhaled shakily. “She’s gone.”
Gone.
Just like that, Cecilia was dead.
For her, death brought peace. She had finally uncovered the truth she’d spent a lifetime chasing. In her last moments, she had done one thing right–offering redemption to the Yuncey family.
And above all, she had revealed something priceless–Caitlin’s mother’s whereabouts.
The room was heavy with grief. Caitlin’s eyes shimmered with tears.
No one noticed the faint red glow beneath Cecilia’s skin, just behind her ear, slowly fading until it vanished completely.
Sebastian broke the silence. “When you asked about your mother… did she say anything?”
“She did.”
Caitlin stood up, her voice low but steady. “Maxwell. She said… Maxwell.”