Chapter 671
“I’ve already got Hector under my thumb. If he doesn’t cooperate, he’ll be the one to suffer.”
Caitlin recounted every detail of her confrontation with Hector–his trembling hands, the sweat dripping down his wrinkled face, the way he almost choked on his own fear. Sebastian listened in silence, his eyes widening with each revelation. When she finished, he leaned back, stunned. “So the massacre of your grandfather Walter’s family… it really was the Jonathan Family working hand–in–hand with the Yuncey Family?”
“Exactly.” Caitlin’s tone was cold, but her eyes burned with anger. “The whole thing is clear now. Hector’s backers are the Silent Order. Dustin is the Jonathan Family’s attack dog. Carlos too. Together they conspired with the Yunceys, drenched my grandfather’s home in blood, and carved up the estate like vultures.”
She clenched her fists so tight her knuckles whitened.
“All of it for Yun’s Aromatic Codex. Timothy never managed to get it–Hector took it. Then, fearing Timothy might turn on him, he had Carlos–posing as Forrest–stationed in Departure City. On the surface he ran the underground bank, but his real job was to keep Timothy on a leash.”
Her voice dropped, hard as steel. “And Dustin. He didn’t stumble upon my younger brother by accident. He took him from the Willow City monastery deliberately, raised him, groomed him, turned him into a weapon -all to get his hands on the Codex’s upper half.”
“So it all ties back to Yun’s Aromatic Codex,” Sebastian muttered, shaking his head.
“Yes. What I’ve pieced together is just one closed loop. Beyond it, there’s a larger ring we can’t see yet. The full truth only reveals itself when both halves are in our possession.”
Her gaze sharpened, almost feverish. “Tomorrow I’m walking into the Jonathan estate. I’ll take the lower half. Then we’ll see if the so–called map really exists.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Caitlin shook her head firmly. “You’re injured. You’ll stay here and command the reinforcements once they arrive. I’ll take Zinnia and Tyler. That’s enough.”
Sebastian looked like he wanted to argue, but finally he nodded. “All right. But be careful.”
Later that evening, the sound of a door creaking open broke the tense quiet. Vaughn and King returned, the smell of rain clinging to their coats. Vaughn placed a folder thick with papers onto the desk.
“Madam, I dug up some files on Liliana. You’ll want to see this.”
Caitlin spread the papers across the table. The crisp black–and–white photos and typewritten records were meticulous: academic transcripts, medical records, event invitations.
“She’s well educated, graduated from a top foreign university,” Caitlin murmured, scanning. “While abroad, she was invited to royal banquets, high–profile charity events… built a wide social circle.”
Her eyes slid to the medical history. “Appendectomy last year. A month ago she was treated for
gastrointestinal problems. Thorough, but not exactly scandal–worthy.”
“Keep flipping.” Vaughn urged, leaning forward. “There’s more.”
Sure enough, buried deeper were tabloid clippings, stamped with faded publication dates.
“They reported she underwent cosmetic surgery during school,” Caitlin read aloud, her lips curling. “Every time she appeared in photos, her face looked… altered. Here–old school photos. Compare them to her now.”
The contrast was shocking. In one photo she looked like an ordinary, pretty girl. In the newer ones, she was almost unrecognizable–flawless, sculpted, glamorous.
“With enough money, you can bury anything,” Caitlin muttered. “The Jonathans bought silence. Now they parade her as some natural–born beauty.” She tapped one glossy page. “Her features were reshaped drastically. This level of work… only Korean surgeons could pull it off. Tyler, can we hack into Korean clinic records?”
Sebastian answered before Tyler could. “Hospitals guard that information. But the Obsidian Order’s cyber unit can crack anything if it’s there. Tyler, contact HQ. Focus on Liliana’s procedures in both D Country and
Korea.”
“Yes, sir.”
Caitlin turned to King. “What about the Seventh Door?”
King smirked faintly and slid over a thick stack of glossy photographs. “I caught Ignatius entering the Seventh Door with Nicoletta. Together.”
Caitlin flipped through them. Her eyes froze. “It’s him!”
“Who?” Zinnia leaned over.
“Forrest. That face, that build–I remember it.”
Sebastian frowned. He didn’t recall Forrest’s features. “That’s Forrest? Then he’s Carlos as well?”
“Yes! Finally, it clicks. Forrest and Carlos–both aliases of Ignatius. And Nicoletta is his sister. Of course. That’s why he serves the Jonathans so loyally. It’s blood.”
Her analysis was crisp, her tone almost savage with satisfaction. At last, Forrest’s and Carlos’s identities were nailed down.
And the contract dissolving her grandfather’s estate had been signed by Carlos. Proof, ironclad, that Ignatius acted under Jonathan orders.
Caitlin kept flipping. Suddenly her eyes narrowed. “Wait… this is Nicoletta with… who?”
The man wore a wide–brimmed hat pulled low, obscuring his face. The two of them entered a secluded villa.
“Could he be her boy toy?” Caitlin muttered, a sharp grin tugging her lips. “Now this is the kind of gossip I like.”
King leaned in. “Bought the shots from a paparazzo. He charged twenty grand. Said he couldn’t dare publish them–too dangerous. Selling them was safer.”
“Good work.” Caitlin smirked. “Sebastian will cover the expense.”
But King wasn’t done. His grin widened. “Madam, turn the page. The last ones are even juicier.”
“Oh? Something even juicier?” Caitlin flipped quickly.
The photos showed Nicoletta and the mystery man leaving the villa separately, hours later. The paparazzo had tailed him to Thompson Global Ventures‘ underground garage. And when he finally stepped from the car, the camera caught his face.
Fletcher. Hector’s eldest son.
Caitlin’s breath hitched. “My God… if this is real, it’s explosive. But with just these photos, they could claim it was business. Not enough proof of an affair.”
She flipped again, heart beating faster.
“Check the last two,” King urged, his voice low with anticipation.