Chapter 145 Ashes and Regret

Franklin sneered, already nning how to punish the foolish police and manipte the situation to elevate the Joyner family’s prestige. As for Scarlett, the one who started it all–she would suffer a fate worse than death. He would make sure she learned the price of crossing the Joyner family.

Connor and the others stood with him. Stanley even moved closer, eager to see the evidence for himself. Franklin opened his inbox with deliberate slowness. The signal in the private room was strong, and the images loaded quickly.

“These photos—I’m going to show them to Director Lin tomorrow and-”

He stopped mid–sentence.

The first photo stunned him speechless.

Reba was meeting with the arsonist. Their interaction looked more than familiar, even affectionate. The detective’s report rified the connection: the two were high school ssmates and had once had a mutual crush.

The following images tracked their connection over the past six years–ever since Reba was taken back into the Joyner family, she had maintained contact with the arsonist. The final photo showed them outside the apartment building that had gone up in mes. Though some distance apart, their eyes were locked on each other.

Crash.

Stanley’s teacup slipped from his hand and shattered against the floor. Porcin shards flew everywhere, one even slicing across the back of his hand. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t even notice.

The air in the room froze, thick with shock. No one moved. No one spoke.

Oliver’s fingers dug into his palm so hard they turned white, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the screen. In the final photo, sunlight cast a golden line across Scarlett’s face. Her faint smile was nothing like the sweet, obedient girl he remembered. It was as if a switch flipped in his brain.

He lunged forward and snatched the phone from Franklin, pressing his thumb repeatedly against the screen as if he could scrub the image away.

Memories, long buried, surged up like a tidal wave, mming into his every nerve. Three months ago, Scarlett had clung to his sleeve, feverish, begging him to believe her. Tears had filled her eyes, and he hadn’t -listened. Instead, he handed her USB drive to Reba, tore her hand away, and snapped, “I know what kind of person Reba is. All you’re doing is making things harder for her. You need to learn your lesson. From now on, no dinner for a week.”

Every cruel word he’d spoken stabbed into his heart like ice picks. Even after seeing her injuries and tears at the birthday banquet, he had still said those things. Still cut ties.

For the first time, Oliver felt utterly repulsed by himself.

Now, all he could think about was finding Scarlett. He was terrified she was somewhere, crying alone, with no family left to trust.

Eugene stumbled backward, bumping into the table behind him. His face crumpled as the truth crushed his pride.

They had always seen themselves as noble and righteous. Even if their original reason for bringing Scarlett into the family was to harvest a kidney, he believed they had treated her wellvishing her with resources.

But now, he realized how wrong he’d been.

If the Joyner family’s “resources” had really elevated Scarlett, with her talent, she would have shined long ago. There would’ve been no need to wait for this medical conference to gain recognition.

And she had nearly died helping him with his research more than once. Yet he’d never thanked her. Never once said something kind.

The gentlest thing he ever offered was tossing her his leftover takeout with a gruff “Eat. Don’t starve.” When she looked up at him, teary–eyed, he thought it was from the pain of his injections and scolded her again.

“If you can’t handle a little pain, then we wasted six years raising you!”

He mmed a fist against his chest, but it didn’t ease the pressure weighing on his heart.

Connor clung to the table, his free hand yanking at his tie. The suffocating feeling in his chest wasn’t from the knot of silk at his throat. It was guilt.

He used to think Scarlett was clingy–waiting for him at work even when he stayedte, like she couldn’t survive without him. He thought she was irritating.

When he met Reba, he didn’t hesitate to question Scarlett’s identity and even dragged Reba off for a DNA test.

After Reba returned to the Joyner family, he dismissed every concern Scarlett voiced as petty or malicious. His heart only grew colder and colder toward her.