“Fonest!”
Timothy’s voice rang out hoarsely as he summoned the butler into the room.
Forrest stepped inside, his usual calm and deferential expression firmly in place. “Yes, sir? What can I do for you?”
“I need you to call Caitlin. There’s something I must tell her.”
Forrest suddenly lifted his head. His eyes no longer looked kind. The warmth vanished from his voice, replaced with a sharp, icy edge.
“Have you forgotten the promise you made to our master back then? If you break that oath and reveal the truth, don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Timothy’s face twisted in confusion, his eyes narrowing. “What… you–wait, you’re…”
Before he could finish the sentence, Forrest stepped forward, swiftly pulling a dagger from his sleeve and plunging it into Timothy’s abdomen.
“Ugh…”
Timothy fell to the floor, eyes wide, blood spilling from his mouth. He could hardly believe what had just happened–Forrest, the man who had served The Yuncey Family for decades, was a plant, an assassin.
Without hesitation, Forrest turned to the altar, grabbed the heavy brass candleholder, and flung it at the wall. Flames instantly caught the
curtains and spread like wildfire.
He took one last look at Timothy’s lifeless, bloodied body, then darted out of the room.
Within minutes, the fire had begun to consume the room. A servant passing by saw the smoke and shouted, “Fire! The main house is on fire!
Somebody, help!”
Servants rushed to grab water buckets, forming a line to douse the flames.
James, who lived not far from the main residence, heard the commotion. Grabbing an extinguisher, he sprinted toward the fire. On the way,
he crossed paths with Forrest.
“Forrest! Is the main house on fire?”
“Yes,” Forrest replied, keeping his eyes low. “I’m heading out to find help.”
“Alright, hurry!”
James ran toward the blaze, never suspecting a thing.
Back in her room, Caitlin was at her laptop, finalizing some documents. Sebastian lay sideways on the bed, head propped up on one hand, smoldering eyes locked on her.
“Sweetheart,” he drawled, unbuttoning his shirt just enough to show off a teasing line of toned chest, “aren’t you done yet? I’m cold… come
warm me up.”
“I’m done.”
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Chapter 419
It was hard to focus with temptation literally lounging on her bed. She shut her laptop and crossed the room with a teasing glint in her eyes, cracking her knuckles. “Cold, huh? Want me to warm you up with a good pounding?”
2
“I don’t want a beating. I want you.”
With one fluid motion, Sebastian pulled her into his arms, lips inches away.
Just as their mouths were about to meet, someone knocked on the door.
Sebastian’s jaw tensed. Who the hell had the nerve to interrupt now?
“Caitlin!” Zinnia’s voice called from outside. “Something’s wrong! I think there’s a fire!”
Caitlin and Sebastian jolted up. Opening the door, they saw Zinnia pale and breathless.
“Where?” Caitlin asked.
“The main house!”
They could already hear the shouting and see the flicker of flames from afar. The three of them rushed toward the main estate.
When they arrived, chaos had broken out. Servants were scrambling, James was already there with the extinguisher, and Sebastian jumped in to help.
Thankfully, they had caught the fire early enough to control it. Once the flames were subdued, James and another servant went inside, covering their faces from the lingering smoke.
Moments later, James shouted, “Caitlin! Get in here!”
She and Sebastian ran inside. James’s flashlight beam cut through the smoke and revealed Timothy lying motionless on the soaked floor.
Blood pooled beneath him.
“There’s a knife in him,” James said grimly. “This wasn’t the fire–it was murder.”
“Oh my God…”
Caitlin’s heart dropped. Timothy was barely clinging to life.
“He still has a pulse!”
James pressed his fingers to the old man’s wrist.
“Call an ambulance! Call the police!” Caitlin shouted.
Sebastian was already dialing.
Caitlin knelt beside Timothy. “Timothy! Can you hear me?”
His eyes fluttered open. He stared at her, lips barely moving.
“Who did this to you?” she asked, leaning closer.
“F…Forr…rest…”
Caitlin froze. “Forrest? It was Forrest?”
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Chapter 419
Timothy’s lips moved again, but the words didn’t come out clearly. His head lolled to the side, breath escaping him in a final, silent sigh.
“Timothy? Timothy!”
Caitlin tried to rouse him, but he was gone.
Whatever he had meant to say after Forrest’s name, she didn’t hear it. And now he had taken that secret to the grave.
CIST
She rose, face pale and tight. “Timothy was murdered. The fire–was a cover–up. He said Forrest’s name before he died. Where is Forrest? Has
anyone seen him?”
The servants looked at one another in confusion and growing fear.
“No one’s seen him since the fire started,” one finally said.
“I ran into him earlier,” James added. “He said he was going to get help. I didn’t suspect anything then–but now I’m sure. He ran.”
He turned and bolted.
Caitlin stayed behind as police and medics arrived, though there was no longer anyone to save. Shaw led the investigation, confirming the
knife had fingerprints. The crime scene was sealed, and the body removed for forensic analysis.
With Timothy’s final words and Forrest’s disappearance, the police officially named Forrest as the primary suspect. A manhunt was launched.
Later that night, Caitlin sat with Sebastian, both of them trying to piece together what had happened.
“Forrest always seemed so harmless,” Sebastian said, frowning. “What would push him to do this?”
“I don’t know,” Caitlin murmured. “Could he have snapped when he saw The Yuncey Family collapsing?”
“There was no theft. The scene looked clean–no signs of robbery.”
“It doesn’t make sense…” Caitlin leaned back, brows furrowed, “Timothy was about to tell me something. He called me right before this
happened.”
Sebastian turned to her. “What did he say to you before he died?”
Caitlin met his eyes, voice low.
“He said Forrest. But… there were more words. Something after that. I couldn’t make it out. It’s like he wanted to reveal something important. Something that cost him his life.”
They both fell silent, the firelight of the ruined room still flickering in their memories.
The
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