Chapter 194 I Will Find Rowan 

Julius lowered his lashes, careful not to let Quinn notice how unsettled he was. 

There were certain things he had to verify. If Quinn’s brother truly was the man he once met, then… 

Just then, the owner began bringing their dishes to the table one after another. 

“Let’s eat,” Quinn suggested. 

“All right,” Julius answered, lowering his head and eating in silence. 

While Quinn ate, she kept chatting with Julius about old memories involving her parents and her older brother; whenever her brother came up, the warmth in her voice and the softening of her features made it perfectly clear just how deeply she cherished him. 

Throughout the entire meal, Julius felt as though he were chewing on dry wax; afterward, he could not even recall what any of the dishes had tasted like. 

He simply moved his fork up and down in a purely mechanical rhythm. 

“By the way, Quinn, what brings you here especially today?” the restaurant owner asked with friendly curiosity while ringing up the bill. 

“I came to take care of the old house,” Quinn answered. 

She had already transferred the Yarburn city apartment into her own name, but the Bridger family’s old house out in the town still hadn’t been processed. 

Before heading back to Jexburgh, she intended to settle the paperwork and officially put that property under her name as well. 

“So you’re here to handle the relocation procedures, right? I heard a lot of folks in your neighborhood have already signed off, and the whole block is scheduled for demolition in just a few days,” the owner added. 

“What?” Quinn’s eyes widened. “Demolition?” 

“Yeah, demolition. You didn’t know?” the owner replied. 

Quinn fell silent. She truly hadn’t known a thing about any upcoming demolition and had never received a single notice. 

<Looks like I’d better find out what’s going on.> 

After they stepped out of the little diner, Julius glanced at her. “Are we still going to your family’s old 

house?” 

“No, first we’re heading to the Relocation Office,” Quinn said. 

Over the next twenty–four hours, Sidonie’s scandal snowballed; despite both the Stonehurst and Bridger families‘ efforts to bury it on Twitter’s trending list, their suppression barely made a dent. 

Sidonie’s parents even rushed to Yarburn overnight, hoping to persuade the Bridger family to intervene; the Bridgers wield considerable influence here, and if they poured enough resources into it, the story might yet be smothered. 

1/2 

While Lana was pleading nonstop with her elder male cousins to shield her daughter from the headlines, Quinn pushed open the office door. 

“Quinn, what brings you here?” Moldred asked, surprised to see her—and even more surprised to see Julius stride in at her side. 

“I’m looking for Uncle Melvin,” Quinn said, her gaze locking onto Melvin. “I’d like to know why the old house of our fifth branch is being demolished, yet every consent form for compensation lists nothing but Uncle Melvin’s information.” 

The moment those words left her mouth, every person in the room turned to stare at Melvin. 

A stab of regret shot through Melvin; the instant Quinn had shown up outside the ancestral hall, he’d sensed she would become trouble. 

And sure enough–here that trouble was. 

“Melvin, what exactly is going on?” Moldred–the eldest of this generation–demanded. 

“The old house of the fifth branch is technically ancestral property,” Melvin said righteously. “The fifth branch only has Quinn, a single girl. How could we hand down ancestral assets to a girl? If the relocation money goes to her, she’ll marry, and an outsider will reap the benefit. Naturally, the funds must stay with a Bridger male.” 

Quinn almost laughed from sheer anger. “What century are we in that a woman can’t inherit? And why should a third–branch member inherit property that belongs to the fifth branch? Explain that!” 

“Blame your dad and your brother for having short lives. If they were still around, of course, they’d inherit,” Melvin retorted. 

The phrase “short lives” sliced across Quinn’s nerves. Her eyes flushed crimson as she glared at him. “The fifth branch’s old house is not yours to control! Besides, my brother is still alive!” 

“Ha! He’s been missing for five years–no way he’s alive. If he were, why hasn’t he shown up? Keep fooling yourself all you want; your brother is never coming back,” Melvin mocked. 

Quinn’s hand, hanging at her side, shot upward; elder or not, she could no longer hold herself back. 

But another hand moved even faster, lunging toward Melvin. 

In the blink of an eye, long fingers clamped unyieldingly around Melvin’s throat.