Chapter 486: The Recording Exposed, the Whole City on Trial

Chapter 486: The Recording Exposed, the Whole City on Trial

That conversation, sealed away for twenty years, poured through top-grade audio equipment into the ears of everyone in the banquet hall.

Clear. Bone-chilling.

"...That child called Sophia, her genetic profile matches yours perfectly. She's a natural 'vessel'..."

"...Starting tomorrow, Emerald City will have no more Anderson family..."

The entire banquet hall fell dead silent.

Everyone froze. Champagne stopped at lips, conversations stuck in throats.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes converged into a tangible force, nailed firmly on that elegant woman at the main table.

Candice's face transformed at a visible speed—from a graceful smile, to a rigid pallor, and finally, to ashen.

She shot to her feet with such force that the chair behind her let out a sharp scraping sound.

"Turn it off! Turn that thing off!"

She screamed at the control booth, her voice sharp and shrill from pure rage and panic, completely shredding the refined lady disguise she'd maintained for decades.

Several uniformed staff instinctively moved to act, but were blocked by black-suited men who had appeared in the aisles at some point.

Those men stood expressionless, postures rigid, forming an impassable wall just by standing there.

Candice wanted to cut the power, but quickly realized the entire banquet hall's control system had completely slipped from her grasp.

The countdown on the big screen kept running, but it was no longer a signal of the end—it was the tolling of judgment.

The recording continued. Each sentence was like a hammer, pounding on everyone's hearts, and smashing the Bennett family's last shred of dignity.

Stealing technology, framing the loyal, threatening partners, treating a child as a "vessel" to be manipulated at will.

These words formed the most absurd and most vicious contrast with Candice, who had presented herself for years as a philanthropist.

"Crazy... this woman must be insane, right?"

"The Anderson family back then... so that's how they were destroyed?"

"My God, if this is true, the Bennett family is finished!"

Whispers rose like a tide from all directions.

The recording finally ended.

But the suffocating silence that followed was more oppressive than any sound.

Sophia stood up, holding that untouched glass of champagne, and walked step by step through the crowd toward that woman who was already tottering.

Her heels clicked on the polished marble floor, each step like treading on Candice's heart.

She stopped in front of Candice, close enough to see the slight twitch at the corner of the other woman's eye from anger.

"This is mine."

Sophia raised her hand, displaying the complete white jade pendant around her neck before Candice's eyes.

The jade was warm and translucent, casting a soft yet impossible-to-ignore glow under the crystal lights.

"Now, I'm taking back everything that belongs to the Anderson family."

The words were calm, clear, yet more powerful than any roar.

They were the final straw that completely broke Candice's taut nerves.

"Monster!"

She swung her hand violently, trying to knock away that glaring jade pendant, but Nicholas caught her wrist firmly with his hand, appearing from nowhere.

Nicholas's grip was strong, squeezing her wrist bone painfully.

"You're just a monster created by that madman Gordon!"

Unable to break free, Candice could only use the most vicious language for her final struggle.

"A failure! Trash that should have been destroyed long ago!"

She looked deranged, without a trace of her usual grace. That well-maintained face was filled with twisted hatred.

"I'm the chosen one! The 'Genesis' project will prove everything! You mortals, you ants, what right do you have to judge me!"

The banquet hall exploded into chaos.

"Genesis project? What's that?"

"She's lost it! Really lost it!"

Just then, outside the locked doors of the banquet hall, a commotion and intense flashing broke out.

Reporters who had been waiting outside, like sharks smelling blood, rushed in with their cameras.

Flashbulbs went off madly, freezing Candice's twisted, savage face clearly in every lens.

She staggered backward from the sudden bright lights, utterly disheveled.

Nicholas released her hand, letting her collapse to the floor.

He walked to Sophia's side, shielding her behind him, then picked up the microphone the host had left on stage.

He surveyed the room, his voice carrying clearly through the speakers to every corner.

"From this moment on, the Martinez Group will impose unlimited commercial sanctions and legal prosecution on the Bennett Group and all participants in the 'Genesis project.'"

"All relevant evidence will be submitted to the proper authorities in one hour."

"Everyone here, if your name unfortunately appears on that list..."

He paused, those dark eyes holding no warmth whatsoever.

"You can start calling your lawyers now."

The entire hall fell deathly silent.

Those guests who had been whispering moments ago now looked deathly pale, one by one.

Especially those few "investors" Graham had marked out—their faces looked worse than Candice's, their bodies shaking like sieves.

This was a public execution.

A thunderous declaration of war against the entire interest group.

The reporters went completely wild, surrounding Candice until she was completely trapped.

"Candice! Is the recording content true?"

"What's your explanation for the 'Genesis project'?"

"Was the Anderson family's downfall orchestrated by you?"

Candice sat collapsed on the floor, surrounded by countless questions and flashbulbs, like a beast stripped of its fur and thrown into the snow.

Her dignity, her status, everything she'd carefully built over decades—all crushed to dust this evening.

Suddenly, she stopped moving.

Under everyone's gaze, she slowly lifted her head, pushing aside her disheveled hair.

Her face no longer showed anger or terror. In their place was a chilling, eerie smile.

"Hahaha... hahahahahaha!"

She laughed out loud, the laughter sharp, echoing throughout the banquet hall.

"You think you've won?"

She looked at Sophia, at Nicholas, those eyes filled with pure, undisguised madness.

"The game has only just begun."

"The gift I've prepared for this world, very soon... you'll all receive it."

"When that time comes, you'll get on your knees and beg me, beg me to grant you the qualification to 'evolve'!"

As soon as she finished speaking, several men and women mixed among the guests around the banquet hall suddenly moved.