Chapter 161

Chapter 161

Seraphine's POV

Heath knew I was upset, so he didn't say anything more. He silently finished packing what needed to be packed.

He rolled up his sleeves and headed downstairs. "Let me cook you a meal. We've always had staff waiting on us—you've never tried my cooking. I make a mean steak."

I forced a smile and opened the fridge to take out the steak for him. "Dad, I'll finally get to taste your steak today."

We both tried to act relaxed, joking with each other, doing our best to keep the mood light.

Soon, Heath had the steak ready.

We ate quietly, sitting across from each other. Neither of us mentioned prison.

But as soon as we finished eating, people arrived.

Several officials in court uniforms.

The moment they entered, they approached with stern expressions, holding a summons out to Heath. "You're Heath, correct? Octavius, CEO of the Capulet Group, is suing you for financial fraud from years ago. You need to come with us."

Heath looked at me calmly. "Seraphine, take care of yourself out there. If you can, come visit me sometimes."

Tears burst from my eyes. I ran over and grabbed his arm. "Dad!"

"Don't worry about me. It's just prison, right? No big deal. Your uncle's been in there for years. I'll go see what it's like." Heath joked as he gently pushed my hand away and followed the officials out.

I chased after him, calling his name several times, but Heath never looked back. He opened the car door and got in.

I stood at the gate, watching the car drive away until it disappeared. All the strength drained from my body. I nearly collapsed.

"What's going on? What happened?" Brielle came running over with several shopping bags, just barely missing the car carrying Heath.

She dropped the bags and caught me. "Why do you look like you're about to faint? Is it low blood sugar? Who was in that car just now?"

Brielle looked completely bewildered. She had no idea.

I forced myself to pull it together. "Come back inside with me. I'll tell you what happened today."

Once Brielle followed me into the living room, I explained everything.

After hearing it all, Brielle's eyes went wide. She was completely stunned. "Are you serious? You're not joking with me, right? The entire Whitaker Group—just gone like that?"

"Yes. Gone." I looked at Brielle calmly. "Even if you don't accept it, that's the reality."

Brielle shook her head, looking like she was on the verge of a breakdown. "No. If our family's bankrupt, how am I supposed to marry rich?"

I knew that's what she'd be worried about. "Don't worry. We already arranged the marriage alliance. Things can still move forward. If that family doesn't want to marry you, I'll ask Octavius. He should do me that favor."

Brielle's lips moved. She looked at me like she wanted to say something but didn't dare.

I frowned. "At a time like this, if you have something to say, just say it. It's only the two of us left in this house. What are you hesitating for?"

Brielle lowered her head and sighed helplessly. "It's nothing. I just think... you've been too good to me. And I've done so many things to hurt you."

I smiled. "You've learned to reflect on yourself now?"

"Really! I genuinely think I was wrong. So many things in the past—I'm sorry for all of them." Brielle looked at me sincerely, her eyes brimming with tears.

I wasn't used to comforting her. I had never gotten along peacefully with Brielle before and didn't really know how to soothe her emotions. "All right, don't cry. You won't have it too bad in the future. After you're married, you'll still be able to enjoy life."

Brielle grabbed my hand and asked urgently, "What about you? Will you still be able to be with Octavius?"

I hadn't expected the conversation to circle back to Octavius.

I smiled faintly. "I don't know. There are too many problems between Octavius and me. I'm not in the mood to think about that right now. I need to figure out what I'm going to do next."

But Brielle didn't seem to understand my thinking at all. "What else would you do? Of course you should be with Octavius! You can't let that Quinlan woman win."

I didn't want to talk about this anymore. "Whoever I'm with isn't about getting back at Quinlan. You don't need to persuade me. Just go upstairs and pack your things. Octavius is taking this villa back too."

Brielle looked shocked.

She sounded displeased. "Octavius is even taking this villa?"

I smiled helplessly. "The Whitaker family only only managed to afford this villa by using the Stewart family's assets in the first place. It's not strange that he's taking everything back. Don't worry about it. Just go upstairs and pack."

Urged by me, Brielle rubbed her temples and hurried upstairs to her room to pack.

I also went back to my room and quickly packed a few clothes, planning to leave with Brielle.

Suddenly, urgent footsteps sounded from outside. It sounded like a lot of people had arrived.

"What's going on?" Brielle looked at me nervously. "Who's here?"

As soon as she finished speaking, someone entered the living room.

It was Orion.

He looked up and saw the two of us on the second floor with our luggage, and he laughed out loud. "You two sisters made up? Even running away together now? Neither of you is leaving today!"

Brielle's face went pale with fear, but she still stepped forward to shield me. "What do you want, Orion? The entire Whitaker Group is gone now. Even if you show up here with all these people, it's useless. You can't change anything!"

"Heath helped his family go after the Stewart family years ago, exploiting so many of their resources. He deserves to go to prison now. But I can't have spent all these years scheming only to end up with nothing." Orion laughed coldly.

I frowned. "Even if you're unwilling to accept it, there's nothing you can do. The entire company and all the Whitaker family assets belong to Octavius now. If you want anything, go and ask Octavius. Coming to me is useless."

"Who said I'm here to get money from you? I'm using you to get money from Octavius." Orion smiled smugly. "He still likes you, doesn't he? The whole thing about him fighting Mitchell over you on the street already made the news."

Made the news? It was really that dramatic?

"I thought I had no way of getting anything. But when I saw that news, I realized—I'm not done yet!" Orion grew more and more pleased with himself. "I can totally use you to blackmail Octavius and get a huge payout."

He waved his hand. Several bodyguards rushed toward me and surrounded me.

"Octavius likes you so much—who knows how much wealth I can trade you for!" Greed flashed in Orion's eyes. "But right now, you need to tell me where Amara is."