Chapter 277

Chapter 277

"Say something! Tell me this isn't true!"

Dahlia screamed hysterically at Violette.

Violette kept her head down, biting her pale lips hard, saying nothing.

Her silence confirmed the absurd truth.

Dahlia collapsed onto the ground. Years of pride shattered into dust in that single moment.

"Enough crying. You're in the way."

Harold had no patience left for Dahlia.

He turned his head, his gaze locking back onto Lucinda. His right hand shot up.

"Move! Tie her up!"

From the depths of the warehouse, four burly bodyguards in black charged out, eyes vicious, closing in on Lucinda.

Lucinda stood still. She didn't even lift an eyelid.

The moment the first bodyguard's hand was about to touch her shoulder, she moved.

Sidestep. Wrist lock. Arm break.

The crack of bone echoed sharply through the empty warehouse, followed by a man's scream.

Lucinda snatched the iron rod from his hand and swung it backward, knocking the second bodyguard flat.

Her movements were too fast—clean, ruthless, no hesitation.

In under ten seconds, all four bodyguards were on the ground, groaning in pain.

Lucinda calmly dusted off her hands, then pulled out her phone and stopped the recording.

On the screen, a ten-minute audio file had been saved successfully.

"Violette. Harold." Lucinda raised an eyebrow, waving her phone. "The baby swap from back then, plus the attempted kidnapping just now—this recording is enough to keep you both locked up for life."

Harold's face turned ashen.

"I know you can fight. That's why I didn't just bring these few." Harold bared his yellowed teeth in a vicious grin. "I've got people surrounding this place. You're not getting out today."

"Is that so?" Lucinda's lips curved into an amused smile.

Almost the instant her words fell—

A deafening crash. The warehouse's iron door was blown open by external force.

Metal shards flew. Dust exploded into the air.

Dozens of elite bodyguards in black tactical gear poured in like a flood, sealing off the entire warehouse in seconds.

And at the front of that group, Reginald walked forward against the light.

He was dressed in all black, his eyes cold as a demon from hell.

Behind him followed Wesley and Valencia, faces grim, along with over a dozen fully armed police officers.

Dahlia, still lying on the ground, was completely paralyzed with fear.

"Dad... Mom..."

Her voice trembled as she called out.

But Wesley and Valencia didn't spare her a single glance.

The warmth that used to fill their eyes when they looked at her was gone.

On the way here, they'd learned the full truth.

This adopted daughter they'd doted on for twenty years had conspired with outsiders to push their biological daughter into the abyss.

"How is this possible..."

Harold panicked completely.

He stared at Reginald, who had descended like divine retribution, and screamed hysterically. "What about the twenty bodyguards I had stationed outside? How did you get in?"

Reginald strode over to Lucinda with long steps, wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her tightly into his embrace.

After confirming she wasn't hurt, he turned his head and cast a cold glance at Harold. "Those wastes you stationed outside? They're all lying in a ditch right now."

Reginald's voice held no warmth. "Aiden. Take him."

"Yes, Mr. Lancaster!" Aiden and his team surged forward. He kicked Harold to the ground, twisted his arms behind his back, and pressed him hard against the rough concrete.

"Wesley! You owe me this! You deserve this punishment!" Harold's face scraped against the ground, mouth full of dirt, but he kept screaming, eyes bloodshot. "You destroyed the Rogers Group! Made me live like a dog for twenty years! Your daughter deserved to die! She deserved to be thrown away!"

Wesley walked forward slowly, looking down at the deranged man, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Harold, even now, you refuse to see reason?"

Wesley's voice was heavy. "Back then, you were the one who cooked the books at the Rogers Group. You embezzled funds. You exploited your employees to the point of death. When it all came to light, you tried to pin everything on the Douglas Group. The evidence I had was all obtained legally by law enforcement."

"Your company went bankrupt because you deserved it. But you blamed it all on my daughter!"

Hearing this, Valencia finally couldn't hold back. She rushed over and threw her arms around Lucinda.

"Cindy... my Cindy..."

She sobbed heart-wrenchingly, tears instantly soaking Lucinda's shoulder.

"It's all my fault. It's all our fault for not protecting you. If we'd been more careful back then, you wouldn't have suffered so much..." Valencia choked, barely able to speak.

If it hadn't been for the airport swap all those years ago, her biological daughter would have been the Douglas family's most treasured princess. She wouldn't have ended up in Seaside City. She wouldn't have endured so much hardship.

Lucinda let Valencia hold her. She didn't push her away.

"Cuff them. Take them in!"

The lead officer's face was stern. At his command—

Handcuffs clicked shut around Harold and Violette's wrists.

Violette hadn't resisted at all. But as she was dragged away, she glanced back at Dahlia, still slumped on the ground. Her eyes were full of guilt, but in the end, she said nothing.

The sound of sirens faded into the distance.

Inside the warehouse, Dahlia sat collapsed on the ground, utterly disheveled.

She stared blankly ahead.

Valencia clung tightly to Lucinda, tears streaming down her face, voice choked with emotion.

Wesley stood nearby, eyes red, his large hand trembling as he rested it on Lucinda's shoulder, checking over and over to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Reginald stood protectively at Lucinda's side, eyes full of tenderness, gently brushing dust off her sleeve.

The Douglas brothers crowded around her too, voices full of concern, eyes filled with lingering fear.

One by one, they surrounded Lucinda at the center.

And Dahlia sat not far away.

Not a single person looked back at her.

She was like air—completely shut out from that warm, tender scene.