Chapter 278

Chapter 278

The next day, the sun was bright.

The police investigation results were released, sending shockwaves through Starlight City's elite circles.

Harold, after his business defeat years ago, had harbored a deep grudge against the Douglas family.

For revenge, he had personally orchestrated the airport arson and, amid the chaos, directed Violette to carry out the baby swap.

Violette, as his accomplice, took the newborn Lucinda, abandoned her heartlessly in Seaside City, and then placed her own biological daughter, Dahlia, at the Douglas Estate's doorstep.

Twenty years of conspiracy, finally brought to light.

The verdict came swiftly.

Harold was sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple felonies, including arson, child trafficking, and attempted kidnapping with intent to harm.

Violette, for her roles in child trafficking and as an accomplice in attempted kidnapping, received fifteen years.

Justice might arrive late, but the demons in the abyss were finally dragged back to hell.

That evening, the Douglas Estate.

Dahlia was brought back to the living room by bodyguards.

Her face was deathly pale. She'd lost a lot of weight. The light in her eyes was completely gone.

This time, no one pulled out a chair for her.

The Douglas brothers sat off to one side, faces cold, looking at her as if she were already dead.

Valencia sat in the center of the sofa, gripping the police verdict tightly in her hand.

She looked at Dahlia kneeling before her, disappointment bottomless in her eyes.

"Dahlia." Valencia finally spoke, her voice hoarse. "Twenty years. We raised you like a treasure for twenty years. You never lacked for anything. What did the Douglas family ever do to wrong you?"

Valencia's eyes were red, locked on Dahlia. "Why did you keep hurting Cindy, over and over? She's your sister. She's the one who suffered the most in this family!"

"Mom... I didn't! I really didn't want to harm her!" Dahlia crawled forward frantically, trying to grab the hem of Valencia's dress, but the bodyguards held her back.

She sobbed hysterically. "I was just... I was just jealous of her! I just wanted you to look at me more! Why is it that the moment she came back, you only had eyes for her? I didn't know Harold was going to kidnap her—I was tricked, Mom!"

"Enough!" Valencia closed her eyes. Two tears slid down her cheeks. "Tricked? If you didn't have ill intentions, if you hadn't led her to that warehouse, how would Harold have had the chance?"

Valencia's voice was full of sorrow. "Dahlia, you think we were biased. But have you ever thought about how much Cindy suffered in Seaside City? She grew up without parents, endured so much scorn. Isn't it right that we treat her well?"

"We never planned to abandon you. Even though you weren't our biological daughter, we intended to take care of you for life."

"But you destroyed all of that with your own hands."

Every word Valencia spoke was like a hammer blow to Dahlia's chest.

Wesley looked coldly at Dahlia, slumped on the floor. "If you make a mistake, you face the consequences. The Douglas family will no longer protect you."

Dahlia jerked her head up, face full of despair. "Dad... are you kicking me out? Please, don't kick me out!"

Wesley ignored her plea. Instead, he turned to look at Lucinda.

"Cindy." Wesley's voice softened. "You've endured too much these twenty years. The wrongs Dahlia committed aren't ours to forgive on your behalf. Today, we leave her fate in your hands."

Valencia also gripped Lucinda's hand tightly, her voice firm and deliberate. "Cindy, whatever you decide, we support you. In this family, you are irreplaceable. No matter what, we will always stand by you."

Those words echoed through the vast hall.

"We will always stand by you."

Hearing those words, Dahlia's body trembled violently. The light in her eyes went out completely.

Lucinda looked quietly at Dahlia.

The once high-and-mighty Douglas family heiress now looked like a defeated dog, sprawled pathetically on the cold floor.

But Lucinda knew one thing clearly.

The Douglas parents couldn't possibly have no feelings for the daughter they'd raised for twenty years.

Moreover, from start to finish, Dahlia had only ever been a pawn in Harold's hands.

A pitiful fool who, blinded by jealousy, had desperately tried to prove she was better.

"I'll give you one chance." Lucinda spoke slowly. "Leave Starlight City. As long as you never appear in front of me again, I won't hold Harold's crimes against you."

Dahlia, slumped on the floor, trembled. She looked up in disbelief.

She'd thought Lucinda would send her to prison, destroy her reputation—but she was actually willing to let her go?

"Cindy!" Wesley's face darkened sharply. "The wrongs she committed are unforgivable! If she hadn't led the wolf to the door, how would you have been put in danger? The Douglas family didn't raise her for twenty years just so she could harm my own flesh and blood!"

Wesley looked at Dahlia coldly. "Starting today, the Douglas family will revoke all financial support for you. Your shares in the Douglas Group, your properties, your bank accounts—all of it is being taken back. You are no longer a daughter of the Douglas family."

A daughter of the Douglas family.

The identity she'd been proud of for twenty years was stripped away completely in that moment.

Dahlia looked as if her spine had been ripped out.

She opened her mouth. Tears rolled down her face in heavy drops.

She wanted to explain, to beg, but when she saw the utter disappointment in Wesley's eyes, the words stuck in her throat.

She had lost.

Completely and utterly.

That night, under a heavy sky.

Dahlia didn't wait for the bodyguards to come throw her out. She quietly packed a simple suitcase.

Without the halo of being the Douglas family's daughter, all the luxury items she wore felt bitterly ironic.

Valencia stood on the second-floor corridor, watching that thin, lonely figure in the living room below. Her eyes reddened despite herself.

Twenty years.

Even raising a pet would build attachment, let alone a living, breathing person.

"Mom."

Dahlia dragged her suitcase to the foot of the stairs and looked up at Valencia.

Her eyes were red. She bowed deeply.

"Thank you... for raising me these twenty years."

Dahlia's voice was choked with suppressed tears.

She turned her head, her gaze landing on Lucinda.

"Lucinda." Dahlia smiled bitterly, and there was a trace of release in that smile. "I know I'll never catch up to you. Your status, your abilities—they're beyond my reach in this lifetime. But I won't give up. I'll keep working hard abroad, until the day I can face you with dignity."

With that, she didn't linger. She turned, dragged her suitcase behind her, and walked resolutely out of the Douglas Estate.

The night wind blew into the hall. It was a little cold.

Valencia let out a soft sigh and leaned against Wesley's shoulder, looking exhausted.