Chapter 488 This Month's Bonus is Gone
Half an hour later, Eldon and Magnus arrived separately near the GeneCipher Society headquarters to rendezvous with Benjamin.
They climbed into Benjamin’s car one after the other.
Eldon leaned forward eagerly. “Mr. White, I heard you located their headquarters. Is this the place?”
Chase’s earlier call had been rushed and vague, but Eldon had already pieced most of it together.
It wasn't until Benjamin nodded that he finally confirmed his thoughts were correct.
Benjamin glanced at him coolly, "Did you bring your computer?"
Eldon immediately said, "I did."
Eldon promptly retrieved his laptop bag from the side.
“Open it. Scan the surroundings and try to breach their security system,” Benjamin ordered, voice low and firm.
Eldon nodded and immediately began working.
In the back seat, Magnus remained silent throughout, his face impassive yet etched with pain and inner conflict.
He had spent nearly twenty years searching for the GeneCipher Society’s headquarters—never once imagining it lay hidden in Silverlight City, or that the organization was tied to Lachlan.
He had no idea GeneCipher Society would be connected to Lachlan, so he never thought in that direction.
The realization of how badly he had misjudged everything settled over him like lead.
He pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
More than ten minutes passed before Eldon slammed a frustrated fist against the keyboard. “Their security is way too advanced. I can’t get through.”
Benjamin didn’t react; this outcome was exactly what he had expected.
His long fingers drummed lightly on the steering wheel as he considered their next move.
Eldon stayed quiet, not daring to interrupt.
Magnus finally spoke, eyes fixed on Eldon. “Is there anyone more skilled than you?”
Eldon hesitated."...Yes, Mrs. White, but she's inside."
The words hung heavy in the air. Magnus fell silent again.
They had no way of knowing what was happening inside right now.
Lachlan might refrain from physically harming Sophia for now, given his calculated nature, yet that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make her suffer in other ways.
Sophia had been cherished and sheltered her entire life. Apart from one prior kidnapping, when had she ever endured real hardship?
Just thinking of her in that place broke Magnus’s heart.
He exhaled heavily. “The hackers I know aren’t on Eldon’s level. I’m afraid I’m no help here.”
Benjamin shook his head slowly, refocusing. “Then we need another approach.”
Eldon suddenly had a flash of inspiration and slapped his forehead hard, "Mr. White, I almost forgot—I think I saw Lachlan's car before I came here."
Both Benjamin and Magnus snapped to attention. “What?”
“I only caught a glimpse—I was rushing to get here—but I’m pretty sure it was his.”
At the time he had dismissed it as a mistake and driven on. Now the oversight felt monumental.
But now thinking back, he realized he'd overlooked something major.
A faint, dangerous smile curved Benjamin’s normally impassive lips. “Very good. Consider this month’s bonus gone.”
Eldon: "..."
"Mr. White, you can't be that cruel! Didn't I remember it now?"
“Make up for the mistake, or accept the penalty.” The smile deepened, cold and mirthless. “Your choice.”
“Make up for it!” Eldon said quickly. “I’ll break into the city’s traffic surveillance system right now and track that car.”
His skills might not rival Sophia’s, but infiltrating Silverlight City’s traffic cameras was well within his reach.
Moments later he had located the vehicle.
After enlarging the video footage, he indeed saw Lachlan sitting in the driver's seat.
Eldon swiveled the laptop toward Benjamin. “Mr. White—look. This is it.”
Benjamin took the device. Magnus leaned forward from the back seat to see.
Benjamin’s brow furrowed as he studied the route. “This direction… it’s toward the White Manor. What is he planning?”
His expression turned icy. Turning to Magnus, he said, “Dad, take people back to the manor immediately. Grandpa is still there. I’m worried Lachlan might target him.”
Beneath Lachlan’s polished exterior lay something truly unhinged. No one could predict how far he might go.
Who knew what extreme things he might do?
Preston absolutely could not be in danger!
“Understood. I’m going now.”
Magnus’s masked face darkened further.
He shoved the door open, stepped out, and drove off toward the White Manor.
The White Manor.
Preston sat in his study, absorbed in a book, when a knock sounded at the door.
Assuming it was Finn, he called out casually, “Come in.”
The door opened—but it was Lachlan who stepped inside.
Preston was stunned, "Why are you here?"
The servants didn't know that Lachlan was the mastermind behind GeneCipher Society.
So when Lachlan came in, they didn't think anything of it.
The servants simply assumed Lachlan had come to see Preston.
Lachlan’s expression was thunderously dark. He entered fully and shut the door behind him with a soft, final click.
"Dad."
Preston sensed the storm beneath the surface but kept his tone even. He gestured to the chair opposite him. “Sit.”
Lachlan approached slowly, each step weighted as though his shoes were filled with iron.
With every footfall, pain lanced through his chest.
"What did you come to discuss?”
Preston asked while pouring water.
Lachlan sat. His gaze locked onto Preston’s without wavering. “Dad… tell me the truth. Am I your biological son?”
Preston, normally unflappable, felt his hand tremble.
Water spilled onto the table beside him and dripped down the edge onto the floor.
He set the pitcher down with deliberate calm.
"You know everything now?"
“You already know everything now?” Lachlan’s heart plummeted further.
Preston’s composure finally cracked when he heard the next words. “What have you done with Sophia?”
“Don’t worry,” Lachlan said in a low, almost soothing tone. “She’s safe—for the moment.”
Preston rose sharply from his chair. “Lachlan, if you lay a finger on Sophia, I will never forgive you.”
His eyes blazed with fury.
Lachlan gave a soft, mirthless chuckle. “I still have use for her. I won’t harm her lightly.”
Preston drew a steadying breath. “What exactly do you intend to do?”
“You still haven’t answered me,” Lachlan pressed. “Am I your biological son—or not?”
"No!" Preston answered without hesitation.
There was nothing left to protect, no reason to spare Lachlan’s feelings.
He briefly recounted what happened in the past.
From how Lachlan's father died saving him, to how Lachlan's biological mother threw him in a trash can, and how he found and brought him home...
To shield the boy from stigma and whispers within the White family, Preston had forbidden anyone from revealing his origins.
From the day he was brought home, Lachlan had been raised and accepted as a true son of the White family.
Yet in the end, Preston had nurtured an ingrate.