Chapter 8
479words
Amidst the chaos, I grabbed the microphone from the podium.
The room fell momentarily silent at my calm voice.
All eyes turned to me, including Ethan's as he lay crumpled on the floor.
He raised his head, bloodshot eyes filled with hatred and confusion.
"Nina Howard, you think this is enough to destroy me? You're pathetically naive!" he snarled.
"Destroy you?" I shook my head, approaching him deliberately. "No, I came today to help fulfill your deepest wish."
I picked up the USB drive again and signaled for Frank Chen's assistant to play the next file.
The screen went dark, then illuminated with a scanned DNA test report.
At the top were Ethan Lane's and my identification photos.
"Ethan, your entire life has been devoted to avenging the Lane family's destruction twenty-five years ago."
My voice carried clearly through the microphone to every corner of the room.
"You hate the Howards—my grandfather, my father. You believe they stole everything from you."
"So you meticulously plotted to destroy Howard Group, murdered my family, and attempted to reclaim what you thought was yours."
I approached him, crouched down, and looked directly into his eyes.
"But Ethan, did you ever consider that what you've been trying to take was already rightfully yours?"
On the screen, the report's contents were magnified.
In the paternal identification section, two names were clearly displayed.
[Sample A: Ethan Lane]
[Sample B: Harrison Howard (Deceased)]
[Paternal Relation Probability: 99.9999%]
"Look carefully, Ethan. Your father was not Walter Lane."
"It was Harrison Howard."
"My grandfather."
"You are my father's half-brother. You are my uncle."
"The Howard Group you've schemed to steal—my grandfather had already left thirty percent of its shares to you. My father kept that will safe all these years. He was trying to find you, to give you everything that was rightfully yours!"
"The man you murdered wasn't your enemy."
"He was your brother."
"What you destroyed wasn't your enemy's legacy."
"It was your own."
Each word struck Ethan like a physical blow.
He stared at the screen, his body beginning to convulse.
The room fell deathly silent except for his labored breathing.
His handsome face contorted beyond recognition—a mask of shock, disbelief, remorse, and despair.
The vendetta that had fueled his entire existence, the hatred that had defined him—all came crashing down in that moment.
He had been the greatest fool of all.
He grabbed my wrist, his nails digging into my flesh.
"No…"
His voice was dry as sandpaper.
"This isn't true… you're lying… you fabricated all this!"
"Whether it's fabricated or not, deep down you know the truth."
I shook off his hand and stood.
"Ethan Lane, welcome home."
He stared at me blankly, then—as if the truth was too much to bear—violently coughed blood and collapsed.
Before he lost consciousness, I saw his lips form two silent words.
"Father…"
