“What else did he do?” Beatrice asked.
Everyone was waiting for Sebastian’s answer, but he remained silent. Xavi stepped in to explain.
“Beatrice, more than a month ago, the car accident at the racetrack wasn’t an accident at all. It was orchestrated by William. He had someone tamper with the brakes, causing them to fail and leading to the crash. The accident was entirely William’s doing.”
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.
“William! How could you do such a heinous thing?” Beatrice’s anger was evident. She had always thought highly of William. He had appeared to be a dutiful grandson, handling things with care and tact. She had even planned to pass on half of the family’s business to him in the future. But now, why was he targeting Sebastian?
“Grandma! This is a complete misunderstanding! I never did anything to hurt Sebastian! I swear, on my life!” William immediately denied the accusation.
But he didn’t realize that the man he had paid off, Yuri, had already fled the country. They couldn’t find any concrete evidence linking him to the crime. However, Sebastian was far from underestimating him. He had brought Yuri here for a reason.
“Bring him in!” Sebastian ordered.
Vaughn and the others brought Yuri into the hall. Yuri glanced nervously at William, who immediately recognized him. Shock and fear spread across William’s face.
Yuri? Didn’t he pay him off to leave the country?
“Grandma, this is Yuri. He’s the one who tampered with the brakes on my car,” Sebastian said coldly. “Yuri, tell everyone the truth.”
Yuri trembled under Sebastian’s intense gaze, but he had no choice. “It was William who paid me to sabotage Mr. Vanderbilt’s car, causing the brake failure that led to the crash…”
Before Yuri could say more, William shouted, “Shut up! Don’t lie!”
He turned to Sebastian and snarled, “Sebastian, you’re just trying to frame me! You hired someone to slander me!”
“I’m not lying, William,” Yuri responded, trembling. “What I said is the truth. William gave me one million, telling me to mess with the car. After the job was done, I was supposed to leave the country. I even have recordings of our conversations.”
Yuri pulled out his phone and played a recording of his call with William.
In the recording, William’s voice was unmistakable: “Yuri, just mess with the brakes on his car. After it’s done, I’ll give you a million as a reward…”
The room fell silent, and everyone could hear the unmistakable betrayal in William’s voice. The gravity of the situation settled on them like a heavy weight.
Beatrice was furious, her hands shaking as she faced William. “William, how could you do this to Sebastian? After everything he’s done for you…!”
“How could you?” Molly cried out, anger and disbelief in her voice. “This is unforgivable!”
Vincent, still shocked, spoke up, “William, you really did this?”
Megan, desperate to defend her son, cried out, “William, you need to explain yourself! You can’t have done this. Was someone forcing you to do it?”
But reality was too strong to deny.
“William,” Xylia said, shaking her head, “This is so wrong. You’ve gone too far…”
Grace, on the other hand, saw an opportunity. With Sebastian on the rise, it seemed like the perfect time to remove William from the equation. After all, fewer competitors for her son meant more opportunities for him.
At this moment, William finally realized that he had been backstabbed. Yuri had betrayed him. That piece of trash!
Sebastian coldly addressed his brother. “Big brother, do you still have anything to say for yourself?”
William, still defiant, just scoffed.
“Fine, if you won’t admit it, let’s talk about your dealings with Dr. Griffin.”
Beatrice’s face froze in disbelief. “What do you mean, ‘dealings’ with Dr. Griffin?”
“Grandma, you may not know this, but after my accident, Griffin had been paid off by William to inject me with drugs, keeping me unconscious for an extended period. He even tampered with my regular medication in an attempt to paralyze me, so I would never be able to walk again.”
Beatrice was horrified. Her hands shook as she tried to comprehend what Sebastian was saying.
“How could this happen?” she gasped.
She immediately stood up and walked over to William, unable to hold back her anger. Without a word, she slapped him across the face.
“How could a Vanderbilt ever produce someone as vile as you?!”
“Grandma…” William tried to protest, but Beatrice cut him off.
“How could you do this? You plotted against Sebastian after everything he has done for you! And now this!”
Sebastian’s voice was like ice. “You wanted to hear both sides? Fine. Bring Griffin here.”
Soon, Dr. Griffin was brought into the hall. Upon seeing Beatrice and Sebastian, he immediately fell to his knees.
“Beatrice, Mr. Vanderbilt…”
“Griffin,” Beatrice said with disgust, “Your family has been revered for generations, healing the sick and saving lives. Yet, here you are, conspiring to harm my grandson.”
Griffin bowed his head in shame. “I’m so sorry, Beatrice. I’ve failed the Vanderbilt family. I’m not a man. If it weren’t for William’s persuasion and temptation, I would never have done this. Please, for the sake of my father, who has served the Vanderbilt family his whole life, I beg you to forgive me.”
Beatrice could only sigh deeply. Her heart was shattered. Molly quickly stepped forward to support her.
At this point, the discussion inevitably turned to the poisonous snake incident.
With eyes filled with fury, Beatrice turned to William. “William, I need to know-did you place the poisonous snake in Sebastian’s room?”
“It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!” William shook his head vehemently.
“How could it not be you?” Molly retorted. “You’ve tried everything to harm Sebastian. Of course it was you who sent someone to release the snake!”
“I didn’t do it!” William denied repeatedly.
Sebastian finally spoke, his eyes locked on Grace. “No, it wasn’t him. There was someone else behind the snake incident.”
Grace flinched slightly, but quickly regained her composure.
Molly was confused. “Who else could want to hurt Sebastian? Peter is dead-there’s no one else!”
“We’ll get to that later,” Sebastian replied coolly. “For now, let’s focus on William. No matter what happens, with all his crimes, he will face the full force of the law.”
Megan, unable to bear the weight of the truth, collapsed in tears. “Sebastian! Please, let him go! He’s family! He’s made mistakes, but he deserves a chance to make things right!”
“Please, let him go!” Xylia joined in.
“Your pleas are meaningless. His crimes are too serious. He can’t be let off the hook.”
Sebastian was resolute. William would never get the chance to hurt him again.
Suddenly, a clear voice cut through the tension, “There’s one more crime to add to his list!”
Everyone turned toward the door, and Sebastian instinctively looked over.
It was then that the chase for Sebastian’s heart began to turn even more dramatic.