At the door, a tall, graceful woman walked in. She moved against the light, her hair flying in the wind, her skirt flowing as she exuded a powerful, almost enchanting aura.
As she drew closer, her face gradually became clearer. How should one describe her beauty?
The moment Sebastian caught sight of her features, his heart skipped a beat. It was as if he had been struck by a sudden and overwhelming wave of emotion. For a split second, he felt as though he were standing on a mountaintop with only the two of them in the world. The dull stars above him seemed to come alive because of her. She was radiant, so beautiful that he couldn’t look away.
This was the first time Sebastian had ever lost his focus because of a woman. He had never experienced anything like it before!
The others looked at her, too. It was Caitlin. Upon seeing her, Beatrice was overjoyed. “Caitlin! Is it really you who’s back?”
Molly hurried to greet her. “Caitlin! You’re back!”
Caitlin walked past Sebastian, ignoring him completely, and went straight to Beatrice, greeting her first.
“Beatrice! Molly.”
Beatrice, who had hoped so much for Sebastian and Caitlin to be together, felt a pang of sorrow. “What a fine girl… and yet my grandson let her slip away!”
Everyone else was curious about Caitlin’s return, wondering what she was here for.
Megan, sensing trouble, asked in fear, “Caitlin, why have you suddenly returned today?”
Caitlin’s cold eyes turned toward Megan. “Of course, I’m here to talk about the stupid things your son has done!”
Her gaze fell on William, and Caitlin spoke up. “It’s this man, William. A few days ago, he hired someone to have me killed!”
“No… no! That’s not true! You’re slandering me!” William immediately denied the accusation.
“I have a witness!” Caitlin clapped twice, and soon Quincy appeared, holding Ian in tow.
Sebastian recognized Quincy instantly. He was the wealthy young man who had been dining with Caitlin just days ago.
Ian was brought forward, and Caitlin explained, “Beatrice, this man’s name is Ian. He can tell you everything.”
Everyone looked at Ian, who confirmed the story. “Beatrice, it was William who hired me. He asked me to distract the driver, Ulysses, and then take Caitlin to the outskirts, where he planned to have her killed…”
William exploded in anger. “This is all lies! Caitlin, you brought him here to frame me! Ian’s just making up stories!”
Ian shook his head. “I’m not lying. I have proof. I have a record of William’s bank transfer.”
Ian handed over the transaction details. Beatrice, after looking at the evidence, was enraged.
“William, I thought you only harmed Sebastian, but I never imagined you’d even target Caitlin! What’s wrong with you? How can you do such things? Do you really think you’ll get away with it?”
Caitlin added, “Beatrice, there’s one more thing you probably don’t know. William was also the one who contacted Freya, asking her to return and cause chaos in the Vanderbilt family so he could profit from the turmoil.”
Molly was furious. “So that’s what happened! That woman came back and made grandma so sick she had to be hospitalized! All of it was because of you!”
Megan, seeing the situation spiraling out of control, collapsed to her knees, pleading. “Beatrice, please have mercy on William! He’s only made a mistake! He’s my son, for heaven’s sake! He’ll change if you give him one more chance!”
She turned to Sebastian, crying. “Sebastian, can’t you forgive him? You’re fine now! Your legs are healed, and your eyes are better! Can’t you let go of the past and forgive William?”
Sebastian, still stunned by Caitlin’s sudden appearance, snapped out of his daze, his eyes still fixed on her.
“Forgive him? When has he ever forgiven me?” Sebastian asked coldly.
He had already spared William by not exposing everything at the shareholder meeting, but now things had gone too far.
At this moment, Richard entered the room. Seeing his wife on her knees, he immediately shouted, “Richard! Please, save William! Do something!”
Richard was well aware of what his son had done. Without a word, he slapped William across the face. Then he turned to Beatrice.
“Mom, I know William has done wrong, but please, for the sake of The Vanderbilt Family’s eldest grandson, and for the things he’s done in the past, can we forgive him just this once? After we return, I’ll make sure to discipline him properly.”
Beatrice responded firmly. “What William did is no small matter. He harmed Sebastian. You should ask Sebastian if he’ll forgive him.”
Richard turned to Sebastian, his face full of worry.
Sebastian’s gaze was as cold as ice. “Uncle, debts must be paid, and life must be repaid in kind. It’s only fair! His crimes are unforgivable. He must take responsibility for his actions.”
“I’ve already called the police. Let them handle it now.”
Moments later, the police arrived. Seeing them, Megan panicked and threw herself in front of William, trying to shield him.
“No… please don’t take my son! Don’t take him away…”
Despite Megan and Xylia’s desperate attempts to stop it, the police took William away. Ian and Griffin’s testimonies and evidence were handed over to the authorities as well.
As for the snake and fire incidents, Sebastian would have to wait for his father’s return to deal with them.
With the criminals arrested, Caitlin bid everyone goodbye.
“Caitlin, you’re always welcome here anytime,” Beatrice said, trying to hold back her emotions.
“Thank you, Beatrice,” Caitlin said calmly. She turned and left without sparing Sebastian even a glance. But Sebastian couldn’t stop watching her leave, his eyes glued to her as if he couldn’t tear himself away.
Molly, seeing that Caitlin was leaving and Sebastian was still standing there in a daze, grew frustrated and ran after her.
“Caitlin, Caitlin…”
She caught up with Caitlin outside and grabbed her arm. “Caitlin, we heard about your divorce from Sebastian. My brother… he wasn’t himself before, with his legs and eyes all messed up. But now he’s better, can’t you give him another chance? Can’t you start over?”
Caitlin smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in her eyes. “No need. What’s done is done. There’s no going back now. We’ve already agreed to a divorce, and there’s no emotional tie left. We don’t need to try again.”
Molly’s heart ached at her words. Desperate, she brought up Howard.
“But don’t you care about Howard? He doesn’t have a mother. If you leave… what will he do? What about him?”
Caitlin shook her head. “Howard will find his real mother. You don’t need to worry about that.”
It was clear that there was no turning back now. Just then, Sebastian appeared, leading his people inside. Molly immediately called out to him.
“Sebastian, Caitlin is leaving! Go after her! She came back for you today! At least show her some gratitude!”
Molly could barely hold in her frustration. She had tried so hard to make things right between them. She pushed Sebastian forward, hoping he would finally see what he had lost. Could he still salvage anything, or was it too late?