The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 112

That question crashed into the room like a boulder into a frozen lake, triggering not just ripples, but a tidal wave massive enough to capsize everyone present.

The expressions of the over three hundred guests morphed from gleeful gossip into bone-chilling horror.

Illegitimate heirs and affairs with a sister-in-law were filthy, sure, but they were still within the realm of wealthy scandals.

But faking a death certificate and framing your own flesh and blood? That was murder.

It was the bloodiest, darkest sin buried in the depths of this seemingly respectable aristocratic family.

Barnum's face turned completely ashen in that instant.

The hand gripping his drink could no longer maintain its facade of composure. The subtle tremors sent panicked ripples across the liquid in the glass.

But he was a sly old fox who had survived decades in the cutthroat corporate world.

After the initial shock passed, he forcibly suppressed the raging panic in his chest, trying to use his patriarchal authority to rein in this runaway train.

He slammed his glass down hard onto the table, producing a heavy thud.

"Enough!"

His voice was hoarse, strained by extreme fury and an underlying guilt.

"This is family business! Lehman family business! We do not need to air our dirty laundry in front of outsiders!"

He tried to use the oldest, most shameless excuse in the book to shut Elias up.

However, Elias just stared at him coldly.

It was the gaze of a man watching a pathetic prey in its death throes.

"Family business?"

A faint, intensely sarcastic smirk curled Elias's lips.

"Father, aren't you the one who loves lecturing us about 'rules'?"

As he spoke, he slowly strolled over to the table where his investigation report rested.

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