CHAPTER 401

Madeline got Sebastian to help with Caitlin's matter.

Sebastian's subordinates wasted no time in getting the job done, and by the very next day, they found her father, Raphael Owen's friend.

Raphael's friend was a man named Howard Gigantes who was currently living abroad in a small country.

Sebastian's subordinates provided Madeline with Howard's contact information, and Madeline passed it to Caitlin herself. "You can call him up right away."

"Thank you so much, Maddie!" Caitlin reached out to Howard at once.

When Caitlin saw Howard appearing in their video call, she couldn't help but gape. Her eyes slowly turned red as she cried out tearily, "I-It's Mr. Gigantes!"

Although the man in the video was a little wizened with age and not as youthful as the man in the photos, his features were largely the same and Caitlin recognized him right away.

After so many years of searching, she finally found the last person who was present during the incident back then.

Howard studied Caitlin for a moment before asking, "Are you Raphael's daughter?"

"That's right." She nodded as she fought back her tears. "Mr. Gigantes, I called you up because I wanted to ask you about the incident back then…" Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

"The incident back then…" He sounded a little melancholic as he drifted off in thought.

"Yes." Caitlin nodded again. "Back then, after Mr. Wheeler's unfortunate demise, his family started fighting over his inheritance. They even went to court over it, and while they were fighting to inherit Mr. Wheeler's fortune, they treated his son very well and tried their best to win him over. However, once the inheritance was awarded, the one who got it, which was Lucian's second uncle, began to abuse him. When my father went to visit Lucian at his uncle's house, he saw the family verbally and physically abusing him. My father couldn't accept it, so he adopted Lucian…"

Howard frowned. "What about Lucian's mother?"

"His mother didn't want custody," she explained. "I was still young at the time, so I don't know all the details. All I know is Lucian's mother gave up custody. That's why Lucian's uncles and aunt all fought over gaining custody of him."

"Why did she do that?" He frowned and elaborated, "I remember visiting Lucian's mother before I left the country. She even told me that she would do her best to raise Lucian. He's her only son. Why would she give up custody and leave Lucian with that bunch of greedy relatives?"

"I don't know." Caitlin shook her head. "Mr. Wheeler's death is a sore spot for my father, and he never talks about Mr. Wheeler, not even when I ask him."

"Yeah…" Howard sighed. "Your father's not the only one who was haunted by Raphael's death. It's something that'll haunt me for the rest of my life too… I chose to leave the country back then because I couldn't bear to face it as well…"

"Mr. Gigantes, can you tell me what happened back then?" she asked a little frantically. "After my father took Lucian in, my parents treated him as if he were their own son. The four of us were very happy, but Lucian, that fool, believed someone else's words and insisted that my father was the one who caused his birth father's death…"

The thought of her parents who died so abruptly made Caitlin's tears stream down her face. "He took revenge on our family and drove us to ruins…"

"Drove the family to ruins?" Howard straightened up at once. "What do you mean by that? Your father —"

"He passed away…" Caitlin declared through her tears. "Lucian didn't stop at just buying over my family's company. He even snatched our ancestral home anyway. My father couldn't take it, so…"

By now, her face was covered in teary streaks. "My parents were so in love that my father's death broke my mother's heart, and she passed away soon after. I'm the only one left now…"

Seeing Howard, who was one of her father's closest friends, made her think about her father. Racked with tears, her body started trembling.

Madeline and Leigh sat on either side of her and comforted her by holding her.

After a while, Caitlin rubbed her tears away a little forcefully before looking at Howard. "Mr. Gigantes, this is why I've been trying my hardest to look for you. I want to find out the truth of the incident back then and I want to know if my father is the reason why Lucian's father died. If he isn't, then I hope you can be my father's witness and inform Lucian of the truth. I don't want my father to die bearing the

weight of a crime he didn't commit."

"Of course, he's not the reason why…" Howard replied.

"Wait for a second, Mr. Gigantes." Caitlin turned on the voice recorder. "Can I make a recording, Mr. Gigantes?"

"Certainly," Howard concurred. "What I'm about to tell you is the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If you meet Lucian, you can give him my contact as well. The incident is seared into my mind. I've repeatedly relieved it in my dreams, and I can recall even the tiniest details. It'll stay with me forever, and I can tell him everything he wants to know…"

"Okay." Caitlin nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Mr. Gigantes. Please begin."

"Lucian's father didn't die because of anyone else…" Howard stated with a pained look in his eyes. "It was all an accident back then… We hiked up the mountain and spent the night there… There wasn't supposed to be any danger, but there was a heavy storm that night, and the next morning, the trail was slippery. Your father, along with Raphael and I, all wanted to head back down the mountain, but Josiah insisted on continuing up the mountain. We were afraid that it would be dangerous for him to continue alone, so we had no choice but to follow him up…"

He paused and explained, "Josiah Langley. He's the fourth person who went up the mountains with us back then."

She nodded. "Yes, I know. What happened next, Mr. Gigantes?"

"Next…" Howard closed his eyes and the memories of that incident flooded into his mind once again.

"Luke's father stepped on something and slipped. He lost his footing and fell down the slope…"

He choked up. "That scene haunts me in my dreams so very often… I couldn't face the death of one of my best friends and I couldn't accept that a person had disappeared right before my very eyes. Not a moment goes by without me living in regret. If only we didn't go mountain climbing. If only we didn't listen to Josiah's words and continued up the mountain. Luke's father would still be alive… My parents saw how out of sorts I was and were worried that something might happen to me, so they decided to send me abroad soon after…"

Caitlin's ashen face was full of tears. "So, this means that Lucian's father's death has nothing to do with my father, right? My father was wrongfully accused!"

Howard replied, "I am willing to swear on my life that Luke's father's death has nothing to do with your father! Your father was the oldest among us four and he took care of us the whole time. It was a hard trek that day, and he stayed in front to clear the way for us. It was a very narrow path, so we walked in a single file. I was behind your father, and Luke's father was behind me, with Josiah behind him. I was right in between your father and Luke's father, so if your father did anything to Luke's father, I would've surely seen it. Therefore, I can vouch for your father. He didn't do anything to Luke's father!"