CHAPTER 387
"Katy," Lucian said hoarsely, "Didn't your dad say that the grievances between our two families had been written off? Didn't he also say that the grievances from the previous generation had nothing to do with us? We—"
Caitlin instantly cut him off before he could finish. "There's nothing between us anymore! Lucian, I don't understand what exactly is going on in your head. You nurtured schemes to take over my family's company and killed my parents—"
In a fit of panic, Lucian hurriedly interrupted her. "I didn't kill your parents! Your dad died of a cerebral hemorrhage, and your mom died of a mishap. I didn't kill them!"
Caitlin simply looked at him coldly when she heard his words. She had many things to which she wanted to give voice, yet not a word escaped her lips.
This was her nature. She would be disheartened and wouldn't utter a word when she was wholly enraged and disappointed.
Yes. Lucian was right. Caitlin's father, Raphael, indeed passed away due to cerebral hemorrhage, and her mother, Natasha, indeed lost her life due to a mishap.
But the question was: why did Raphael die of a cerebral hemorrhage?
Well, it all began when Raphael suddenly learned that the adoptive son, whom he had raised like his biological son, had been tampering with his company to cause chaos in Owen Holdings so as to let him have the opportunity to acquire his company.
In the blink of an eye, Owen Holdings changed hands and became Wheeler Corporation.
Not only that, the whole situation got so terrible that Raphael couldn't even keep the ancestral manor that Caitlin's grandfather left. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
The moment Raphael saw the Owens Manor being barred, that was also the moment he couldn't bear the burden and suddenly suffered from a brain hemorrhage. Regrettably, Raphael passed away before he could arrive at the hospital.
Since Natasha and Richard loved each other dearly, her state of mental health had been declining after Raphael's funeral. She turned absent-minded and constantly cried in silence.
The day after Raphael's funeral, Natasha ran out while Caitlin wasn't paying attention.
The instant Caitlin realized Natasha was gone, she immediately went to search for her, yet she couldn't find her anywhere. Then, just when she was about to go ballistic, the police informed her that Natasha had fallen from the mountain and was taken to the hospital.
It turned out that Natasha had gone to the cemetery to visit and pay her respects to Raphael.
Raphael's grave was located on the mountain. Usually, it wouldn't be an issue for Natasha, but ever since Raphael's passing, she hadn't taken care of herself. Hence, she became weak and was always in a trance-like state. She accidentally rolled down the steps when she departed from the mountain because she was caught in her memories. She could barely stay conscious by the time she was sent to the hospital.
Still, Natasha held on until she could see Caitlin for one last time. When she finally saw her, she left a few words for her before taking her last breath.
Yes, it was true that Lucian didn't directly kill Caitlin's parents. However, Raphael wouldn't have died if it wasn't for Lucian's annexation of Owen Holdings, not sparing them and taking away Owens Manor.
Caitlin remembered that just after Owen Holdings went bankrupt, Raphael still put on a brave front before her and reassured her by saying that money was nothing but worldly possessions, which came and went. He also told her that since he had always felt guilty toward Lucian, he actually felt slightly better after suffering from the harm Lucian inflicted on him. Consequently, he no longer had to keep feeling guilty toward him.
At that time, they were still quite optimistic. Raphael believed the three could still live together and survive even if the company went bankrupt.
Unexpectedly, Lucian refused to stop. Instead, he continued to ruin the Owen Family to the point that Raphael couldn't even keep their family's ancestral manor.
Raphael had a deep affection for that manor, considering it was where Caitlin's grandparents lived all their lives.
Raphael and his family were chased out of the Owens Manor. Hence, when Raphael saw that the manor had been barred, he realized that both his wife and daughter had become homeless. He, who originally kept comforting Natasha and Caitlin with a smile, suddenly couldn't bear it and fainted after suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Just like that, Raphael died. Since Natasha had always loved her husband so dearly, she, too, wished
she could follow him to the other side so badly.
Later, after Raphael was buried, Natasha missed him so much that she secretly went to the cemetery to visit his grave. Caitlin didn't expect Natasha to encounter a mishap and leave her—just like Raphael.
Therefore, Caitlin resented Lucian so much. She loathed him for oppressing them.
Caitlin didn't understand why Lucian wanted to take revenge on her family because, according to Raphael, Lucian's father fell off the cliff and died when he and Lucian's father, along with two other friends, went for a hike on the mountain.
After the whole incident took place, Raphael even felt guilty as he was the one who suggested the hiking trip.
He felt so awful about it because he returned home alive, yet Lucian's father died in the mountains. Although more than 20 years had passed since the incident happened, Raphael still took it to heart and had a hard time whenever he recalled Lucian's father's death.
Despite him adopting Lucian and treating him like his own after the incident, deep down, he still felt that he had failed both Lucian's father and Lucian.
After all, Lucian's father died that day. If Raphael hadn't suggested going for a hike on the mountain, everyone would still be safe and sound.
Therefore, to amend the situation, Raphael never once mistreated Lucian. But little did he know Lucian was actually putting up a facade. And just like that, Lucian hid his true intentions for the past two decades.
On the surface, he was always filial toward Raphael and Natasha. Plus, he also showered Caitlin with tremendous affection.
But just last year, Lucian suddenly turned against the Owen Family.
Out of the blue, he persisted in believing that Raphael was the one who pushed his father off the cliff instead of him slipping and falling off the cliff.
Lucian was firmly convinced by this statement and began retaliating without leaving them a chance of survival.
As a result, Owen Holdings changed hands, the Owens Manor was sold off, and Caitlin's parents died one after another.
It was only natural for Caitlin to loathe his very being.
Deep inside her heart, she adamantly believed that her father wasn't a murderer.
Likewise, Raphael had explained to Lucian countless times that he didn't kill his father. He told Lucian that his father died because he fell off a cliff. Furthermore, he also told Lucian that it was impossible for him to kill his father as he was more than ten meters away when Lucian's father fell.
In fact, the likelihood for Raphael to be the killer was low, too, for he and Lucian's father were as close as brothers. Whenever he thought about how Lucian's father died in front of him simply because he had suggested they hike up the mountain, he would be torn with grief and feel an uncontrollable sense of guilt. Nevertheless, Raphael could swear to God that he never killed Lucian's father. He even tried
his best to save Lucian's father when the incident occurred.
It was too bad that Lucian's father still fell, and his life was cut short.
Caitlin believed every word Raphael had said, yet Lucian believed none of it.
He firmly believed that it was Raphael who killed his father simply because he had an eyewitness.
Back then, besides Lucian's father, Raphael also hiked alongside two other people. Caitlin remembered that Raphael told her that a total of four people hiked together.
One of their group of four came forth and told Lucian that he saw Raphael push his father off the cliff with his own eyes.
Ironically, Lucian believed that person's words yet refused to accept the words of his adoptive father, who had raised him like his own for more than 20 years. Rather, he actually believed the words that escaped that man's lips without a shadow of a doubt and treated his adoptive father, who had exerted his utmost effort to raise him, as his enemy. And the next thing they all knew, Lucian started taking revenge on Raphael brutally and mercilessly.
Nonetheless, what amused Caitlin the most was that Lucian still thought of marrying her after everything he had done toward her family.
Yes, it was true that Caitlin's parents had left a message asking her not to hold a grudge against Lucian.
They told her that all things happened for a reason.
Regardless, Lucian's father died because of Raphael's suggestion to go hiking on the mountain. For that reason, they felt ashamed.
They also told Caitlin that they didn't hate Lucian for what he did and even asked her not to despise him either.
All her parents ever wanted was for her to live happily. So, they told her to forget about the past and live a good life with Lucian if she still had feelings for him.
But how could Caitlin possibly forget?
For it was precisely Lucian's revenge that she had lost her cozy home. His revenge caused her to lose her parents, who loved her so dearly. Because of him, she became alone in this world and homeless as she drifted about in life.
So how was it possible for her to forget everything he had done?
Lucian firmly believed that Caitlin's father had killed his father with his own hands, so he took revenge on the Owen Family. Suffice to say, Caitlin didn't buy it. Even if someone threatened to take her life, she would still adamantly believe that her father didn't murder someone—let alone his good friend.
Therefore, she went around looking for the last group of four who went for the hiking trip after she had finished making arrangements for Natasha's funeral.
Back then, besides the person who swore that he saw Raphael push Lucian's father off the cliff with his own eyes, there was another person who joined the hike with Raphael and Lucian's father.
Caitlin strongly believed that she could prove her father's innocence if she could find that person.