CHAPTER 405

Josiah's heart was thumping wildly, but he pretended to be calm and unshaken. "You're wrong, Luke. I didn't get together with your mother when your father first died. I ran into her by chance and saw how hard it was for her to be all alone, so I took care of her for your father's sake. After a while, we developed feelings for one another, and we finally got together…"

"Hah!" Lucian snorted. "Stop trying to fool me. I know everything! Back then, you and my father both wanted to date my mother, but she chose my father, so you already had your eyes on her a long time ago… Also, Katy has already found the fourth man who was there that day. He said that you guys were on a very narrow path and had to walk in a single file. My adopted father was the first one, and you were the last. My father was right in front of you. You were the only one who could kill my father without anyone knowing. You had the motive and the opportunity, so you're the one who killed my father…"

Lucian's grip tightened around Josiah's neck once more. Josiah gasped as he tried his hardest to breathe.

All this while, Rosetta was so anxious that she even started crying. She did her best to pull Lucian's hands off Josiah. "Luke, calm down. Luke, you must've made a mistake somehow. Josiah is your father's best friend. He wouldn't hurt your father. You were tricked—"

"I was just about to ask you…" Lucian stared at Rosetta icily. "Did you know the truth?"

Rosetta froze.

Lucian continued to stare at her. "Did you know that Josiah killed my father?"

Rosetta frantically shook her head. "Why are you saying something so ridiculous, Luke? Raphael is the

one who killed your father. Josiah was your father's best friend. They were just like brothers. Why would he kill your father?"

Lucian ignored her words. His cold, dark eyes were like black holes that threatened to swallow her whole. "Even if you didn't know then, you know now. What do you plan on doing?"

Rosetta panicked. "Why are you such a stubborn boy? Josiah would never have hurt your father. Don't believe other people's lies! Let go of him right now!"

"I get it now." Lucian continued to stare at her icily as he said, "Even if you do know the truth, you don't care, right? You don't care who killed my father back then, and you don't wish to avenge him, correct?" Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"Of course not!" Rosetta was terrified by the coldness in his eyes. She quickly refuted him. "Luke, listen to me. You've been lied to. Raphael is really the guy who killed your father. Josiah and I are the only ones who care about you the most in this world. Don't believe the lies anyone else tells you. They're just trying to drive a wedge between us. Don't let them succeed!"

"You care about me the most?" Lucian's lips curled into a scornful smirk. "If you cared about me the most, why didn't you take custody of me when my father died? You gave birth to me. After my father's death, if you were willing to take custody, you would've been awarded it right away. But instead, you chose not to…"

"I explained this to you before. I had nothing back then and I couldn't even support myself, so I couldn't raise you." Rosetta grew even more panicked and flustered when she saw the mocking look in his eyes. "I went to look for you the moment I found a job and could afford to raise you, but by then, Raphael had adopted you. I thought that if you left with me, you'd only live an ordinary life and might

not even have three meals every day, but if you stayed with the Owens, you'd live in luxury and would get the best education. I was only doing what was best for you and your future. That's why I left you even though it pained me…"

Lucian snorted. "How moving…"

At sixteen, his mother found him and cried her eyes out while giving him the same explanation.

A sixteen-year-old boy was at his most rebellious and emotionally unstable stage in life.

People would often taunt him for being the Owens' adopted son. They called him Caitlin's servant, and he was always filled with anger and humiliation.

Therefore, when his mother came and told him that Raphael was his father's killer and that Raphael adopted him just to atone for his crimes while she was the one who loved him the most in this whole world, he believed her.

If he believed her, he was no longer the Owens' adopted son and servant. He was the person the Owens owed a debt to.

He was no longer someone who couldn't hold his head high. He was someone who was on a mission to avenge his father and was bidding his time to seek justice.

That sixteen-year-old boy cared the most about his dignity and self-esteem, and he longed for his mother's love, so he trusted whatever his mother said. His mother gave him a few articles of clothing, cooked a few meals for him, and gave him a few hugs while saying that she loved him, and that was enough for him to make her the most important person to him.

Step by step, he was tricked into thinking that his mother and Josiah were his closest relatives and that his adopted parents were his mortal enemies.

Looking back at his past self now after being confronted with the truth, he finally realized how big a fool he was.

Josiah had grown pale under his grip and was beginning to lose consciousness. Rosetta kept hitting Lucian as she shrieked, "Lucian Wheeler! Let go of Josiah now! What on earth are you trying to do? Are you trying to kill him? You'll get the death penalty for murder!"

"Kill him?" Lucian scoffed. "Nope…"

He let go of Josiah's neck and threw him on the ground. "Death would be too easy for him. I'm going to make your lives a living hell!"

He said lives, which were plural, not singular. Rosetta's eyes widened in shock as she gaped in disbelief. "What are you saying, Luke? I'm your mother! I gave birth to you!"

"So what?" Lucian stared at her coldly. "You're the mother who abandoned me as a child and teamed up with Josiah Langley to kill my adopted father!"

"No… You!" Rosetta kept shaking her head. "Luke, let me explain—"

"Don't bother." Lucian cut her off. "I know everything. I know why you didn't want me back then, and why you came back to look for me when I was sixteen!"

Rosetta was stricken as a look of terror flashed in her eyes.

Lucian sneered and continued, "It's because Josiah's company went bankrupt when I was sixteen! You two were saddled with debts and forced to hide from your debtors. Just as you were scurrying about trying to hide, Josiah found out that Katy's father took me in and cared a lot about me, so you chose to come to Elsenburg and reunite with me. You wanted to win me over so that I would be of use to you!"

The more he said, the more painful it was for him to speak. His nails dug so deeply into the palm of his hands that they drew blood. "I was such a fool. I fell for your lies so easily and took your side. Not only did I frequently give you the money that my adopted father gave to me, but I even began to build up support for myself in secret to oust my adopted father… and my adopted father was unguarded toward me. He did his best to raise me. He trusted me so much that he allowed me to know everything about him, including the true extent of his influence, as well as his weaknesses…"