Chapter 833

“Before Jim passed, he kept talking about wanting to celebrate the boy’s birthday…” Stanley’s voice broke. His hand trembled with rage as he pointed at the report that concluded there was no biological relation between the two.

Color drained from Sasha’s face. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but the contemptuous stares around her silenced her.

The carefully crafted identity she had clung to collapsed in an instant, and with it, all her schemes for inheritance crumbled to nothing.

“Sasha, if you have even a shred of conscience left, leave my father’s funeral. With you here, he’d only feel tainted if he could see us.” Rachel’s voice was soft, but the disgust in it was cutting. “You’re not welcome here.”

Sasha staggered to her feet. She didn’t argue and didn’t look back.

Minutes later, the wail of sirens cut through the stillness of the funeral. Two uniformed officers entered the courtyard. Yvette, who had been whispering into her phone in a corner, abruptly hung up. Her face had gone pale.

“Ms. Yvette, we’ve received a report from Lloyd Enterprise. You are suspected of embezzling 2.7 million from the company’s construction subsidiary. You’ll need to come with us for questioning.” The officers’ movements were brisk when they flashed their badges. The faint clink of the handcuffs made Yvette shiver.

“It wasn’t me! It was Sasha who told me to do it!” she screamed, pointing toward the direction Sasha had fled. “She told me to transfer the company’s funds. She also said that once the inheritance came through, she’d split it with me!”

But her excuses meant nothing against the bank statements and transfer records. Tyler’s legal team had already prepared a watertight chain of evidence, everything from the secret account she had opened three years ago to the large sums funneled in batches last month. Each transaction was marked in detail.

“Take her away.” The officer snapped the cuffs on her wrists without hesitation.

Yvette twisted and thrashed, and her eyes blazed with hatred as she glared at Rachel. “Rachel! You’ll die a miserable death! You and Tyler set me up!”

Rachel turned to look at Jim’s portrait. An overwhelming weariness washed over her. Years of scheming and infighting felt like a nightmare finally reaching its end.

At some point, Tyler had returned. He stepped behind her and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. His warmth seeped through the thin fabric.

“You should be glad. This day was bound to come.”

“Yeah.” Rachel nodded. Her voice was hoarse.

Evening shadows crept into the funeral home.

Tyler stayed with her until the funeral service was over.

Rachel suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, “How’s your father doing?”

Tyler paused. A flicker of sorrow appeared in his eyes as he looked down at his shoes.

“His liver’s fine, but the doctors said at his age, most of his other organs are beginning to fail.” He nudged the ashtray before speaking calmly. “He doesn’t have much time left.”

Rachel fell silent for a moment.

“Whatever grudges there were, he’s still your father. Last time, when we were out of town, if he hadn’t stepped in, we’d have been in serious trouble,” she said softly.

Tyler snorted, but he didn’t deny it.

Rachel put down her rosary beads.

“Come on, let’s eat. After dinner, head back to the hospital to be with him. I’ll stay here with Jerry and Cecilia.”

“I’ll leave at eight.”

Tyler still wanted to stay with her. Jim had been her only real family left in this world, while Gerald didn’t count as family anymore.

Chapter 834