Chapter 244: I’m Sorry

Chapter 244: Chapter 244: I’m Sorry

Before Sebastian Kensington arrived, he had gotten Miss Sterling’s consent to call the police in advance.

Although the Sterling Family had doted on their adopted son, his actions were utterly depraved and vile, nearly turning the entire family upside down.

When the cold handcuffs clicked around Sean Sterling’s wrists, he didn’t resist in the slightest. He was like a soulless, walking corpse, letting the officers lead him away.

As he passed by Miss Sterling, his lips moved, his voice dry and faint.

"I’m sorry..."

Miss Sterling’s hand tightened on her cane. She slowly closed her eyes, her tone resolute.

"I will never forgive you."

Because of a misunderstanding, he had taken his anger out on the entire Sterling Family, causing Yara Sterling to live in a muddle-headed stupor. ’I spent half my life navigating the business world and have met countless people, yet in the end, I failed to see through Sean Sterling. I let a wolf into our home, brought disaster upon my whole family, and became the family’s sinner. When members of the Sterling Family started having health problems one after another, I suspected everyone around me, but never once did I doubt my adopted grandson.’

Sean Sterling lowered his gaze, saying nothing more. ’I just wanted to apologize; I never dreamed of being forgiven. I was completely and utterly in the wrong. By the time I learned the truth, it was already too late. I senselessly hurt the very people who had treated me with genuine kindness. Now that everything is out in the open and the truth is clear, this is all my own doing. I’m willing to accept any and all consequences.’

But then, the thought of the relatives who had deliberately misled him and caused all this trouble made a fierce hatred surge in his eyes.

’Those people... they completely ruined me!’

Less than half an hour after Sean Sterling was taken away, the Sterling Family received a call from the police: Sean Sterling had escaped.

While the transport vehicle was passing through a busy downtown area, he suddenly struck and knocked out the unsuspecting officers. He violently seized the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to crash straight into a tree on the roadside, and the officers were knocked unconscious on the spot. Sean Sterling seized the opportunity to rip off his handcuffs and snatch the keys, disappearing into the bustling crowd without a backward glance. His whereabouts were now unknown.

"What a sinful mess," Miss Sterling sighed heavily.

Silas Sterling quickly reached out to support her arm. "Mom, I’ll have the corporation issue a statement immediately to completely sever ties with him and remove him from the family registry. From now on, none of his actions will have anything to do with the Sterling Family."

"Do as you say. And while you’re at it, explain the truth about the danger we were in previously. We need to prevent rumors from spreading and damaging the Sterling Family’s reputation."

"I understand."

After speaking, Miss Sterling turned to Sebastian Kensington, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"Sebastian, we owe you so much for today. Otherwise, I fear I would have gone to my grave without ever seeing his true colors."

"Kensington, you’re too kind. We should also be thanking Miss Grayson for this. It was she who grew suspicious, noticed something was wrong, and reminded me to secretly install micro-cameras. That’s how I discovered Sean Sterling was privately mistreating Julian."

After noticing something was off, Sebastian Kensington also secretly installed cameras in Miss Sterling’s and Silas Sterling’s bedrooms. From then on, all of Sean Sterling’s dark, hidden schemes had nowhere left to hide.

Miss Sterling was taken aback for a moment, then remarked with emotion, "Miss Grayson is the Sterling Family’s great benefactor. I must pay her a personal visit to thank her another day."

’She not only saved my life and Silas’s, but also devised the plan that rooted out the source of trouble hidden within the Sterling Family.’

Once the corporation’s statement was released, it instantly caused a massive uproar online. Comments denouncing Sean Sterling flooded the internet.

Netizens cursed him as an ungrateful wretch, blinded by baseless hatred, who had harmed the family that treated him so well without ever bothering to uncover the truth. They condemned him for single-handedly destroying the wealth and the life-changing opportunity that had been within his grasp. Denunciations like these were endless.

During dinner that evening, Jared Hawthorne brought the matter up with Vesper Grayson.

"He escaped?" Vesper Grayson asked with a frown.

"Mhm."

A worried look crossed Vesper Grayson’s face.

"Will he come back to get revenge on the Sterling Family?"

"Who knows? But the Sterling Family has brought in extra security. Their defenses are tight. There’s no way he could get close on his own. Besides, he’s been disowned by the family. He’s no longer the enviable Second Young Master of the Sterling Family."

"He had such a good life, and he threw it all away himself."

Jared Hawthorne looked up at her. "Are you feeling sorry for him?"

"It’s not about feeling sorry for him. Putting right and wrong aside, his original intention was to avenge his biological parents; he just hated the wrong people. The ones who are truly detestable are those cold-blooded relatives who deliberately misled him and pocketed his parents’ death benefits for themselves."

Jared Hawthorne remained noncommittal. He picked up a piece of salt-and-pepper pork rib and placed it in the white porcelain bowl in front of her.

"Eat first."

Vesper Grayson nodded. Suddenly remembering something, she spoke softly.

"Honey, Mom said she’s going back to Veridia in a few days and wants me to go with her to stay for a while..."

Jared Hawthorne’s fingers, holding his chopsticks, paused. A hint of grievance flashed in his deep, dark eyes.

"Then what about me?"

"We can call and video chat every day."

"I can’t sleep at night when you’re not here."

Vesper Grayson suggested cautiously, "Otherwise... how about we change our honeymoon plans to Veridia?"

’I can’t bear to refuse Ms. Rhodes, remembering the way she had spoken to me with red-rimmed eyes. If we have our honeymoon there, it would be the best of both worlds.’

Jared Hawthorne thought for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Whatever you want."

「The next morning at breakfast」, the television suddenly cut to a breaking news report: late last night, a series of major explosions occurred in multiple locations, resulting in twelve deaths. There were no survivors.

While investigating the scene, the police found an extra male body. The corpse was burned beyond recognition, its original features indiscernible, but after a comparative verification, it was confirmed to be Sean Sterling, who was the subject of a city-wide manhunt.

The homes where the explosions occurred all belonged to the relatives who had misled him years ago. The cause of the explosions was a combination of a liquefied gas leak and a homemade bomb.

Everyone had assumed Sean Sterling escaped to evade legal punishment. No one expected him to take such a desperate risk just to hunt down his enemies for revenge.

Jared Hawthorne spoke with a calm expression, "Those relatives pocketed the death benefits back then, using the money to build houses, buy property, and improve their lives. For them to end up like this... you could call it karma."

"Sean Sterling’s actions were indeed extreme and ruthless, but he was always the type to clearly distinguish between kindness and grudges, and to repay every debt of hatred."

"To settle his grudges with his own hands... for him, it wasn’t a loss."

The more skilled someone is at hiding their true nature and maintaining a gentle, low-key demeanor, the more decisive and merciless they become when they finally act on an obsession, leaving no room for compromise.

Vesper Grayson pressed her lips together and said no more.

’I don’t want to casually judge whether Sean Sterling was right or wrong. Since I haven’t personally experienced his pain, I can never truly understand what he went through.’

After the Sterling Family received the news of Sean Sterling’s death, a dead silence fell over them.

Miss Sterling’s expression was complicated. She spoke slowly, "I never imagined this matter had been trapped in his heart for over a decade, becoming an obsession he could never overcome."

She recalled the first time she saw Sean Sterling. He was small and frail, dressed in ragged, dirty clothes, curled up on the side of a street, looking utterly alone and pitiful. In a moment of compassion, she had a servant bring him a bowl of hot food. He had held the bowl and devoured it, tears streaming down his face as he ate.

She had asked about his family, but he just shook his head, saying he was a helpless orphan who couldn’t remember his parents’ faces. At that time, Julian Sterling had pulled on her sleeve, begging her to adopt the boy.

At first, she had only intended to find a playmate for Julian Sterling. But as they spent their days together, Sean Sterling proved to be well-behaved, sensible, sweet-tongued, and affectionate. The way he called her "Grandma" over and over melted her heart.

Thinking of the past, Miss Sterling’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

Just then, a servant pushed the door open and entered. "Ma’am, a letter was delivered for you. There’s no sender’s name."

"Who delivered it?"

"I’m not sure. They just left the letter and went."

Miss Sterling took the envelope and opened it, full of doubt. The moment she saw the handwriting, her heart jolted. It was Sean Sterling’s script—a neat and powerful semi-cursive style that she herself had taught him, stroke by stroke, all those years ago.

Every line was filled with his remorse and apologies.

He wrote that in his next life, he would work like an ox or a horse to repay her kindness.

’If it hadn’t been for the misunderstanding, how could he have become so extreme?’

’Hate had destroyed him, twisting a perfectly good child into something unrecognizable.’

She handed the letter to Silas Sterling, who remained silent for a long time after reading it.

"Tell the butler to find a burial plot with good feng shui and have him buried. Let it be the final act of the connection between our family and him. A proper end to things."

"Yes, I’ll arrange it shortly."

"Also, prepare a generous gift. Today, we will personally visit Miss Grayson and offer our apologies."

"Alright."

Jared Whitman walked in from the entryway, leading his wife, Renee Rhodes.

"Grand-aunt, are you alright?"

They had also seen the news that morning and were worried about her emotional state, so they had come to visit.

"I’m fine. I’ve made you two worry." Miss Sterling looked up and saw the couple looking radiant and cheerful. "Did you run into some good fortune? What has made you so happy?"