?Chapter 1156:
Because he loved her, he allowed her father to live as Paul and insisted on upholding the marriage contract.
But Marissa didn’t feel grateful. Not one bit. How could she find it touching—being loved by a man who held the reins of something so dark, so destructive?
After a long, heavy silence, she finally spoke. “Even if what happened twenty-two years ago had nothing to do with you or your grandfather, what about Tiffany? She suffered for years. Can you deny being part of that?”
Everett had taken control of the organization years ago. But Tiffany’s torment hadsted up until recently, which meant much of her pain traced straight back to him.
He had even orchestrated Tiffany’s escape from marriage.
Just thinking about all the suffering Tiffany had endured, any lingering goodwill Marissa had for Everett vanished, reced by pure hatred.
“I won’t make excuses. I yed a part in Tiffany’s suffering, and I regret it.” Everett met Marissa’s gaze, his voice carrying an uncharacteristic weight of remorse.
“But you and Tiffany never grew up together. There’s no real emotional bond between you. Would you really want someone out there who looks just like you?”
Marissa’s eyes narrowed in disbelief—how could someone as sharp as Everett have such a warped, cynical perspective?
His attitude toward Chloe and De made sense now—he was psychologically twisted, likely molded by his grandfather’s influence from a young age.
.cóm is the source
Marissa brushed past any mention of her sisterly bond with Tiffany and got straight to the point. “Why did you try to mix Tiffany’s and Connor’s genes to create a child with both of their traits?”
Everett took a deep breath before exining, “Tiffany was infected with a rare virus when she was just a child—courtesy of the shady organization. The virus altered her genes, and the scientists within the organization wanted to use her mutated DNA to manufacture more test subjects.”
Marissa arched a brow. “Why Connor? Why not someone else?”
“There are two key reasons,” Everett replied, his tone measured. “First, Connor is an unparalleled genius—his gic makeup is like striking gold in the world of science. Second, it was my grandfather’s idea. He wanted to use the DNA from the Daniels family.”
Marissa wasn’t satisfied. She pressed further. “And why did he target the Daniels family?”
Everett hesitated, his jaw tightening as if weighing whether to speak the truth. Finally, he exhaled sharply. “Because…” His voice dropped slightly. “Neil is my grandfather’s illegitimate son. He went against the Daniels family for Neil’s sake.”
Just then, a thunderous crash shattered the tension—the door to the hall flew open with a deafening bang. Connor strode in, his expression as dark as a brewing storm. His sharp gaze locked onto Everett, cutting through the room like a de. His voice was low, but it carried the weight of thunder. “So, your grandfather is Cartwright?”
Connor’s sudden appearance caught Everett off guard, making his pulse spike. He narrowed his eyes. “Connor, how in the world did you get in here?”
Before an answer coulde, rissa stumbled in behind Connor, her clothes in disarray, a smear of blood at the corner of her mouth. “BOSS, we’ve been duped!” she gasped.
Everett’s usualposure cracked. “What do you mean?”
rissa raised a trembling finger at Connor, her voiceced with fury. “He disguised himself as Dr. Finley’s driver, slipped onto our yacht under our noses, and took down every single guard. He fought his way here—and he hurt me.”
The moment the words left her lips, her legs buckled, and she copsed to the floor, too weak to hold herself up.
As she knelt there, trying to steady herself, her gaze identallynded on Marissa—without her fake face. rissa’s breath hitched. Her eyes widened in sheer disbelief. “Marissa? What are you doing here?”
Marissa’s lips curled into a faint smile as she twirled the fake face between her fingers. “Oops,” she murmured, her tone light yet edged with mischief. “Looks like he wasn’t the only one ying dress-up.”
.
.
.