Rachel practically fled the room.


    Foreman wasn''t doing much better.


    All of them were lost in their own thoughts, too preupied to notice each other''s unease.


    Haynes''s expression had grown dark and severe.


    After what had happened, Ste now trusted Joshua more than ever. She didn''t believe for a second that he was hiding anything.


    Though Joshua hadn''t produced any hard evidence, Haynes was gripped by a deep intuition that Karl''s ordeal was, without a doubt, connected to him.


    And then there were those things Joshua had said not long ago...


    A flicker of doubt crossed Haynes''s brow as he cast a discreet nce toward Rachel.


    Her eyes darted nervously, unable to settle, as if she were anxious about something she couldn''t admit.


    Could it be that Rachel and Joshua actually knew each other?


    If they did, and Joshua had been helping her all along, why would he say so openly? It didn''t add up.


    No wonder Ste didn''t believe it. Even Haynes found it hard to ept, unable to guess at Joshua''s true intentions.


    What''s more, Joshua had imed he''d helped Rachel fake her medical records...


    Haynes recalled that both Mr. Burton and Ste had mentioned something simr.


    So, was Rachel''s illness real or just a fabrication?


    A seed of suspicion took root in his mind, but instead of confronting Rachel immediately, Haynes decided to have Benson look into the matter.


    The turmoil surrounding Karl was finally dying down.


    When he was brought back home, he looked like a man whose soul had been ripped away.


    He remembered every detail of what happened that day. His body may have been powerless, but his mind was painfully clear.


    He remembered the humiliation—every moment of it.


    He even knew they''d streamed it live.


    Knock, knock, knock.


    Someone rapped on the door.


    Karl didn''t move. Hey on his back, as limp as a corpse, staring nkly at the ceiling with hollow, empty eyes.


    Sellers and Sherman walked in.


    Sellers frowned at the sight of Karl''s numb, broken state.


    "Karl."


    Karl didn''t even turn his head. "You''re here to gloat too, aren''t you?"


    Sellers sighed. "Karl, we''re family. Why would I ever take pleasure in your pain?"


    Karl let out a bitter, hollowugh.


    out


    "Family? How many Burtons are there right now,ughing at me? Pressuring me to resign, forcing me to hand over my shares, and even-''


    "


    His voice turned cold and sharp. "Even threatening to kick me out of the family."


    Sellers pressed his lips together, silent.


    Karl''s scandal had caused a public rtions disaster—his photos were all over the world, impossible to erase.


    There was no way he could return to thepany. His position as general manager had already been temporarily filled by another Burton.


    As for being cast out of the family...


    Sellers spoke in a low tone, “Karl, you need toy low for a while. When things calm down, I''ll bring you back. I''ve had Sherman


    purchase a private ind for you. After all these years of hard work, you deserve a break."


    He paused, then added, "Don''t worry. I''ll make sure your shares are safe. You''ll still have a say inpany matters and receive your dividends.”


    Sellers made it sound like a favor, but in reality, he was exiling Karl from the Burton family.


    The scandal''s impact was too severe. If they didn''t remove Karl from the family, public outrage would never subside.


    For the foreseeable future, Karl was out—both from the family and thepany.


    Karl''s face contorted in rage and pain.


    "Who did this? Who set me up? I swear, I''ll destroy them!"


    Sellers hesitated for a moment before answering quietly, “...It was Ste.”


    Sherman looked at Sellers in shock.


    The head of the Gardner family had just admitted the truth—he was the one behind it all.