"Do you think Anne even needs to do anything for a rift to form between us?"


    When Elizabeth opened her mouth to argue, Jonathan raised his hand to stop her, then turned to Derek.


    "Grandpa, what really happened in the fire back then? Aren''t you going to give us an exnation?"


    His hand shifted to point at his mother, but his cold gaze remained fixed on his grandfather.


    "Was she really the one who started the fire, intending to kill my father and me?"


    He had thoroughly investigated the incident and discovered that the fire was indeed not an ident.


    Someone had pushed hard to ensure the case was quickly closed as an ident.


    Though he attempted to dig deeper, the only thing he found was the single photo of Elizabeth, taken at the foot of the hill that night.


    Everything else, whether it was who started the fire or who forced the truth to be concealed, had been erased so thoroughly that even he had failed to find further traces of the incident.


    But the cover-up was so meticulous that, in a way, it already hinted at who had buried the truth.


    Elizabeth simply did not have the ability; it couldn''t have been her.


    If it had been the work of a rival family, Derek would not have stayed quiet after nearly losing his son and grandson in the fire. He would have unleashed a storm of blood and violence on the perpetrators.


    But nothing happened. The fire incident had been swept under the rug, quietly fading away into obscurity.


    Therefore, there was only one person who could have buried the truth-besides Derek, Jonathan couldn''t think of anyone else.


    He had promised Anneliese and her grandmother that he would uncover the truth behind the incident.


    At this moment, Jonathan took Anneliese''s hand, and together, they stared at Derek with the same stubborn resolve.


    It was obvious: They would not rest until the truth was revealed.


    Derek tightened his grip around his cane, the veins in his hands bulging. His aged face was marked with fatigue, as well as a mixture ofplex emotions.


    Penelope frowned, her breathing slightlybored. She, too, turned her gaze toward Derek, her voice trembling.


    "What''s going on, Derek? Didn''t you say the fire was just an ident?


    You''d better exin everything clearly! Anne''s adoptive father sacrificed his life to save Jonathan!


    How could the truth behind the you


    death of such a heroic man remain. obscured?"


    Rising to her feet, she came to stand beside Anneliese and took the young woman''s other hand in hers.


    "Don''t worry, Anne. If there''s really something more to the story, I, like Jonathan, will definitely uncover the truth for you and your grandmother!"


    Anneliese nodded, squeezing Penelope''s hand in return.


    Martha, who was standing nearby, never imagined she would hear such a shocking revtion. Her disbelieving gaze darted from one person to another, but she did not dare to speak.


    Could it really have been Elizabeth who started the fire?


    Was she insane? Could it be that Jonathan wasn''t her biological son?


    She wished she could pry the truth from Derek''s mouth at this very moment, but


    Derek remained silent, though his lips twitched.


    On the other hand, Elizabeth grew increasingly panicked.


    strained voice, "What


    She yelled in a


    are you saying? Even if the person in the photo is me, that doesn''t prove I''m the arsonist! I was burned that night, po! Besides, it''s been years since the incident. The authorities have ruled it an ident. Why do you keep trying to pin the me on me?"


    Her voice climbed higher and higher, bing progressively grating on the ears.


    "Is this how a son should act, Jonathan? I''ve truly raised a wonderful son—just wonderful!"


    "Enough!" Derek roared, unable to contain his fury.


    She flinched at his outburst. The flush of anger that had colored her face vanished


    in an instant, leaving her deathly pale.


    ring at her fiercely, he used his cane to push himself to his feet. He said to Jonathan and Anneliese, "You two,e to the study with me."


    Derek started toward the study, but Anneliese frowned and remained where she


    was.


    "Old Mr. Fullbuster, whatever it is you have to say, you can say it here. Shouldn''t the truthe to light?"


    He halted. The slight alteration in speech had not escaped him—she had changed how she addressed him.


    Instead of calling him "Grandpa", a more intimate term, she had used "Old Mr. Fullbuster", a more respectful but distant term.


    The meaning behind her sudden


    change in attitude was very clear. If he could not give her a satisfactory


    answer, she would no longer be


    willing to recognize him as part of her family.


    He looked at her. "What? Are you refusing to call me ''Grandpa'' anymore? Does that


    mean you''re refusing to join the Fullbuster family now?"