?Chapter 347:


    Vincent spoke with a calm detachment that made Katelyn’s stomach churn.


    The cutthroat strategies in corporate management were harsh enough, but applying them within a family? That would mean those at the bottom would be mercilessly cast aside.


    In business, being cut off might mean losing your job. But in a family—what would it entail?


    Vincent looked over at Katelyn, perhaps noticing her difort, and his voice deepened.


    “For those who are cut off, it means death.”


    Katelyn’s hand tightened at her side involuntarily. She was well aware of the intense pressures on heirs in the Adams Group, one of the nation’s toppanies.


    But she believed family should be about kinship, not cutthroatpetition.


    “Do you have to learn these things from such a young age?” Katelyn asked, her voice soft with concern.


    Vincent gave a slight nod.


    He settled back into the sofa, pulling out a silver lighter and a pack of cigarettes.<fnd5c0> Read full story at f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fnd5c0>


    He flicked the lighter, and a small me sparked.


    The soft light of a nightmp filled the room, casting a gentle glow on Vincent’s face. The flickering light split his face in two—one side aglow with the fire’s light, the other cloaked in shadow, portraying him as both angelic and sinister.


    He blew out a stream of smoke, and Katelyn watched it rise and dissipate into nothingness.


    Vincent’s face remained unreadable.


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    “In a family like ours, if you don’t strive to climb to the top, it’s as if you’ve sealed your fate. Do you know what the Adams family has in abundance?”


    Katelyn considered his question seriously. Tentatively, she suggested, “Power? Money? Resources?”


    Vincent slowly shook his head; none of her guesses were right. He observed her confused look with a cold smirk.


    “Bastard children.”


    Katelyn’s eyes widened in shock. The existence of love children in affluent families wasn’t unheard of, but such powerful families often maintained a pristine fa?ade, regardless of the turmoil within. Many wives overlooked their husbands’ indiscretions to protect their children’s interests. Despite numerous public scandals involving other wealthy families,


    Families’ affairs and hidden love children weremon enough, but the Adams Group had remained untouched by such rumors.


    Katelyn’s reaction was exactly what Vincent had predicted. As his cold stare intensified, he continued, “In my generation alone, there are sixteen of us, all quietly acknowledged by my grandfather.”


    Sixteen? Katelyn’s face showed a mix of shock and disbelief at hearing this. The thought of Vincent’s father having the stamina to father so many left her astounded. She didn’t voice her thoughts but quickly understood the deeper meaning.


    “Do you mean this is how they choose the best sessor?”


    “Yes,” Vincent replied with a heavy tone.


    “They locked us in a metal cage, forcing us to fight each other in a deadly survival game. I had to take lives to ensure my own survival. The bloodshed became so frequent that it soon stopped bothering me.”


    Vincent’s eyes dropped to his hands, which appeared clean but felt stained.


    Given Vincent’s immense influence in both thewful and uwful realms, could he ever be truly innocent?


    The revtions left Katelyn speechless, struggling to find the right words.


    The Adams family had kept these dark secrets hidden. Without Vincent’s revtion, she would have never suspected the harsh truth behind their polished fa?ade.


    Looking at Vincent’sposed face, she imagined the frightened child he must have been, forced to fight to survive.


    She wondered if he had been as scared the first time he killed someone as she had been this very evening.


    A bitter feeling began to grow inside Katelyn as Vincent shared his painful memories with her.


    “The sheer willpower you mustered to get where you are now is incredible,” she said softly.


    Rising to be the preferred heir among sixteen, and then ascending to lead the Adams Group—it was a journey she found hard toprehend.


    Her words caught Vincent off guard, and for a moment, a trace of emotion crossed his eyes.


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