Chapter 444 The Last Shred Of Hope

Chapter 444: Chapter 444 The Last Shred Of Hope

“What...?”

Alicia’s pupils contracted.

She stared at Ryan in disbelief.

His cold, unwavering gaze made a chill run through her.

Ryan helped Rose sit down on the sofa before slowly turning toward the others.

“Owen.”

“Yes, Mr. Knight.”

“Bring me the records.”

Owen had been standing quietly near the door the entire time, keeping his eyes lowered and saying nothing.

At Ryan’s order, he opened his briefcase and removed several documents.

He handed them to Grace and James one by one, deliberately avoiding Derick, who was still sitting there in a daze.

James took the first page.

His expression changed.

It was a record from a private genetic-testing agency.

And Alicia’s name was on it.

The test had been conducted years ago.

It was solid evidence.

The kind that left no room for excuses.

Alicia began trembling.

She looked at Ryan in terror, then turned toward Grace with reddened eyes.

“Grandma, I... I did look into it.”

Her voice shook.

“But I knew it wasn’t something I had any right to claim. I knew I shouldn’t have interfered, so that’s why I—”

“You had a paternity test done?”

James’s fingers tightened around the paper.

For a moment, he looked as though he might tear it apart.

Then he slowly raised his eyes to Alicia.

“So that’s what this was.”

His voice was cold.

“You knew who you were from the beginning.”

Alicia’s lips parted, but no words came out.

“You knew you were connected to the Taylor family by blood, and you resented everyone because you thought you’d been denied what was rightfully yours.”

James’s breathing grew heavier.

“You looked at Rose and saw someone who had everything you believed should have belonged to you.”

“And once you finally found out who she was, you still couldn’t accept her.”

His expression hardened.

“The incident at NYU wasn’t random, was it?”

Alicia’s face went white.

“Samantha kidnapping you. The admission letter being dropped. Everything that happened to Rose afterward.”

James’s voice rose.

“You used Samantha to attack Rose because you wanted to keep her away from this family and destroy her reputation before she could take her place here!”

“That’s not true!”

Alicia cried out.

But James didn’t stop.

Grace had already regained some of her composure, yet the documents in front of her had reopened the anger in her chest.

“You ungrateful girl.”

Her voice trembled.

“So, what if you share Derick’s blood?”

Her eyes were filled with fury.

“You were raised by this family. We gave you a home. We treated you as one of our own.”

She stared at Alicia.

“And you still convinced yourself that you deserved everything Rose had simply because you shared some of the same blood?”

Grace’s hands shook.

“You were never entitled to take her place.”

The truth was suddenly impossible to ignore.

Alicia had hated Rose long before she even knew Rose was alive.

And once Rose returned, Alicia’s hostility had only become more calculated.

She had smiled.

She had acted affectionate.

She had played the innocent daughter.

All while making plans behind everyone’s backs.

Even Samantha had become a pawn in her attempts to hurt Rose.

Ryan watched her coldly.

“You grew up knowing you weren’t acknowledged by your biological mother.”

His voice was detached.

“You lived with resentment and spent years believing you’d been denied the life you deserved.”

His eyes narrowed.

“So, you found someone to blame.”

“And that person became Rose.”

A faint, humorless smile touched his lips.

“You convinced yourself that if Rose hadn’t existed, everything you wanted would have been yours.”

“I don’t know anything!”

Alicia’s thoughts were spiraling.

She could feel everything collapsing around her.

“I didn’t choose who my mother was!”

Her voice broke.

“Whatever Victoria did has nothing to do with me!”

She suddenly looked toward Grace.

“And I saved you!”

Despite the IV lines and monitors attached to her, Alicia forced herself out of bed.

Her legs were weak, but she stumbled toward Grace as if desperate to prove that one act had to mean something.

“I risked my life for you!”

Rose’s expression turned cold.

“Apparently, shamelessness really does run in the family.”

Alicia froze.

Rose’s voice was quiet, but every word cut.

“You hate Victoria. You want everyone to believe you’re nothing like her.”

She looked directly at her.

“But you’re still the person who spent years manipulating everyone around you.”

“You’re not some innocent victim who was dragged into this.”

“You made your own choices.”

Alicia’s face crumpled.

“You want to distance yourself from Victoria now that she’s been exposed.”

Rose’s eyes were icy.

“But you don’t get to erase everything you’ve done simply because you don’t like where the truth leads.”

Alicia stared at her.

Every word felt like a blade driven into the one thing she had always protected—her sense of self.

Tears streamed down her face.

She clutched the front of her hospital gown and looked toward Grace.

“Grandma... I’ve been beside you all these years.”

Her voice trembled.

“No matter what happened between us, all these years I’ve—”

Smash!

A ceramic cup flew across the room.

It shattered against the floor directly in front of Alicia.

Several fragments struck her cheek and shoulder.

Tiny cuts opened across her skin.

Alicia froze.

She slowly turned her head.

Ryan stood a few feet away.

His expression was ice-cold.

There was no hesitation in his eyes.

No sympathy.

Nothing.

“What about Rose?”

Alicia’s lips trembled.

Ryan’s voice became even colder.

“She lost her mother.”

“She grew up without a home.”

“She spent years suffering because of circumstances you benefited from.”

His gaze never left hers.

“You took the identity and life that should have been hers.”

“What right do you have to stand here and call yourself innocent?”

Alicia couldn’t answer.

Her eyes widened.

Tears continued to fall.

Ryan’s voice remained merciless.

“Your mother destroyed Rose’s mother.”

“She helped condemn Rose to a life she never deserved.”

“And now that your mother’s crimes have finally been exposed, you’re suddenly claiming that none of it has anything to do with you?”

His jaw tightened.

“You’ve had years to make your own choices.”

“This is the result of them.”

The room went silent.

Diana, who had been sitting beside Rose and gently rubbing her back, stared at Ryan in shock.

Rose slowly lifted her head.

Ryan stood only a few feet away.

For a moment, she simply stared at him.

She hadn’t expected him to say that.

There was no room for compromise in his words.

No opening for Alicia to cling to.

Whatever last hope she’d been holding onto had just been ripped away.

Alicia knew Ryan was ruthless.

She’d seen the side of him that existed beneath his calm business persona.

But at that moment, she understood something else.

He wasn’t going to let her walk away from this.

“You really underestimated the Taylor family.”

James finally spoke.

He walked toward Alicia.

One step.

Then another.

He stopped in front of her and looked down.

“So, what if you have Taylor blood?”

His voice was cold.

“We raised you. We gave you a place in this family. We gave you everything an adopted daughter could have asked for.”

His expression hardened.

“But if you were secretly born outside this family and spent years trying to replace the person who actually belonged here, that doesn’t give you the right to claim Rose’s place.”

“And certainly not after everything you’ve done.”

He paused.

“Especially when you’re the daughter of the woman who destroyed my sister.”

Alicia’s face went pale.

Ryan turned away.

“One more thing.”

Everyone looked at him.

“The chandelier.”

His voice was calm.

“I don’t believe Victoria had nothing to do with it.”

James’s eyes narrowed.

Ryan continued.

“And if Victoria arranged for the chandelier to be tampered with, then Alicia’s so-called act of saving Grace becomes something else entirely.”

Alicia’s breathing stopped.

Ryan looked toward her.

“A carefully planned rescue.”

He paused.

“A lifeline she could use later.”

Rose’s eyes flickered.

Ryan explained, “The doctor told me Morgan’s memory wasn’t returning because she wasn’t being sufficiently stimulated. Something had to trigger the memories buried deepest in her mind.”

“And what finally did that?”

“Seeing Victoria.”

His gaze moved toward Morgan.

“The moment Morgan saw Victoria at the Taylor residence, the memories she’d been unable to access came rushing back.”

Ryan had been suspicious of Victoria from the beginning.

That was why he’d stayed close to Rose and Morgan.

He hadn’t let his guard down.

“As for Alicia,” Ryan said, “whether she planned the rescue or not, I was already going to deal with the question of her identity and her relationship with Victoria.”

Grace’s expression turned cold.

“If Victoria arranged the chandelier accident, then the entire thing was an attempt to kill and silence someone.”

She looked at Alicia.

“I won’t accept anyone calling this a favor.”

Her voice was filled with disgust.

“You don’t get to hurt someone and then demand gratitude because you happened to pull them out of the wreckage.”

“Grandma...”

Alicia’s heart sank.

She looked desperately at Grace.

But Grace turned away.

Then her gaze fell on Derick.

He was still sitting there, staring into nothing.

His face looked as though he had aged years in a matter of minutes.

Grace’s eyes filled with pain.

“This is the woman you’ve protected all these years.”

Her voice trembled.

“The woman who destroyed your family.”

“The woman who helped cause Sophia’s death.”

She looked at Derick with disappointment that cut deeper than anger.

“Rose was right.”

“You were even more wrong than Victoria.”

Derick’s head lifted slowly.

Grace’s eyes reddened.

“I no longer consider you my son.”

The words left the room completely silent.

Grace had exhausted the last of her strength.

She pushed herself to her feet.

“Victoria and Alicia need to answer for what they’ve done.”

Then she turned and walked away.

She had somewhere else to go.

She was going to Sophia.

After all these years, the truth had finally come out.

She wanted to stand beside Sophia’s grave and tell her that she had finally been vindicated.

Rose didn’t follow.

She remained seated.

She hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Between the exhaustion and the emotional shock, her lips had gone almost white.

But she had no intention of leaving.

Not yet.

She wanted to see Victoria and Alicia face the consequences of what they had done.

James looked at Derick.

There was anger in his eyes, but also something close to pity.

“What now?”

His voice was bitter.

“Are you going to ask us to give them another chance?”

Victoria’s makeup had long since been ruined by tears.

She looked desperately at Derick.

“Derick, I did it because I loved you.”

Her voice broke.

“I loved you so much. I was jealous of how much Sophia meant to you. I didn’t want to be humiliated in front of everyone...”

Derick stared at her.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then his voice came out hoarse and hollow.

“Call the police.”

Victoria froze.

Derick’s expression didn’t change.

“And don’t make it easy on her.”