Chapter 304: Broken Lineage

Silas, a man who never flinched, had remained stoic throughout everything. Even when betraying his sworn allegiance, he did so with chilling precision. No matter how much we tortured him, he never begged for mercy or showed any sign of weakness. Yet, I couldn't quell the resentment that his death came so easily. Even though he had been acting on someone else's orders to kill me, he was still the one who had tried to take my life. Who could say how many lives were on his conscience? I couldn't simply let it go. And now… now he was gone.

I clenched my fists, frustration rising in my chest. Why? We had covered every angle. Even when Sheila and Anna approached him, we kept a close watch. We had arranged for his food to be handled by someone we trusted. So, why had he still died?

Anna, too, couldn't accept it. She gently touched Silas's cold face, her voice trembling. "I'll take you with me." She tried to lift him, draping his arms over her shoulders, as if she thought she could carry him. But it was impossible. He was over six feet tall. A body is heavy. No matter how hard she pulled, he didn't move. She lacked the strength to take him with her.

Adam, noticing the blood pooling beneath Anna, rushed to her side. “You’re pregnant. Think about your baby. If you don’t care about yourself, do it for the child. Silas is gone, but you still have to protect his child.”

Tears streamed down Anna's face, and suddenly, she shouted, “No, he’s not dead! He’s just sleeping. He promised he would always be with me.”

At that moment, the doctor arrived. Concerned for the baby, the Boltons' staff tried to reason with Anna. “You need to focus on the baby. You’re carrying his child. You can’t lose that either.”

“The baby,” Anna murmured, her hand instinctively going to her stomach. So much blood had already soaked the ground beneath her. The sight of it seemed to snap her back to reality. Gripping the doctor’s sleeve, she pleaded, “Please, save my baby. I can’t lose him. I’ve already lost Silas. Don’t take my child too.”

After they had to physically pull her away, Adam stood, his eyes bloodshot and staring at the lifeless form of his son—his son who had never once called him ‘Dad.’

“What a curse,” he whispered, the sound thick with sorrow.

He and his first wife had only had one child. Sheila, after complications during her first pregnancy, had never been able to have another, no matter how strong their bond had become. With Silas gone, the only hope for a future heir lay in Anna’s unborn child. Adam had already confirmed it. It was a boy.

Adam turned to the doctor. “Make sure you save the child.”

Everyone’s focus shifted to ensuring Anna’s pregnancy remained safe, but I followed Damian to Silas’s side. His lips had taken on an unsettling shade of purple. It was clear how he had died—poisoned. But where had the poison come from? Neither Sheila nor Anna had the opportunity to poison him. Yet Silas was dead, and it happened right under our noses.

“Autopsy. We need to know what happened,” I ordered, my voice cold.

Damian nodded. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I’ll make sure we get answers.”

I trusted Damian to get it right. But with Silas dead, I knew he would take the blame. He was determined to find out what had happened, perhaps more than anyone.

The Boltons were in a state of disarray after Silas’s death. I heard that Jeffrey had skipped breakfast to rush to the family chapel. When I found him, he was praying to the ancestors of his family.

“Jeffrey, your body’s not as strong as it used to be, and you have low blood sugar. You should eat first,” I suggested. I had always been straightforward with him, especially since he’d been worried about my fate since my death.

Jeffrey looked at me, his bloodshot eyes filled with exhaustion. “Zoey, you’re here just in time. Help me offer some prayers and pray that the ancestors protect Anna and her baby.”

“Of course.”

As I took the incense, I immediately noticed something—the tablet bearing my name. The Boltons had placed my memorial in the family chapel, beneath Luke’s wife’s. Seeing my name on the tablet sent a strange chill down my spine. I knelt, and just as I was about to bow, a sudden gust of wind swept through the room.

The candles flickered, and the ancestor tablets seemed to sway in the wind. I knelt quickly, bowing, but then a loud crash rang out—our tablet had fallen and landed right in front of me. I looked up, and there it was—the name Oliver Bolton on the tablet. It was Oliver’s memorial.

Staring at the name, a cold wind swirled through the room, sending a shiver down my spine. Even I, someone who had died and returned, felt the hairs on my arms stand on end. It was as if unseen eyes were watching us from the shadows.

“Look out, ma’am!” A bodyguard quickly pulled me to my feet as the wooden table, holding the incense, suddenly cracked. The incense burner tumbled to the floor with a loud crash. At the same time, the candles on either side flickered out. Some incense had gone out, while others had snapped in two.

Jeffrey froze, his face pale. “Broken hope… is this a sign to wipe out the Boltons’ bloodline?”

A bodyguard stepped forward to inspect the damage. “The table’s old. It just cracked on its own.”

It all seemed too convenient. After having experienced death, I knew not everything could be explained by science. I glanced at the Boltons’ ancestral tablets. Was this a warning of some calamity looming over the family? It reminded me of Luke’s vow in front of Grandma—a severed bloodline and a bitter end. It felt as though his oath had already begun to come true.

My eyes fell on Oliver’s tablet, now covered in a thin layer of incense ash. A sense of unease settled in my chest. I might not care much for the Boltons, but I didn’t want Carter to suffer for their misdeeds.

Jeffrey seemed to sense the bad omen, too. His face tightened with worry. I helped steady him, trying to calm him. “Jeffrey, it’s just a coincidence. There’s no deeper meaning to this. Don’t read too much into it.”

“No, Zoey, you’re still far too young. You wouldn’t understand.” He hunched over, gesturing for a servant to clean up the mess. I suggested he eat something, but he waved me off. “I’m not hungry. Go check on Anna.” His concern for the child in Anna’s womb was evident. I helped him up the stairs.

As we reached the door, the doctor came out. Jeffrey quickly asked, “How is she? Is the baby okay?”

The doctor shook his head. “Mr. Bolton, I’m so sorry. We couldn’t save the baby. We need to perform a D&C on Ms. Sander now.”

Jeffrey’s face went ashen. “No… we couldn’t save it…”

“Jeffrey, it’s okay.” I tried to comfort him, though the words felt hollow. I knew the pain of losing a child all too well.

Jeffrey’s voice cracked as he muttered, “It’s karma. This is the punishment for what we did to Oliver. If there’s revenge, let it come for me. Adam is innocent, and so is his grandson.”