Chapter 454 Bloodlines and Betrayals

Chandler glanced at Silas, who gave a small nod. Only then did he speak.

"I know you resent us. You must be wondering why our attitude changed so drastically after your mother died. All I’ll say is–we owe you nothing. And neither did she."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Johnathan’s voice was calm, but his words were sharp. "Speak clearly."

For the first time, Silas finally spoke.

"I had one son and one daughter. And she was the one I cherished most. But she died. I’ll never get over it – not in this lifetime. From now on, don’t come here again. Don’t send anything, either. Just go."

He was kicking them out.

Before Johnathan could respond, Sierra cut in sharply, "Then explain yourselves. Don’t speak in riddles."

"We all regret what happened to Professor Yaeger’s mother, but none of that is his fault."

She couldn’t stand how they were piling all the blame on Johnathan.

Chandler couldn’t hold back anymore. "But Wendy died because of him."

"What?" Johnathan tensed, his calm cracking. "What do you mean she died because of me?"

He tried to remember something – anything from when he was young – but came up blank.

He only remembered that his mother had fallen ill. She’d been in a lot of pain.

Then she was hospitalized. He visited her every day, worried sick.

And then… she jumped off a building. After that, he’d seen Chase with another woman and child. He’d assumed his mother had been driven to suicide by Chase’s betrayal.

But now, Chandler was telling him it wasn’t like that?

Chandler was already regretting what he’d said. He pressed his lips together, silent. But Johnathan wasn’t about to let it go.

"Tell me the truth!" His voice was cold as ice. If they kept avoiding him, he wouldn’t hold back.

Chandler shrank under the weight of his presence. Finally, he snapped, "I told her she shouldn’t have kept you! She was crazy to take you in. What good could ever come from raising the child of a lunatic?"

Johnathan reeled.

What was that supposed to mean?

This wasn’t what he’d expected at all.

Sierra looked equally stunned. They had assumed Johnathan wasn’t Wendy’s biological son. But from Chandler’s words – it sounded like he wasn’t even Chase’s son either.

Chapter 454 Bloodlines and Betrayals

Johnathan’s mind was spinning.

How could this be possible?

He had always ruled that out. His grandfather would never hand the Wynn family over to an outsider.

But now they were telling him… he wasn’t Wynn blood at all?

Then all these years – all his hatred toward Chase – what did it even mean?

Seeing how hard the blow had hit him, Sierra quickly grabbed his hand and turned to Chandler with a fierce glare.

"I heard you’re a well-known scholar. Is this how you treat people?"

"My beloved sister died because of him, and you expect me to show him kindness?"

Chandler’s face twisted with contempt. "If she hadn’t insisted on saving him – on raising him – none of this would’ve happened."

Sierra’s mind went blank.

So… was Johnathan Wendy’s son or not?

"Enough."

Silas finally lost patience. His voice was cold. "I don’t want to see either of you again. Get out."

Sierra wanted to argue back, but her concern for Johnathan took precedence. She took his hand and led him away.

The town was small and cheap, with only one shabby inn. But Sierra didn’t care. She rented a room and got Johnathan settled.

He hadn’t spoken the whole time.

Sierra gently tried to comfort him. "Don’t think about it yet. They might just be saying that to confuse you. We can verify everything. One step at a time."

Johnathan had calmed down a lot by now.

He hadn’t stayed quiet out of shock – he’d been thinking about Chandler’s words. Running through past memories. Analyzing.

Finally, he said, "The first thing I need to check is whether I’m biologically related to Chase."

He didn’t trust anyone else to handle this.

Sierra stepped in, "Let me handle it. I’ll have Autumn do it. She’s discreet. She won’t say a word."

"Okay."

He already had some of his own hair at home. As for Chase’s, he gave Jose a call.

Jose didn’t ask why – he quickly collected a sample. After all, he still lived with their parents. Getting it was easy.

Then he had Matco deliver it straight to Autumn.