Chapter 409 Sebastian's Identity
"You ever wonder why I suddenly made Seraphina stick with me? I ain't that bad, you know. I'm not interested in wrecking others' relationship," Dashiell blurted out.
Cecilia was all ears, looking both curious and puzzled.
From what she knew about Dashiell, he wasn't the type to mess up other people's lives, no matter how much he was into her.
"Before Seraphina tied the knot with Sebastian, a woman showed up at the Everhart Mansion gates. No clue how long she was hanging around, but when I got back that day, she hollered at me, saying she had something to spill. I didn't know her, but since she knew my name, I followed her. She claimed to be Sebastian's sister, not by blood, but adopted by his old man," Dashiell explained.
"Wait, Sebastian's got a dad?" Cecilia asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, I asked the same thing. She said Sebastian wasn't born without a dad; his old man's name was Simon Ayala."
"That name rings a bell," Cecilia muttered, trying to remember.
"Yeah, Simon Ayala from the Ayala family. Not one of the big four, but they were kinda famous back in the day for making TVs. VisionView was their brand, and they pretty much owned the TV market in the Yakurosean Empire, with like 80% market share. Everyone knew them," Dashiell said.
"Oh, right! That TV brand. My family had a VisionView back then," Cecilia said, nodding.
"Yeah, most folks did. But then TVs changed big time—internet TVs, LCDs, rear-projection, all that jazz. VisionView stuck to their old-school stuff, thinking it was low-maintenance. They got left in the dust. People wanted the new shiny things, and VisionView went bankrupt," Dashiell continued.
"And then?" Cecilia prompted.
"Then Simon, who just took over the biz, started working on new tech. He made some headway, but the company was broke and needed cash. So, he hit up Atticus from school for a loan from the Everhart Bank."
"Atticus didn't give him the loan?" Cecilia guessed.
"Atticus said yes right away, so Simon didn't bother with other banks. He was sure the Everhart Bank had his back, so he kept working. But when he really needed the money, Atticus bailed 'cause he already lent it to another company. Simon's funding fell apart, and he was drowning in debt."
Cecilia went quiet, feeling the story getting messier.
"With no money, Simon had to sell their tech just to keep the Ayala family from going under. But Simon was stubborn; he didn't wanna sell, thinking he could hit it big. Pablo Ayala, though, had given up and sold the tech behind Simon's back. Simon lost it and jumped off a building, dying on the spot."
Cecilia was totally floored, staring at Dashiell like he just dropped a bomb.
Dashiell went on, "You mentioned Atticus also took a dive off a building. I bet Sebastian used the same playbook on him."
Cecilia nodded, piecing it together.
"There's more to it," Dashiell continued. "Guess who ended up with that tech?"
"Who?"
"Justin Bell, the big shot in home appliances, owner of Harmony Electronics Inc.," Dashiell said. "And after digging deep, I found out Atticus had a 30% stake in Harmony Electronics. So..."
"So, Atticus screwed Simon over on purpose?" Cecilia guessed.
"Exactly. Justin saw Simon's TV tech and got Atticus to back out of the loan, forcing the Ayala family to sell. In return, Justin gave him a chunk of the shares."
Cecilia was speechless.
Sometimes, business folks would do anything shady for a buck.
And she never thought Atticus, who seemed so nice and gentle, could pull something like that.
"After Simon died, the Ayala family fell apart. Simon's wife ditched their 10-year-old son and bailed. Simon's parents, heartbroken, soon died too. Simon's kid, Sebastian, originally Sebastian Ayala, got adopted by another family and changed his name. But he was too stubborn to call his foster parents 'mom' and 'dad,' so they sent him back to the orphanage. He grew up there with his non-blood-related sister, and they were tight. Until Sebastian met Seraphina," Dashiell looked at Cecilia. "You know the rest."
Cecilia nodded, "So Sebastian got close to Seraphina for revenge."
"When Simon died, Sebastian was ten and knew what was up. He knew who pushed his dad to the edge. I don't know if Sebastian knows Atticus was in cahoots with Harmony Electronics, but he'll find out eventually. Even if he doesn't, Atticus's betrayal is enough for Sebastian to hate him forever," Dashiell said.
"So, Sebastian's actually a victim," Cecilia said, feeling a bit sorry for him.
"Yeah," Dashiell agreed. "That's why I didn't spill the beans to Seraphina. Even though I knew Sebastian had a hidden agenda, I kept quiet. If Seraphina knew the truth, she'd turn against her own family. But like you said, Seraphina isn't heartless towards Atticus. They've leaned on each other for years, and she's got deep feelings for him. If she helped Sebastian take over the Everhart Bank, she wouldn't handle it. She'd drive herself nuts. If she ended up pushing Atticus to his death, it might end up just like you said, with the same tragic ending."
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