Chapter 1423 What Kind of Brothers Were We?
Selena ignored Lawrence, her calm gaze fixed on Cora.
The resemblance was uncanny, though their personalities couldn't be more different.
Barbara would never have spoken to her with such hostility. She would never have looked at her with such disgust.
Barbara's expression had always been gentle and loving, as if she wanted to give Selena everything good in the world. Throughout her life, whenever Selena recalled Barbara's gaze, she felt filled with strength.
So who was this woman standing before her? Why did she look identical to Barbara?Why did Cora look identical to Barbara?
Lawrence, noticing they were both ignoring him, dropped any pretense of courtesy.
"Guards! Remove these two from the premises. Richard, enough of this nonsense for today," he demanded.
Richard finally snapped. He grabbed a nearby vase and hurled it to the floor.
The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the room, creating an instant silence so complete you could hear a pin drop.
"You're the ones being ridiculous!" he shouted.
He strode toward Lawrence and seized his sleeve. "Lawrence, who are you throwing out? Who are you speaking to with such contempt? Whose face did you slap last night, and whose life are you trying to destroy? Look at this—really look at it! This is Selena's DNA test with Father! Lawrence, open your eyes and see who you've been trying to harm, who you've been despising all this time!"
The DNA report hit Lawrence squarely in the face, momentarily stunning him.
The document lingered against his face for a second before falling to the floor.
Still unsatisfied, Richard kicked the papers across the room.
He began, "Selena's life history matches Layla's exactly. Layla was just a decoy, deliberately used to mislead us—to make us believe our sister was dead so we'd stop searching."
"But Selena is our sister! She's alive—she's been alive all along! And you've been trying to kill her! Do you know what I was thinking about all last night? How to tell her the truth about her identity. But I couldn't bring myself to do it—I'm not that heartless! Lawrence, tell me, how can our family ever go back to what we were? Should I tell her that her eldest brother has been enabling an impostor to hurt her, even trying to have her killed? I can't bring myself to say it!"
Richard's chest heaved with emotion, his fists clenched. If not for a thread of self-control, he would have struck Lawrence.
Lawrence remained frozen. At times, when the shock struck, all else seemed to fade—the world grew silent, as though suspended in a vacuum.
His only physical response was to reach for the kicked DNA report, but his hands trembled so violently that he failed several attempts to pick it up.
In what seemed like a trance, he picked up a shard of the broken vase, clutching it tightly in his palm.
Blood covered his hand, but he appeared oblivious to both his actions and the pain.
After fumbling for a moment longer, he finally retrieved the paper, now stained red with his blood.
Though his vision was perfect, he held the paper close, scrutinizing its contents.
In his twenty-some years of life, this was the only time he'd ever wished to lose consciousness.
But he remained painfully aware, seeing everything with terrible clarity.
Richard's anger deflated as he stood before Lawrence, his eyes reddening with tears.
His voice cracked with emotion, "Think about everything you did in Silver Bay City. Can you even look her in the eyes now? Since yesterday, I haven't had the courage to tell Selena about her identity. Now, at Dad's bedside, I have no choice. Dad desperately wants to see her, but how many times have you tried to destroy her? Isn't that ironic? Lawrence, you constantly claim to care for family, to cherish our sister, yet you've tried to kill her repeatedly. What kind of brothers have we been?"
With those words, Richard broke down in tears.
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