Thousands of Brilliant Stars: You Deserve the Best!-Chapter 215: Tragedy Ever Present, Like a Shadow

Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Tragedy Ever Present, Like a Shadow

Accompanied by the approaching sounds of sirens and ambulances, Iris Crawford finally felt at ease. Elias Shaw, who received the call, quickly appeared on the scene to personally oversee the situation. As she watched Lachlan Wyatt being lifted onto a stretcher, Iris instinctively wanted to rush over.

Elias Shaw stopped her. "Iris, do you want to go with him?"

When he spoke, there was a meaningful look in his eyes.

Iris’s mind was in turmoil. Lachlan seemed like a powerful boss with no weaknesses, but now... he too could be gravely injured.

"You’ll just be standing there doing nothing."

Elias Shaw walked toward Iris. "Come with me. Leave Lachlan to me and Peach. I’ll take you back and show you Lachlan’s files."

Countless thoughts flashed through Iris’s mind, but her first reaction was to act tough. "What do Lachlan’s past files have to do with me? I’m just worried because he saved me..."

"Is that really all there is?"

Elias Shaw questioned Iris again, lightly laughed, "Iris, is that really all there is between you and Lachlan?"

She and Lachlan...

Iris lowered her head, suddenly unable to say a word to refute Elias Shaw.

Lachlan’s existence was both good and evil. It seemed he was indifferent to how the world suffered deeply, yet he was the one with a fierce heart that softly smelled the roses.

He hated this world but created artificial intelligence.

Lachlan, what exactly is it that you desire?

Iris bit her lip, as if making a decision, and said to Elias Shaw, "I’ll leave Lachlan to you, I trust you. After you’re done, tell me about Lachlan’s past."

"Accepting his past means you will know all the secrets he doesn’t want to tell you."

Elias Shaw warned Iris once more, "Can you bear the consequences?"

If you can’t give Lachlan hope, then I’d rather you be an ignorant bystander.

And not someone who knows everything, only to just pass through his... devastated world.

Iris stood there, and in just a few seconds, her eyes turned red.

After a long pause, she raised her head and said, "No matter the cost, I want to know."

******

Lachlan was taken to the emergency room for treatment, and Iris and the others were also taken for wound inspection. Iris’s arm was wrapped in another layer of bandages, and Martin Hawthorne’s chest was also wrapped in gauze.

Liam Winslow seemed to have suffered a slight concussion, but after the doctor looked at his scans, he said more rest was needed and that recovery was possible.

The situation most critical was Lachlan’s. After all, he was at the center of the explosion. When Peach entered the operating room, she was covered in cold sweat, a serious expression rarely seen on her face.

"I’m taking Iris out for a bit. The rest of you, take care and stay safe here."

When the wound treatment ended, Elias Shaw removed his white gloves and professionally rested his hands behind his back, exuding an imposing presence. "Remember, some things absolutely must not be known to ordinary people."

"We understand."

James Chesterton nodded, "We’ll take care of things from here. Iris, you go."

Iris got into the car with Elias Shaw. Throughout the journey, he remained silent, sitting in the back of the black business car, his demeanor both silent and serious, making Iris a little anxious.

What about Lachlan’s past could possibly be unspeakable?

"Over ten years ago, there was a particularly heinous murder in our suburb." Elias Shaw took a deep breath, seemingly recalling the past, then continued, "And Lachlan was the witness to the murder. For a specific period of time, he was protected as a special witness, and he couldn’t even leave the house without accompaniment."

Iris was shocked.

She hadn’t expected the past Elias Shaw spoke of to be something so heavy.

Why did it happen this way?

All she knew was that Lachlan’s parents didn’t care for him. His mother was the other woman in someone else’s marriage and ended up hospitalized for depression, while his father didn’t love him either. From childhood to adulthood, he never saw much light.

No amount of material wealth can save a heart barren of love.

Thus, Lachlan’s character could indeed be described as nearly twisted, oscillating between coldness and humanity. At times, Iris felt that Lachlan loved no one; he loved only himself the most.

Yet at other times, she felt Lachlan was the least caring of himself.

"Perhaps you’re very surprised why this matter was never brought up because given its grave nature, it caused psychological shadows for many at the time, so we never publicly disclosed it."

Elias Shaw looked up at the car ceiling, "The person who handled this case was my mentor. While I was studying law in college, my mentor told me about this case, and I learned that Lachlan was involved."

Iris’s mind was in disarray, unable to believe the ordeal Lachlan had gone through.

She had personally experienced death, so was it scarier to experience the terror of death oneself, or to watch others experience death with open eyes...?

Perhaps the impact of the two is vastly different.

The car remained silent for a full twenty minutes until it stopped. Elias Shaw led Iris into a building, found the file, and said to Iris, "This is the entire process of the case back then. I think this is the beginning of everything."

Turning the first page, Lachlan’s name stood out.

But another name took Iris by surprise.

"Was Jonas Kingsley also... one of the witnesses?"

"That’s right." Elias Shaw nodded, "He and Lachlan both witnessed that murder, right before their eyes."

Iris couldn’t imagine what such a scene was like.

"And the victim was their eldest brother."

Pointing to the name above, Elias Shaw read it aloud, "Weston Wyatt."

Iris felt as though her soul trembled.

Why, when Elias Shaw spoke this name, did she have such a strong reaction?

Weston Wyatt... Weston Wyatt...

He was Lachlan and Jonas’s brother, Hugh Wyatt’s eldest child, and the child born to his first wife.

"All three brothers were kidnapped, and the one who kidnapped them was another mistress of Hugh Wyatt’s."

Elias Shaw recounted everything like an observer, his tone flat as usual.

But the calmer he was, the more cruel Iris felt it was.

"That mistress intended to kill Hugh Wyatt’s three sons so that her own daughter could be brought into the family, becoming the sole heir to the estate."

Elias Shaw turned the page for Iris and said, "So Lachlan and Jonas witnessed their older brother Weston being... in front of them."

Iris painfully closed her eyes.

"Weston was a very good person. Back then, he had no animosity towards Lachlan and Jonas, even when they were their father’s illegitimate children. This big brother had no bias and said that brothers were brothers. When Lachlan was always looked down upon by others, Weston was very kind to him. And yet, such a good brother was murdered by Hugh Wyatt’s mistress. Right in front of them."

...died right before their eyes.

What does it feel like to watch your loved one being killed?

"Perhaps it was during this time that Lachlan and Jonas’s humanity completely crumbled and fell, but they went to two extremes."

Elias Shaw spoke plainly, detailing the past tragedy, "We once arranged for Lachlan to have long-term psychological counseling to prevent him from retaining lasting shadows. Jonas was taken abroad by his mother because of the incident. She was frightened, and Hugh Wyatt agreed. A month later, Lachlan was also sent abroad — perhaps because Hugh Wyatt feared losing his lineage, so he did this."

The pain seemed like a net, completely enveloping Iris.

Lachlan, have you been stuck in that fifteen-year-old day of kidnapping all these years?

Your humanity kidnapped along with you.

Have you never truly, for even a moment, been able to move on... all these years?

"Do you know who that mistress’s daughter, the one who committed the murder, is?"

He pulled out a photograph, and Iris froze.

"Her name was Jane Wyatt, daughter of Hugh Wyatt’s then-murderous mistress, and now..." Elias Shaw said one word at a time, "Her name is Hannah Lennox."