Love’s Change of Heart novel Chapter 742

Chapter 742 The Truth

Joseph met his gaze and mocked, "How could someone as filial as you do something so immoral? That's Grandfather's ashes in there—how could you just throw them away so mindlessly?"

Charlotte tried to support some of Charles' weight as she spoke with tears in her eyes, "Uncle Joseph! A-Are you the one who did this?"

Charles held Charlotte back with a pale look on his face. "Were you trying to kill me just now?" he asked.

"I just wanted to see what you'd choose to do. You didn't disappoint me at all," Joseph replied. "In any case, at least he died a meaningful death." Some other elderly trembled in rage and joined in their conversation. "What utter absurdity! How could someone as insane as you be a part of the Woodley Family? You've brought shame to our family name!" the person cried.

Joseph let out a lighthearted chuckle. "I'm not part of the Woodley Family anymore. I only showed up today to pay Grandfather my very last respect," he uttered. With a hateful glare, he glanced across the people's faces around him before continuing, "Now, you all shall join him in the afterlife." As soon as his words came out, a group of men showed up in the cemetery with rifles in their hands, surrounding the members of the Woodleys.

The Woodley Family had always been in a privileged position, and they had never once witnessed such a brutal scene. Blood drained out of their faces, and most of them were as pale as a ghost, aside from the few elders who managed to maintain their composure. It was most likely because those few elders had more or less gotten used to such situations. Or perhaps, they simply doubted that Joseph had the guts to do such a thing.

Joseph looked past the group of people to meet Aidan's gaze. There was a triumphant look on his face as he spoke, "Everything would've been fine if you had just remained at Highside, President Pearson. It's a shame that you chose to stick your nose into this."

Aidan wrapped his arms around Leanna before remarking flatly, "It seems like you're planning to end my life here as well."

"Did you think you'd get to leave this place in one piece, President Pearson? Oh, did you—no. Did all of you here assume that Lachlan would come over to save the day? Well, he isn't doing much better than you guys. I knew he'd be tough to deal with, but fortunately, I got some friends to deal with him. I might not be able to kill him, but he won't make it in time to save you all."

"I see," Aidan muttered simply.

"Did you expect this, President Pearson?" Joseph asked.

"You arranged for the reporters to sneak into the venue. The true purpose of saying those things during Mr. Philip's funeral was so that you could put all of the blame on Lachlan. If we all die here today, you can easily frame Lachlan for the crime," Aidan uttered.

"Bravo. You're truly the smartest one out of them all."

"However, the plan won't work simply with your words alone," Aidan added.

Charlotte's cries sounded from a distance away right after he finished his words. "Let go of me! Let go!"

Joseph shook his head while letting out a sigh. "It sure is hard to keep a secret from you, President Pearson. I'm not going to kill everyone, of course. I'll keep Charlotte around as she'll help me resolve many of my problems."

Charlotte tried to hit and bite the men who had gotten hold of her, but she couldn't escape their grip no matter how hard she tried.

Charles attempted to rush over to help her, but someone kicked him in the knee, and he fell to the ground immediately.

Her eyes widened at the sight, and she cried out, "Dad!"

Leanna wanted to help. However, just as she was about to head over, Aidan stopped her and whispered, "It'll be fine."

Joseph turned to look at Charlotte. "You should be a little more compliant if you want your father to suffer a little lesser, Charlotte."

Tears trickled down her face as she cried out in a raspy voice, "How could you… Uncle Joseph, how could you—" Before she could finish her sentence, someone clamped a hand over her mouth before dragging her closer to Joseph.

"Alright. It's about time this whole thing came to an end." Joseph lifted his hand to signal his men before he turned around to walk away.

"These are grudges held within your family! What has this got to do with us?! We… We're innocent! How dare you kill us!" someone cried.

Joseph let out a chuckle before turning in the direction of the voice. "You're innocent, huh? Who isn't, then? If you think you're innocent, why don't you pay Old Mr. Woodley a visit in the afterlife and ask him why he chose to attack an innocent ten-year-old boy back then? Why would the Woodleys try to uphold their principles when they go against them eventually? Why—"

He cut himself off abruptly before he continued in a calmer tone, "The Woodleys have committed too many sins. Furthermore, weren't you guys already dissatisfied with all the rules in the Woodley Family? Well, nothing can be changed in this lifetime, so I might as well send you all on your way. At the very least, you guys would die with a purpose. In the future, the Woodley Family would no longer be limited to just the Jamesdon area."

As Joseph walked off, some people cried and wailed in despair, while others did their final struggle and shouted for help. Some simply shut their eyes as they waited for death to fall upon them—it was as if they already knew there was no hope of getting out of this situation.

Leanna felt someone covering her ears the moment gunshots began to sound around her. However, after a few more gunshots, the Woodleys were surprised to find they were still safe and untouched. They exchanged looks of disbelief with one another. Their expressions were a mixture of confusion and relief.

At the same time, Joseph also realized that something wasn't right. When he turned around to see what was happening, he found out all his men had fallen onto the ground. The look on his face fell immediately. Before he had the time to respond to the situation, Lachlan's figure appeared in his field of vision. The Woodleys let out sighs of relief as they spread their lips into smiles of gratitude.

When Charlotte saw Lachlan, she beamed with tears still in her eyes. "Let me go…" She started to wrestle her way out of the man's grip.

"Charlotte!" Joseph shot her a stern glare.

She shouted, "Stop it, Uncle Joseph! You can still choose to stop this now. He won't hurt you—"

"Shut up!" Joseph growled.

This was her first time seeing such an eerie look on her uncle's face, and she was too stunned to speak for a moment. Her words were stuck in her throat, and she no longer said anything after that. Joseph shifted his gaze back to Lachlan before he pushed his glasses up his nose. "It seems like I've underestimated you once more."

The fire in the ancestral hall was meant to catch Lachlan's attention, and Joseph had planned to intercept Lachlan right when he was on his way over. However, Joseph didn't expect Lachlan to defeat his men and make his way over so quickly. "At this point, I'm sure you won't bother denying the fact that you were the one who killed those elders," Lachlan uttered.

Joseph let out a snigger. "Sure. I was the one who killed them. So what? You never got along well with them, anyway. Aren't I doing you a favor by getting rid of these barriers you have? How do you think you can secure your position as the head of the Woodley Family with all those people around?"

When he finished his words, Joseph turned to look at the rest of the Woodleys. "Also, I'm sure you know that all these people only pretend to support you on the outside. Deep down, many of them think that you're too young to bear the role of the head of the family, and many of them are thinking of ways to drag you away from obtaining this role. However, if you kill them all now, you'll no longer have anyone get in your way. The whole Woodley Family will belong to you. Shouldn't you thank me for this?"

After Joseph finished his words, the Woodleys, who had been hopeful, seemed to turn pale once more. Those who had been going against Lachlan in secret seemed especially fearful and shocked. If Joseph and Lachlan decided to combine forces, they would all die on that day.