"Was it you?" Darryl's question echoed throughout the whole room. He was in his father's office right then with his parents, his grandfather, and some of the elders who attended the party. They all gathered to talk about what just happened especially that it was a great controversy involving their family.

"Lemuel stopped accusing your father!" Madam Dianna was beside him still trying to calm him down because until then Darryl's anger didn't subside and what's worse was that he was then trying to make everyone confess whether they had involvement with Collet's deeds, most especially his father.

​​

"Out of all the people in this room, it is you who would most likely do it. Did you hate me that much when I made you step down L'Empire six years ago? Did you make it to stop my appointment as the President of L'Empire right then?" Darryl continued ignoring his mother's words. He also didn't withhold all his frustrations right then with his own family and so his words, no matter how unpleasant they are, flowed right straight from his mouth.

"Darryl, the evidence you have cannot be linked to your father," Don Samuelle interjected because the tension cannot be controlled anymore. Darryl was raging mad and President Manuel was already clenching his fist, holding back while Darryl was instigating him.

"You were the one who benefited from the failed take over when I ran away from London that day because someone called me, just before I stepped into the stage that something happened to my wife," Darryl narrated and only did everyone understood why Darryl ran off the appointment that day. Darryl didn't give his reasons before and so the revelation came as a bit of surprise to everyone.

"You…" President Manuel only uttered one word because he was then shaking with anger and resentment. He couldn't believe all the things that his son was accusing him, "We had our share of arguments. We didn't go well in everything but what makes you think I am that immoral to step down so low and become the murderer of my grandson?"

"This is not the first time you made an immoral thing father," Darryl reminded him.

"I would not deny that. But do you think I can kill my own grandson?" 

"The grandson from the Lagdameo woman you hated the most," 

"It's true I hated her!" President Manuel's voice was so loud as it reflected all that he felt inside. "It's true I did so many unpleasant things for the sake of business! But I would never, ever, kill my own grandson even if he born out of the woman I loathed the most,"

Darryl silenced this not because he was affected by President Manuel's blowback but because he wanted to give him a chance to speak for himself. Even when he was on the verge of his anger, he cannot still pass judgment on something when it was clouded with doubt. His grandfather was right, no evidence linked his father to the murder of his son, yet even so, he wanted to hear his defenses.

"I am greedy Lemuel. I admit that. Of all the Lagdameo in here I'm the most greedy and just like what you always accused me of, I take advantage of my heirs and my children to get hold of L Empire. So why would I kill a grandson that would give me more glory and power in our family?"

"He was the last Lagdameo heir. Even if he was carried by a woman I don't care about, I would still want him. And if I was desperate to get rid of that woman I should have just killed her rather than your son? Why? Because just as you are always accusing me of, I can make use of my grandson being the next Lagdameo heir!"

President Manuel's explanation was so on point that even Darryl himself was convinced, although he didn't admit it openly. His father was right. His son, being the next Lagdameo heir, was supposed to give President Manuel more glory especially that no grandson was conceived in the Lagdameo family for long. So if ever his father planned something, it would not be the death of his son but rather a way for him to get a hold of Winter. Instead of killing his child, President Manuel should have ordered his child snatched off from Xhemin's custody to raise him as the next Lagdameo heir.

"The last thing you could ever accuse me of was that I killed my own grandson," It was obvious from President Manuel's voice that he was hurt by the unreasonable accusation of his own son yet he tried so much to put off an apathetic face. "Believe me or not, I wanted that son of yours more than you do," President Manuel added before he rushed out of the room leaving everyone behind.

Everyone didn't say a word after they heard President Manuel's explanation. They all felt his sentiments and his hurt with Darryl's accusation and they could only sigh in frustration on how very chaotic tonight had been. 

They all cannot recover the fact that it was their betted daughter-in-law who caused the last Lagdameo heir's death and the fact that they had cared for her for a while including her mother. They just basically adopted two murderers in their house without knowing it.

Madam Dianna was then patting Darryl's shoulder trying to soothe him for a while before she followed her husband. Everyone in the room then just looked at each and last turned to Don Samuelle to hear his thoughts about the issue.

"As much as we want to, we can't anymore bring Darryl's son back to life," He sighed deeply as he seated himself in a swivel chair. He then clasped his two hands on top of the table and added with thorough determination, "But it doesn't mean we cannot give him justice. Six years was enough of a delay. We had to make sure the last Lagdameo heir deserves the justice that was denied of him for long."

"Dannah had already taken care of it," Franco Lagdameo told. He was there at the beginning and just opted to listen to everything that took place. "Just think of the other matters like how you can explain all this to the media and that. As for your murderer heiress, just leave it all to Dannah,"