Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 617

Chapter 617

At that point, Julian was no longer guessing.

Minutes earlier, Tristan had been cornered by Sydney’s escape. Then the situation flipped in an instant. A sniper appeared outside.

There was only one explanation. Someone had stepped in to help him. A weapon like that was beyond the reach of any ordinary player. Only a veteran drug lord on Flint’s level could provide it.

When Julian laid it bare, Tristan’s eyes filled with conflicted emotion. He had underestimated Julian.

With the outcome settled, Tristan spread his hands. “If that’s the case, why did you turn back just now?”

“Because I wasn’t completely sure yet.” Julian let out a cold laugh. “Now I am.”

Diana did not know the history between the Sterling family and Flint, but Raymond and Caleb did. The truth clicked for them at once.

They would have to allow Tristan to leave. No one dared gamble on whether that rifle would actually fire.

Raymond exchanged a look with Julian, then addressed Tristan in a cold voice. “That’s enough. Quit while you’re ahead. I’ve already sent people to locate the sniper. If you don’t leave now, you won’t get the chance.”

This had been Tristan’s home ground, his carefully staged play. Now he was the one forced to retreat.

His jaw tightened, but he was not foolish. Pressing further would gain him nothing.

He rose without haste, straightened his suit, and ordered his men, “Pull out.”

They withdrew at once.

The cars had barely left the villa district when they were intercepted. A window rolled down. When Tristan saw who it was, his body stiffened. “Godfather.”

Jeremiah’s face showed no emotion. “Get in.”

“Yes.”

Tristan did not hesitate. He opened the door and climbed inside.

The car merged back into traffic. Jeremiah’s fingers rubbed the head of his cane. “How did walking into a trap you set yourself feel?”

Tristan stayed silent for a long moment. Then he spoke quietly. “Thank you, Godfather.”

Without Jeremiah, he would not have walked out alive tonight. In hindsight, he had not only underestimated Julian. He had underestimated Sydney as well. A pregnant woman had taken down a trained man without making a sound.

Jeremiah’s clouded eyes shifted to him. “You caught Sydney. Even if you couldn’t kill Julian, killing the woman he loves most should have vented some anger. Yet I heard that you forbade your men from laying a hand on her.”

Tristan paused. After a moment, he said, “You told me she would be useful later. I thought—’

“Tell the truth,” Jeremiah cut in, his tone final.

Tristan knew he could not lie. Pain flickered in his eyes. “When my mother died, she was pregnant.”

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Back then, his father had worked as a driver for the Sterling family. When Julian’s parents died in the car accident, his parents had been in the car as well.

That day had been his father’s scheduled rest day. The assigned driver had fallen ill at the last minute, and his father had filled in. Disaster had struck on the way to drive Julian’s parents out.

To this day, Tristan did not understand why his mother had been in the car too. No one had survived.

That was why, when he saw Sydney pregnant, a trace of mercy surfaced. He wanted only Julian’s life. Letting Sydney live cost him nothing. He told himself it counted as a small kindness for the sibling who never had the chance to be born.

Tristan withdrew with his people, but the tension inside the villa did not fully dissipate.

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