The Scorned Heiress: No More Mercy novel Chapter 725

Even when they sit in total silence, the atmosphere between Tara and Joseph is perfectly comfortable. Joey and Mr. Yates always used to panic when the room went quiet, desperately trying to fill the void with small talk, but Tara and her mentor never felt the need to force conversation.

"I’ve kept track of the news regarding your father," Joseph finally says, breaking the quiet. "It’s a sudden and deeply tragic loss. You must attend his funeral, Tara. You need to see him off."

It is incredibly rare for Joseph to speak this much, let alone meddle in her personal life.

Tara narrows her eyes, instantly sensing the hidden weight behind his words. "What’s going on? Why are you telling me this?"

She isn't stupid. Joseph knows her ties to the Dennis family are shattered. He would never push her to attend a funeral out of mere social obligation.

"My position prevents me from attending," Joseph says, his voice thick with an uncharacteristic heaviness. "I need you to go in my place. And you need to go for yourself. It is the absolute least you can do."

He falls silent, his eyes shadowed with a grief that rivals her own. The realization hits Tara like a physical blow.

"Did he... work with you?" she asks, her voice trembling as the pieces start snapping together.

"It’s a long, classified, and incredibly complicated story," Joseph murmurs, turning his gaze toward the window as if looking into the past. "But Charles is gone now. I refuse to let him go to his grave despised and misunderstood by the one person he loved most in this world."

"Tell me everything," Tara demands, her voice cracking with desperation. It is the first time in her life she has ever begged for answers.

"My connection to your father started with your grandfather," Joseph begins slowly. "Old Mr. Dennis wasn’t just a corporate titan; he was a brilliant pharmaceutical researcher. That’s why the Dennis Group's core foundation is based on medicinal botany. Back in the day, I was incredibly close friends with Arthur Calhoun—Danny's father. Arthur was a genius. He, your father Charles, and Garrett Sinclair formed an unstoppable trio in the capital. Brilliant, wealthy, and unmatched in their fields."