“What do you mean?”
I froze and was shocked. My ears buzzed and my mind went blank.
Snapping back to reality, I hurriedly grabbed the phone to ask for the address. I got up unsteadily, left the hospital in a daze and took a cab to the place.
When I arrived, all I saw was a corpse covered in a white sheet. Grief and anger overwhelmed me and I could barely cry.
My heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand, heavy and suffocating pain. I realized my bank card didn’t have enough money when the medical staff member told me to pay at the front desk.
I stopped for a while, checked in disbelief and saw my balance was zero. I called Michael over ten times, but he didn’t answer. He finally picked up on the thirteenth call.
“Michael…”
I barely said a word before the line was filled with a woman’s moans and a man’s muffled groans.
I stood frozen for three minutes, my mind spinning. When I came back to reality, the call had ended.
Pale and shaken, I called Uncle Peter. After paying, I took my father’s body to the crematorium.
I stepped out and smiled at him. “Uncle Peter, thank you.”
His eyes were full of sorrow. “Sweetie, I’ve seen you grow up. Your parents must be upset in heaven, seeing all the unfairness you’ve faced.”
“Whatever you want to do right now, just do it. I’ll always stand behind your Barkworth family.”
I never expected Uncle Peter to be so loyal to my family, all because of one meal my father gave him years ago.
I didn’t go back to the hospital. I went straight to the home I hadn’t visited in five years.
The first time I entered the code, it displayed an error. I tried again, but it still didn’t work.
After five failed tries, the smart lock automatically triggered an alarm. Michael opened the door shirtless. His eyes looked shocked when he saw me.
“You... why are you back so suddenly?”
I noticed his wet hair and replied bitterly, “This is my home. Why shouldn’t I come back?”
Michael was shocked to hear my words. “Nichole, that’s not what I meant. Shouldn’t you be resting properly in the hospital?”
Holding my father’s urn and leaning on my crutch, I replied, “Do you expect me, injured, to stand and talk all day like this?”
Michael finally led me inside. All the furniture and decorations had been replaced.
Seeing me stare, Michael smiled and explained, “Since your accident, Olivia thought the house had bad energy, so she had me renovate it.”
I frowned. “What about the photos of my parents’?”
Michael was silent for a long moment, unable to answer. Meanwhile, Olivia came downstairs in her silk pajamas.
“They’re in the basement. Dead people’s stuff is just eyesores to keep around.”
I glared at her, gritting my teeth. “Say that again?”
Perhaps fearing I might lash out, Michael stepped in front of Olivia, smiling to smooth things over. “Olivia was just doing what a master of healer advice. Don’t take it too seriously.”
“I just didn’t want your father to see those old things and get nostalgic when he came back, so we put them away.”
I didn’t pay attention and returned to the basement to get my things.
The moment I stepped out of the basement, I ran straight into Olivia, who was holding a bowl of hot soup.
Olivia screamed, “Ah!”
Michael rushed out and kicked me in the chest, sending me crashing to the floor.
The urn in my arms hit the ground, spilling all the ashes. The photo frame in the box also broke.
“Nichole, if anything happens to Olivia, don’t expect your father’s medical costs to be covered!”
