3: 3
By the time I reached the hospital, the corridor was dead quiet.
The light over the emergency room had already gone dark.
A doctor came out, pulled down his mask, and shook his head at me, worn thin.
"I'm sorry. We did everything we could."
"The patient passed half an hour ago. It was peaceful."
My legs gave out and I sank to my knees on the cold tile.
No tears, no crying out, only a suffocation that scooped the soul clean out of me.
I crawled to the bed and lifted the white sheet.
Grandma's face was pale, drained of all color, the wrinkles cut deep, and she just lay there, still.
She would never smile and call me her little girl again, never again press a warm baked potato into my hands.
The only family I had was gone.
Quick footsteps came pounding down the corridor.
Giles arrived with his arm around Judy, whose eyes were swollen red from crying.
He saw Grandma on the bed, froze for a second, then his brows drew together.
"The dead don't come back. Are you done making a scene?"
Giles looked down at me, every word laced with reproach.
"Do you have any idea that slap you gave earlier nearly wrecked my whole future?"
I didn't answer him. I just kept straightening Grandma's clothes, mechanically.
Judy hid behind Giles, cupping her swollen cheek, her voice thick with tears.
"Dawn, I know you're grieving."
"But you can't take it out on me."
"Giles poured so much into your grandmother's situation. How can you be so childish?"
I stopped what I was doing and slowly turned my head.
"Poured so much into it?" I looked at Giles, a cold smile tugging at my mouth.
"Your version of pouring so much into it was using my grandmother's life to force me into being a stepping stone for your little mistress?"
Giles's face changed, and he glanced around on instinct.
Seeing no strangers nearby, he lowered his voice and snapped at me, agitated.
"What garbage are you spouting!" His voice dropped, sharp and impatient.
"Everything I did was for the bigger picture! Once I make the promotion, don't our lives get better?"
"Our lives?" I got to my feet and closed in on him, step by step.
"You mean yours and Judy's."
"You are completely unreasonable!"
Humiliation curdled into rage, and Giles shoved me hard.
"I came here out of the goodness of my heart, and this is how you treat me? Fine. Sit here and cool off as long as you like!"
He grabbed Judy and turned to go.
At the doorway he stopped, and without looking back he said,
"I'll wire the funeral costs to your card. Consider that me being more than fair."
"When you've thought it through and know where you went wrong, come back and apologize to me."
Apologize?
I watched his back recede, my eyes gone cold to the bottom.
Over the next three days, I handled Grandma's funeral alone.
Giles never showed up again. Not one call, not one message.
He only sent his assistant to deliver a wreath with DEEPEST CONDOLENCES written across it.
The assistant stood off to the side, rubbing his hands awkwardly.
"Miss, Giles said he's been swamped lately. He genuinely couldn't get away."
"He told me to pass this on: don't be so stubborn. When it's time to bow your head, you bow it."
I looked at this fawning assistant with a cold smile.
"Busy with what? Busy helping Judy pick out jewelry, or busy prepping his promotion party?"
The assistant choked, had nothing to say, and slunk off.
I held Grandma's urn against my chest and murmured,
"Grandma, I'm sorry. I was blind. I read him all wrong."
"Don't worry. This debt, I'll collect it back with interest."
My phone screen lit up.
It was a post from Judy on social media.
The photo showed an expensive diamond necklace, with the caption:
"Thank you, Giles, for making it up to me. Love you."
The location tag was the most expensive fine-dining restaurant in the city.
I opened the photo and zoomed in. The necklace was the exact style I'd seen in a magazine last month, the one I'd said was really pretty.
What had Giles said back then?
He said, "A cheap little chain, so tacky. Once I get promoted, I'll buy you something better."
So it turned out he wasn't broke, and he didn't think it was tacky either.
He just didn't want to spend it on me.
Expressionless, I saved the screenshot.
Along with all the evidence I'd gathered before, I packaged it up and sent it as a supplement to the investigation team on the disciplinary board.
Soon, they replied.
【Evidence verified. Thank you for your cooperation. The takedown begins tomorrow night.】
I stared at the screen and let out a long, heavy breath.
The phone lit up again. A message from Giles, still as high-handed as ever.
"My promotion party is tomorrow night, at the InterContinental Hotel. You will be there."
"This is your last chance. Give me, and yourself, a way to save face."
I stared at the message, my fingers tapping the screen.
"Fine. I'll be there on time."
