Vikki’s POV
I dragged my heavy steps toward the morgue.
Gerard, that dumbass, actually thought I was going to visit his son. But that kid’s room and where my mom was were two entirely opposite paths.
The morgue was cold and eerie, the kind of chill that seeped straight into your bones.
I searched for a long time but couldn’t find her.
“Nurse,” I asked, “where’s Claire Presnell?”
The nurse’s reply lingered in my ears. “She passed away not long ago. Her son-in-law already claimed the body.”
Thunder roared in my head. Her son-in-law? How could Gerard have taken my mom’s body? He’d always kept his distance from her, as if she were something filthy.
I stormed into Acee’s hospital room, fury burning through me.
“Gerard! Give me back my mom!” I demanded.
But the voice that answered wasn’t his—it was soft, feminine, and dripping with hatred.
“Stop shouting. What would he even want with your mother’s corpse?
“Your mother’s probably a handful of ashes by now. Maybe even turned into fertilizer to nourish the flowers.
“No matter how much you scream, it won’t change anything. You might as well accept it.”
I immediately panicked and shouted.
“Why would you do this? You didn’t even let me see her one last time!” Suddenly, I remembered something. “No, that’s impossible. They can’t release a body without the family’s consent. You’re lying, aren’t you?”
Tessa let out a mocking laugh.
“Don’t you get it yet? Of course, Gerard gave his consent. Do you really think I could’ve done it without his permission?”
“I did it to shut you up forever,” she continued. “I couldn’t deal with you, but your mother? She was much easier. Don’t worry. I made sure she went peacefully.”
The room fell deathly silent.
I snapped. Rage blinded me as I lunged at her. But before I could reach her, she grabbed my wrist and forced my hand around her own throat.
She struggled and shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Don’t! Vikki! I have a child to take care of! Please let me go!”
That was when I saw Gerard walking in.
Tessa whispered through her tears, low enough for only me to hear.
“Anyone who knows my secrets doesn’t get to live. And I’ll be taking back what’s mine, especially him, of course.”
Suddenly, I realized—she resented me knowing that she was sent abroad all because she got pregnant from an affair.
Her family had to send her far away from home to cover up this scandal.
“You’ve gone too far, Vikki!” Gerard roared like a beast. “We’re done. I want a divorce!”
With a single order, he wanted to sever all ties with me.
He shoved me so hard I instantly fell to the floor. Desperation clawed at my throat as I looked up at him.
“Do you have any idea what she’s done? She killed my mother and burned her to ashes! I didn’t even get to see her one last time!” I cried.
“You told me she was in a nursing home! Where is she, Gerard? Bring her to me!” I demanded.
But he only saw my grief as an act, earning even worse mockery from him.
“That’s good. She’s dead. Saves me from cleaning up her messes.”
Then, he spat, “Stop showing up in front of us. I feel disgusted just looking at you.”
My heart grew cold and numb as I watched him carry away Tessa, who had been pretending to be in pain all along.
‘Mom,’ I thought bitterly, ‘this is the son-in-law you kept praising in my face.’
After that, I pulled myself together and hired a private investigator to find my mother’s remains.
“Ma’am,” he said, “she had your mother’s ashes… dumped into this flowerpot.”
I took the pot from his hands with trembling fingers, then asked an expert to separate as much of the ashes as possible.
Later, I buried my mother alone in the Maplewood Memorial Park.
Meanwhile, Gerard stayed in the hospital, tending to his so-called foster sister.
A few days later, I got a call. “Ma’am, the human replica model you ordered is ready. When would you like us to deliver it?”
I paused for a moment, thinking. Then I made up my mind.
“Three days from now, please send it to 18 Hawthorne Drive, Willow Creek Estates.”
