###Chapter 4
But when I found the forensic pathologist in charge of my mother's case, the autopsy report he presented stated outright that my mother's car accident was an accident.
"Accident? But my mother's legs were both severed! Are you sure you have not made a mistake?"
I knelt down before the forensic pathologist, Dr. Smith, with a thud.
Dr. Smith avoided my gaze and awkwardly beckoned towards the door. Two security guards immediately stepped forward.
"Madam, please calm down. You say both legs were amputated, do you have any evidence?"
I was stunned. Renaldo had arranged my mother's funeral.
He used the excuse that "the body was severely damaged and we could not bear to cause you any more distress" to prevent me from seeing her one last time.
In the end, all I brought home was a cold urn of ashes.
Where was I supposed to find evidence?
I clung to Dr. Smith's leg, kowtowing frantically, "You must have taken photos of the body, right? I beg you, only you can give my mother the truth."
"Thank you for your hard work, Dr. Smith. A small token of my appreciation has been transferred to your account."
A cold voice enveloped me from behind.
Renaldo.
My blood seemed to freeze instantly.
Had he already bribed everyone?
Seeing the still-damp bloodstains on my forehead and my deathly pale face, the man's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He was about to say something when I swayed and stood up.
Pointing at each of them, I yelled, "You're all disregarding human life, turning black into white!"
Renaldo's eyes suddenly turned cold, "The forensic report is right here. It was clearly an accident. How long are you going to keep this up?"
"I'm not being unreasonable. Renaldo, don’t think you can cover everything up!"
Edwina timidly approached, her eyes slightly red. "Sister, I'm also very sorry about Auntie. How about this, I'll pay for Auntie's funeral expenses. Will that make you feel better?"
She feigned closeness, whispering with a soft laugh in a voice only we could hear, "One hundred dollars, is that enough to buy that old bastard's life?"
"You beast, give me back my mother's legs!"
My reason completely collapsed. I lunged at her like a madman, but before my hand could even touch her clothes, she screamed, covered her face and fell into Renaldo's arms.
Renaldo, however, kicked me in the stomach.
I fell heavily to the ground, a tearing pain shooting through my lower abdomen, a warm liquid soaking through my pants.
I trembled uncontrollably in pain, but he would not even look at me, his attention fixed on the person in his arms, "Edwina, does it hurt?"
Edwina seemed to have swallowed a tremendous grievance, sobbing incessantly.
Suddenly, she pointed to the bloodstains spreading beneath me, her voice shrill, "Sister, why are you bleeding? It's disgusting, Renaldo, I'm scared."
Renaldo immediately covered her eyes with his hands, as if they were something filthy.
He frowned and coldly ordered the bodyguard beside him, "Take her back. She's still restless after just having a miscarriage."
I was shoved into the car by the bodyguard and forcibly taken back.
After washing off the bloodstains, I staggered towards the glass house by the sea in the backyard, clutching the urn containing the ashes of my sixth child.
That was the house Renaldo had built especially for me. He said, "When you miss the children, come here and sit for a while, talk to them. This will always be their home."
Pushing open the door, as if possessed, I walked to the row of exquisite urns and randomly opened one.
There were no ashes inside.
There was only one thick notebook, every page filled with Renaldo's fervent love for Edwina.
I opened the second box with trembling hands; inside was a thick stack of receipts.
Every time he lied to me about going on a business trip, he was actually taking her to the movies, to see the aurora borealis, on a cruise…
The third box, with a velvet lining, contained the princess crown he had custom-made for Edwina's coming-of-age ceremony.
In the fourth box lay the Robbins Family heirloom jade necklace I had longed for. It turned out he had already reserved it for another woman.
The fifth box contained a copy of a will. All of Renaldo's real estate was designated to be inherited by Edwina. The signing date was a week after our engagement.
Opening the newest urn, I found a pregnancy test inside; the two red lines stung my eyes.
Underneath was a note, "Thank you for keeping it safe, sister. My baby should, of course, be placed where his brothers 'live,' it'll be more lively."
He had only just given her my mother's leg and he was already impatiently getting her pregnant.
The only sound in the glass greenhouse was my own suppressed, broken breathing.
Suppressing the burning pain in my chest, I limped back to my room.
