Chapter 8
At the foothills, Samantha watched as Lincoln crouched on the ground, dry-retching. She recalled they’d seen a dead coyote that she had butchered when she first came. She thought to herself. It does smell bad, but his reaction seems over the top. Or could there be some other reason? Samantha stared at Lincoln speechlessly.
Lincoln coughed twice and got back to his feet, forcing a smile. “Sammie, I’ve made it down. Now can you come home with
Before Lincoln could finish, Samantha said, “I’m going to visit Granny, and I’ll go back after that. You can come with me if
you want.”
“Granny? Is she talking about our Granny?” Lincoln wondered.
Enzo could tell Lincoln was confused and whispered, “She’s talking about the elderly woman who raised her. She used to tell me about her granny a lot, but I only found out later that her granny had died.”
Lincoln’s heart broke for Samantha. His eyelashes trembled, and he parted his mouth for a while before finally nodding. He responded, “Okay. I’ll go with you.”
“Sammie!” A voice rang out.
Lincoln’s voice was low, drowned out by that shout. They looked over and found that it was Conrad. Conrad swiftly approached Samantha, panting. “Sammie, can we talk? I’m worried about you.”
There’s nothing to worry about. Nothing happened to me. I’m going to see Granny now,” said Samantha languidly, tucking her hands in her pockets. She glanced at the watch and found that it was almost nine o’clock, thinking, Granny would be if I was late.
Conrad said, “Okay. Let’s go now. I have a car.”
Glancing at Conrad, Samantha mused, “I’m surprised he accepted the fact that I’m his sister in such a short time. Or d not care at all? Since it was late, Samantha didn’t hesitate and followed Conrad to his car. Lincoln climbed in and sat n her. Samantha felt rather irritated.
Lincoln said, “Sammie, tell Conrad the address.
He had grown increasingly comfortable with calling Samantha intimately, which made Conrad feel jealous.
“Gentle Oak Cemetery Samantha spoke quietly. Lincoln detected the desolation in her tone.
Conrad, who was driving, froze when he heard that. He thought they were going to visit Miranda Vanderbilt, their paternal grandma. He wasn’t there just now and didn’t hear the conversation between Samantha and Lincoln. Pursing his lips, he hummed in response, feeling a lump of sorrow in his throat.
No one said a word after that. Enzo looked back at Samantha, who was resting with her eyes closed, and sighed. It seemed that she still had not gotten over the incident.
This was precisely why Samantha harbored a deep aversion to apologies. According to Samantha, her earliest memories dated back to the age of five, within the worn walls of a dilapidated orphanage overseen by the director Jamie Torres, who had been kind to her. Samantha, as the most well-behaved orphan, was favored by Jamie. Tragically, on her sixth birthday, Jamie succumbed to a grave illness, and his last words to her were “I’m sorry” Subsequently, she was cast out from the orphanage. She was then adopted by her granny, Maeve, who loved her like her own. They lived together for four blissful years. Yet, fate intervened once more; a fatal car accident claimed Maeve’s life. Despite Samantha’s efforts to save her with the money she had earned, she returned to find only her grandmother’s lifeless body. This sequence of heartbreaking events
川
15:36 Fri, May 31
Chapter 81
branded Samantha as a jinx, in the eyes of the villagers, who swiftly expelled her from the village. The pattern repeated itself tragically when Samantha’s partner took a bullet intended for her. All three incidents had apologies echoing in their wake. For Samantha, this had become her childhood trauma. While Enzo was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt a familiar gaze boring into her. Looking through the rearview mirror, he happened to meet Samantha’s eyes. Enzo shuddered, thinking. You scared me to death, Ms. Vanderbilt
After an hour-long drive, they reached Gentle Oak Cemetery, renowned as Angevin’s premier cemetery, boasting impeccable upkeep and prestigious management despite its high rental fees. Samantha exited the car and saw the cemetery caretaker trotting over.
“Ms. Vanderbilt, are you here to see your granny again? Who are they?” the caretaker asked. He wondered. I’ve never seen either of them. Why do the two of them look so similar to Ms. Vanderbilt? But Ms. Vanderbilt told me she was an orphan.
“My friend, and my… brothers,” answered Samantha, nodding at the caretaker as a greeting. She did hesitate before acknowledging them as her brothers, but in the end, she still did Lincoln and Conrad were delighted.
“Oh! You go ahead. I’ll send someone to get everything ready for you,” said the caretaker. Samantha was a regular visitor there, so the caretaker knew what she wanted. Her things were all customized, and there were quite a lot.
As the caretaker went to work, Samantha looked down at the dust and dirt on her body.
She brushed herself clean and took out her phone to check her face, tucking the strands of loose hair behind her ears.
Lincoln and Conrad knew what she was doing. She probably wanted to look neat when visiting her granny.
As Samantha checked herself over, she realized she was covered in mud after traversing the forest in the rain. Wanting to at least look presentable, she began straightening her clothes.
Samantha pocketed her phone and made her way toward the rows of glasshouses.
The rest trailed after her, observing Samantha’s heavy steps, which seemed burdened with suppressed emotions.
Before long, she came to a halt, pushing open a glass door and stepping inside. The room was filled with an array of flow bouquets, stones, and candles.
She picked up a candle, placed it in front of Maeve’s portrait, knelt down, and took out a lighter to light the candle without a
word.
Conrad’s heart sank with sorrow as he observed the look on Samantha’s face. As there were extra candles, he stepped forward and picked one up, kneeling down next to Samantha
Samantha did not pay him any heed and continued doing her thing. The candlelight shone on her face, revealing her unfocused gaze.
Lincoln, too, mimicked his brother’s actions and knelt next to Samantha, lighting up a candle.
Enzo’s impression of them improved.
Right then, someone knocked on the glass. Enzo saw it was the caretaker with a metal box on a cart. He opened the door and took it from him.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome!” The caretaker smiled.
Enzo pushed the cart over, emptying the metal box.
15:36 Fri, May 31
Chapter 8
There were several items in it, including ceramic miniatures, food, et cetera.
Enzo placed the things next to Samantha and walked to the side, checking the time. Looks like we’ll have to stay up all night, he thought.
Samantha took one of the ceramic miniatures shaped like a kitten and looked at Maeve’s amicable face in the portrait, tearing up. “Granny, this is the kitten I customized for you. You said you wanted a cat, right? I’ll put it here for you so you’ll never be alone, along with your favorite smoked ribs.”
Her voice was hoarse as she spoke and placed the items before Maeve’s portrait, introducing them one by one.
She only stopped after half an hour had passed. Though she did not shed a tear, her eyes were bloodshot.
Enzo knew why Samantha held back, for she had promised not to cry in front of Maeve.
