Chapter 4

Before I could even process what Jay had said, he suddenly crushed the cross pendant in his hand to pieces. Then, he grabbed my hand and slapped himself across the face.

A sharp crack sounded in the air.

He pointed casually at the freshly dug mound of earth, his voice full of unfounded grievance and despair. "I just wanted to see my mother, Dylan! What exactly did I do wrong? Why did you dig up her grave?"

At that moment, Giselle rushed over in a hurry and grabbed my throat, her eyes like poisonous needles stabbing straight into me. "It's like I don't even recognize you anymore, Dylan! What are you even doing here?"

Even Valerie looked at me with visible disdain. "I told you, if you keep bullying Mr. Cooper, I won't see you as my daddy anymore! From now on, you're no longer my daddy!"

My face went pale and lifeless. I felt so numb inside, as though my heart had long since frozen solid. "I'm here because Mom—"

"Yeah, right. Are you going to say that your mother's buried here or something?"

Giselle had appeared taken aback at my reaction until I spoke. Then she threw me aside like a dirty rag, glancing at me icily.

"I won't even start with how you destroyed his mother's keepsake. But seeing that you tried to exhume her body, it's only fair that we dig up your so-called mother's burial plot, too, right?

"I suppose you won't have any objections. Jay is too kind-hearted to lay a hand on you, but I'm not the same. I can't let him be wronged, not even for a second."

As soon as she said that, she calmly motioned to the bodyguards. "Go on. Dig up that god-forsaken burial plot."

My eyes reddened as I grabbed Giselle's hand. She had no idea that this was actually Mom's urn burial plot. She only hesitated for two seconds before yanking me off without the slightest mercy.

Valerie helped Jay up with concern, then impatiently urged the others on. "Move faster, or Mr. Cooper is going to be upset soon."

I was held down by the bodyguards, forced to watch as Mom's final resting place was disturbed. "No!"

That was Mom's new home, after all.

I almost tore my voice from the screaming. I did everything I could to break free, but no matter how hard I struggled, it was futile.

Just then, the urn in my arms slipped out. It rolled across the ground until it stopped right at Jay's feet.

"Give it back! That's mine!" I screamed, my blood running cold.

I tried to rush forward, but Giselle and Valerie stood in front of Jay like guardians, blocking my way.

He bent down and picked up the urn, a false generosity on his face as he pretended to hand it back to me. Then, a hint of malice flickered across his eyes.

His foot "accidentally" slipped, and the urn shattered into pieces with a heartbreaking crash. I almost went berserk. The gray-white ashes were scattered everywhere, quickly soaked and blurred by the rain.

I could do nothing but helplessly scream, "Giselle, you monster! Those were Mom's ashes! Valerie, Grandma loved you so much! How could you do this to her?"

"W-What?" Giselle stuttered. "Isn't your mom still at the hospital?"

Valerie also froze in place, her fists tightening subconsciously. "You're lying! Grandma is still at the hospital!"

Jay pursed his lips. "You're not actually claiming that this is your mother's burial plot now, are you? You're making it up just so they would feel sorry for you, right?"

Once she snapped back to reality, Giselle thundered. "You're psychotic, Dylan!"

The hesitation on Valerie's face disappeared as well. "I hate you when you're like this!"

Without saying another word, they turned around and left with Jay.

I collapsed to my knees in front of the burial plot, gathering the ashes back into the urn little by little with trembling hands. I wiped away my tears and dialed a number that had long been blocked.

"I'll sell you the shares, but at ten times the price. I'm asking for 100 million dollars."

I didn't even bother packing a single piece of luggage. I boarded the plane with only the urn in my arms.

Farewell, Giselle and Valerie. From this day on, we would never meet again.