Chapter 2

"You've misunderstood me, Lorraine!" Aunt Jacklyn protested. She had no idea what excuse to offer under everyone's gaze, so she could only pace around anxiously.

They had planned it all long ago. They had recruited a team to pose as workers from the crematorium, who were supposed to pretend to take them away for cremation. In reality, they were actually going to whisk the three of them to the airport for their flight.

I had effectively sabotaged their entire operation.

Aunt Jacklyn and Grandma Madeline were incredibly anxious. After all, they couldn't just stand there and watch as the actual crematorium workers arrived to haul off three living people and burn them alive.

I watched them turn a deep, frustrated crimson, struggling to find a single sentence that wouldn't blow their cover. I was howling with laughter inside while outwardly maintaining a mask of profound sorrow.

"You can rest assured that I'm not a naive girl anymore, Aunt Jacklyn. I'm all grown up and capable of handling things now."

In that instant, the relatives present looked at me and nodded one after another in approval of my maturity.

"Lorraine has indeed matured! She has become such a responsible young lady, helping to shoulder the family's burden!"

"I feel so bad for Lorraine. I mean, she's just about to head off to university, and then a tragedy like this had to strike the family."

"I know, right? I have no idea how she's going to manage from here on out."

They seemed to have completely forgotten how Grandma Madeline had just been screaming at me. Instead, they all stood around sighing with pity.

"You can have them cremated tomorrow morning. You should let your parents and Jesse remain home for one more day," Grandma Madeline ordered decisively, her gaze piercing and absolute as it landed on me.

"I'm an elderly woman with just two children. I only had one son, and now he's already gone. You might as well be digging a knife into my heart if you plan to have them cremated right now, Lorraine! You should let them stay in the house one more day as a way of keeping this lonely old woman company."

I couldn't continue insisting on sending them to the crematorium since Grandma Madeline had made her stance clear.

"I'll call the people back at the crematorium and have them bring over three refrigerated caskets for Mom, Dad, and Jesse, since that's what you want, Grandma Madeline."

I gazed outside and continued, "It's nearly 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit in this July heat. If we leave them as they are, they'll start decomposing and attracting flies by morning. I couldn't possibly allow Mom and Dad, who were very particular about their hygiene, to be subjected to such conditions after their deaths."

I made a strong argument, leaving even Grandma Madeline with no way to refute it. In the end, she had no choice but to settle for giving me another sharp glare.

I asked a few relatives to lend a hand in lifting the three of them inside once the refrigerated caskets arrived. I switched on the refrigeration units and then, without a word, dialed back the thermostat in the room. I wanted to make sure they stayed cold for a while.

I discreetly slipped into Mom and Dad's bedroom while everyone was occupied with the vigil outside. I started searching through their things and finally found what I was looking for—their organ donation consent forms.

I immediately dialed the hospital number listed on the forms and asked them to send a team out. I then did a quick search online and reached out to several media outlets.

In reality, Mom and Dad weren't actually the type to have such high ideals as donating organs. It had only happened because Jesse was obsessed with getting eyelid surgery.

It turned out that the hospital was offering a 50% discount on the surgery for anyone willing to sign the organ donation consent forms. It was only after catching a glimpse of Jesse's fake-looking, deep-set eyelids that the memory finally clicked into place.

In less than ten minutes, the house was swarming with hospital staff and reporters, filling the living room completely. In a strange twist of fate, the hospital representative was none other than Gregory Fletcher, Aunt Jacklyn's supervisor.

Aunt Jacklyn was momentarily paralyzed with panic when she spotted Gregory. She quickly forced a sycophantic smile and asked, "What brings you all the way out here today, Dr. Fletcher?"

"Is it possible that the deceased are your family, Jacklyn?" Gregory asked in surprise.

Aunt Jacklyn steeled herself and replied, "They're my brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Is something the matter, Dr. Fletcher?"

"I received word that your brother, sister-in-law, and niece had passed away. I'm truly sorry for your loss, Jacklyn," Gregory said, offering his sympathies before turning to the matter at hand.

"You see, your brother and sister-in-law had both signed organ donor consent forms during their lifetime, and according to the document, they agreed to donate their organs to the hospital without compensation once they passed away."

Grandma Madeline immediately began to wail and protest upon hearing about the organ donation. "What kind of cruel monster would do such a thing? How could you take Matthias' organs after his death? You're trying to keep him from resting in peace! I won't have it! I refuse to agree to this!"

It was a natural response for a grieving family, echoed by the older generation in the room, who all wore disapproving expressions.

"It's bad enough that they've passed away, but to have them cut open and put through that kind of ordeal is too much."

"It's far too disrespectful to the deceased!"

In that instant, everyone in the room chattered and grumbled.

Aunt Jacklyn feigned a look of distress and turned to Gregory, saying, "I'm so sorry, but we had no idea Matthias and Pauline had signed such a consent form, Dr. Fletcher. I think it'd be for the best if we just called off the organ donation under such circumstances."

It was then that Gregory took out a photocopy of the consent form and said, "You can review it yourself, Jacklyn. You're a member of the medical profession, so you should understand how this works. You ought to know that the dead cannot be brought back to life, but their organs can save countless others."

Aunt Jacklyn accepted the document and looked over the informed consent forms, which were complete with the signatures and thumbprints of Matthias and Pauline, along with the hospital's official stamp.

She felt her lips twitch involuntarily as she forced a smile and said, "It's just that we, the family members, can't really accept this. Is it possible to just call the whole thing off, Dr. Fletcher?"

Gregory suddenly waved his hand and said, "You see, as it happens, the son of the richest man in the city is currently in our hospital. He's been diagnosed with heart failure, and his father has been searching everywhere for a compatible heart for a transplant. They had previously run a search in the database, and your brother's heart happened to be a perfect match.

"He was still alive back then, so we never brought it up. He just so happened to have passed away, so the father received the news and immediately urged us to come over. He's even willing to offer 1.5 million dollars as compensation to the family."

Upon hearing that astronomical figure, every relative in the room was stunned into silence.

"Oh my goodness! That 1.5 million dollars is more than an ordinary person could earn in their whole life!"

"That tycoon is certainly generous!"

Those who had been loudly protesting the donation just a moment ago suddenly went quiet.