Chapter 3

I handled Melvin and Sharon's funeral arrangements all by myself. I contacted the funeral home, ran through all the tedious paperwork, ordered the urns, and scheduled the cremation.

Throughout the entire process, Vivian did not call once. It was as if the deceased were just strangers who had nothing to do with her.

However, she posted something on her social media. It was a photo of her and Tyler at an upscale bar, with the caption: [Taking out the trash and welcoming a new beginning.]

At the crematorium, we already reached the stage where the bodies were about to be cremated.

Just then, Vivian showed up with Tyler and a few of her kitchen staff. She was wearing an expensive Chanel suit with flawless makeup, completely out of place with the solemn, sorrowful atmosphere.

She walked straight up to me and slammed a document in my face. "Sign it."

The paper cut my cheek, bringing a sharp sting. I picked it up and saw it was a divorce agreement.

The terms were outrageously harsh: I had to leave with nothing, and all my assets would go to her as compensation for her "reputational damage."

The reason given was that my parents died at her restaurant, causing damage to the establishment's reputation. It seriously impacted her career as an award-winning chef.

Vivian stood there with her chin raised arrogantly, her voice cold as ice. "I worked my ass off for ten years building my career. Cloud Nine was about to get its star rating, and then your two hick parents completely ruined it! Now, everyone online is saying my restaurant killed people! Do you know how much money I've lost? Do you know how badly my reputation has been damaged?"

She hissed, "This is all the bad luck your family brought! If you don't compensate me, who will?"

Tyler stood behind her, chiming in with a snide, mocking tone. "Ezekiel, Vivian's being very generous. Not making you pay damages is already pretty nice of her. Look at yourself. You have no money or connections. You're just dead weight hanging around Vivian. Don't you think you should have some self-awareness and leave? Stop dragging Vivian down!"

I was shaking with rage, staring at Vivian's heartless expression. "Vivian, do you have any conscience left?! My parents! No, your parents! They worked hard their whole lives for us. They came all this way to see you, and you killed them! Now you want me to leave with nothing? Is this how you treat them? Is this how you honor them?!"

"Shut up! Don't mention those two old geezers of yours in front of me!"

Vivily exploded in fury. She stepped forward, raised her hand, and slapped me hard across the face.

The sharp crack echoed as a burning pain spread across my cheek. "What right do you have to talk to me about conscience now? You're just a pathetic man who lost his parents!"

She signaled with her eyes, and the burly cooks behind her immediately stepped forward. They grabbed me like I was a rag doll and pinned me against the cold wall.

Vivian seized my hand, pried open my fingers, and forcibly pressed them onto the signature line of the divorce agreement. After it was done, she pulled out her handkerchief again and vigorously wiped her hands.

She picked up the agreement with my fingerprint on it, blew on the ink to dry it, and finally smiled with satisfaction.

She glanced at the bodies about to be pushed into the cremation chamber and said contemptuously to the crematorium worker nearby, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and burn them. They're just two dried-up corpses with no value. Don't waste our taxpayers' electricity."

With that, she intimately linked her arm with Tyler's and strutted out.

After walking a few steps, Tyler looked back and gave me a mocking smile. I watched them disappear through the doorway, then slowly straightened up against the wall.

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, pulled out my phone, and called Melvin's brother, Felix Gardner.

"Felix, it's me, Ezekiel. The funeral's all arranged. I'll send you the location and time in a moment. You can notify the relatives to come to the funeral I'm holding for Melvin and Sharon."