Chapter 4

Rosie did not say a word when I confronted her. She glanced at Evelyn for a moment and quickly looked away.

Then she said in a loud voice, “I’m a doctor. Evelyn has been dead for a while. Do you really think an autopsy will bring her back?”

Her voice was so loud that it caused the family photo to fall and shatter on the floor. The tension in the room intensified.

Just then, Rosie’s phone rang.

When she saw who was calling, her frown eased. A smile spread across her face. It was Bruce. I could hear Jacob’s happy laughter in the background.

“Mommy, I miss you. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Sure enough, Rosie said yes right away before hanging up. She turned back to Evelyn on the couch. I could see some disgust in her eyes.

Before she could speak, I calmly said, “Let’s get a divorce. Then you can go be with your first love and take care of a kid that isn’t even yours.”

To be honest, it had been one-sided for me all these years. I married Rosie and did everything I could to make her happy, but it never seemed to work.

I had to beg her to have a child with me. She always thought I wanted to trap her with a child. She was especially cold to Evelyn.

Rosie would not even let Evelyn call her “Mommy.” Evelyn could only call her “Ms. Rosie.” But Jacob, who was not her biological child, could call her “Mommy” without a second thought.

“Tom, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m Ev’s mom. How could I possibly hurt her?

“Both of us should calm down.”

After she said that, she grabbed her bag and left. I knew Rosie could easily abandon me and Evelyn for Bruce and Jacob.

I stood there in a daze. I used to look forward to coming home because, as soon as I walked through the door, I could hear Evelyn cheerfully calling me “Daddy.” Since her passing, the house felt incredibly cold.

After that incident, I did not see Rosie for several days. The autopsy needed to follow certain procedures, so Evelyn had to lie in an ice coffin.

I refused to believe that Evelyn would die without a reason.

One day, I got off work and discovered that Evelyn’s body was missing. I felt flustered and lost as I opened the home surveillance footage.

To my shock, I saw Barbara Caddel, my mother-in-law. She looked around the house. Seeing that no one was home, she and Rosie took Evelyn’s body away.

My heart sank when I saw that. I called Rosie, but she hung up right away.

Without hesitating, I jumped in my car and drove straight to the crematorium. Rosie must have felt guilty. That was why she wanted to get Evelyn cremated so quickly.

When I arrived at the crematorium, I saw Rosie and Barbara there.

Barbara covered her face and cried heart-wrenchingly. She pounded on my chest and cursed at me. “What did you do to my granddaughter? Why aren’t you letting her be cremated? Don’t you want her to rest in peace? If Rosie hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known what you were planning for Ev!”

Barbara loved Ev the most. She cared for her deeply. I felt especially grateful to Barbara.

“Mom, you love Ev so much. You have no idea what Rosie has done to her! Ev is covered in needle marks. She got weaker every year. I refuse to believe Rosie hasn’t done anything to her! Don’t stop me. I need to retrieve Evelyn’s body.”

As I said this, I tried to push past them, but Barbara pushed me back.

“You’re not going anywhere! Ev is also Rosie’s daughter. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt her!”

Barbara firmly blocked my way. The heat from the fireboxes around us made me uncomfortable. I understood the emotional connection between them. In the end, no matter how much Barbara loved Evelyn, I was the only one Evelyn had. I was the one who truly loved her.

I pursed my lips and ignored their attempts to stop me. I pushed past Barbara and rushed inside.

I saw that Rosie was about to push Evelyn into the incinerator. Barbara held tightly onto my sleeve.

“Rosie, hurry up and press the incineration button! Tom, you’re crazy! My granddaughter can’t be treated like this!”

“No, don’t cremate her! Rosie, that’s your daughter!”

I shouted in despair, but Rosie did not hesitate to press the incineration button. Flames surged in, and the heat made me instinctively close my eyes.