Chapter 3

A pair of hands pulled me out of a space. I spun around and realized that my body no longer hurt. There were no wounds on me, either.

Then, I realized I was in Larry's car. The sauna room from before must've been just a nightmare!

He was driving at a terrifying speed, staring straight ahead, tears running endlessly down his face. I knew he was crying because of Dad.

"Larry…"

I reached out and tried to wipe away his tears, but my hand passed right through his face. I stared blankly at my transparent body, and only then did I realize I was dead.

By the time I came back to my senses, we had already arrived outside the Stone residence.

Larry kicked the door open and roared like a ferocious beast, "Come on out, Winona Stone! Where did you hide Chester? That kid's barely holding on! Release him right now!"

His voice trembled as he recalled how weak I sounded on the phone. He couldn't imagine what was happening to me.

Meanwhile, Mom casually walked out of the room. A few buttons of her pajamas were fastened incorrectly.

"Larry? Did Chester tell you to come here? I told him I'll let him out tomorrow morning after a good night's sleep. It's just a little quieter there. Why is he being so dramatic like his father?"

Larry closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. "The sauna room is over 160 degrees. This isn't a joke! You've already got Andrew killed in prison. If you have any humanity left, don't let your son become your next victim!"

The villa fell into a dead silence.

Mom froze in place. After a long while, she said with a cold smile, "He knew Chester couldn't fool me alone, so he told you to come here, too. Well, isn't it only a few years in prison? Must he act so dramatically?

"Besides, he'll still be my husband after he gets out."

As she spoke, her eyes landed on the urn in Larry's arms. She sneered. "Your lies didn't fool me. So, what now? Are you going to tell me these are his ashes?"

Larry stared at Mom, so livid that he almost laughed. He was about to shout at her when Joe came out of the room and screamed, "Winona!"

He covered his head and hid behind her like a frightened kitten, trembling as he pointed at Dad's urn. "That thing he's holding—it must be some voodoo thing! I can't look at it! It's giving me the chills!

"Is Andrew doing this to get back at me?"

He looked so petrified that anyone would feel sorry for him. Mom immediately frowned with concern. She turned to the bodyguards and instructed, "Discard that urn!"

I panicked. Floating in the air, I instinctively wrapped my transparent body around Dad's ashes.

Larry looked at Mom in disbelief. His voice nearly tore apart as he shouted, "These are actually Andrew's ashes!"

He hugged the urn even tighter, protecting it with everything he had. The bodyguards rushed over, but he knocked them down one by one.

Behind Mom, Joe trembled in fear. Seeing him like that, she lost her patience.

She walked forward with a dark expression and snarled, "I really underestimated Andrew, didn't I? Not only did he send you two here to deceive me and make me feel sorry for him, but he also tried to terrorize Joe with that thing.

"Well, guess what? I won't let him have his way!"

With that, she gestured for the bodyguards to restrain Larry. Then, she snatched the urn away herself.

I spun frantically in the air, trying to reach out and grab the urn from her hands, yet everything I did was futile. I couldn't touch anything.

Mom walked away and stopped before a faucet. With a tilt of the urn, she did the unthinkable and washed Dad's ashes down the drain.

I stared at the rushing water, frozen in place. They were gone. Dad was gone. She didn't leave a single trace of him.

I knew I didn't have a heart anymore, but why did my chest still ache so much?