Chapter 2

When I said that, Nathan instinctively turned around and looked toward the operating room behind him. He was about to walk inside when Layla suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Mr. Carter, you're Ms. Smith's husband, after all. Since she wants you to sign for her, you should just do it. At the end of the day, Ms. Smith probably just wants you to pay more attention to her."

Hearing Layla's words, Nathan stopped. Then he turned back and gave me a knowing smile.

My eyes followed his every move.

The next second, Nathan picked up the document and brought it in front of him. If he had just looked a little more carefully, he would have noticed whose name was written on it.

Unfortunately, all of his attention was focused on Layla, who was still crying beside him.

He didn't even spare the paper a proper glance. Without reading it, he signed his name directly on it.

I was still standing there in a daze when Nathan let out a quiet sigh.

"She's already gone. Don't be too upset. At least I'm still here with you, aren't I?"

His words almost made me laugh. He said it like I was desperate to have him by my side.

I didn't respond. I simply turned around and walked away.

Natalie had treated me well when she was alive. Now that she had died in such a tragic way, I wanted to make sure she could be laid to rest as soon as possible.

Just as I was about to make arrangements for her body, I unexpectedly ran into Nathan and Layla again.

For some reason, Nathan looked a little guilty. He cleared his throat before finally explaining why he had come to find me.

"Olivia, Layla feels incredibly guilty about your mother's death. She wants to do something for your mother one last time."

I looked at him and waited for him to continue.

"Layla's school's anatomy lab happens to need a body specimen for her senior students to conduct experiments. She means well. She just wants to do everything she can to give your mother some value after her passing. The body will be taken away soon. Olivia, go say goodbye to your mother."

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

Seeing that I was still frozen in shock, Layla stood there with red-rimmed eyes and spoke softly.

"Ms. Smith, Mr. Carter told me that your mother was always a kind person when she was alive. Now that she passed away because of me, I want to do whatever I can to let her continue doing good even after death.

"Donating her body to science and contributing to society is a good thing. I believe your mother would have agreed if she were still alive. It's better to make use of her body than to let it decay and go to waste. Ms. Smith, is that okay?"

Her words hit me so hard that I couldn't think straight.

However, I finally came back to my senses.

"No. Absolutely not. I will never agree to this."

People from the older generation cared deeply about being laid to rest after death. Donating a body for experiments was something Natalie would never have wanted.

Seeing how firm I was, both of them froze.

Nathan looked at me helplessly and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Olivia, stop being difficult. Your mother's death has become a burden on Layla's heart. She finally came up with a way to make things right. If you refuse, she'll carry this guilt for the rest of her life. Do you really want that?"

As he spoke, he took out a credit card and placed it in front of me.

"Freezing your bank accounts was my mistake. You're still the lady of the Carter family, after all. There's one million dollars in this card. As long as you agree to donate your mother's body, the money is yours. Be reasonable, okay?"

I picked up the card and smiled.

"Of course."