Chapter 4

Over the next week, I handled every detail of Kyle's funeral on my own, from choosing the cemetery plot to arranging the memorial service. Each day wore me down a little more.

On top of that, my company told me they planned to transfer me to the Arlingston headquarters as general manager.

Between work and the funeral, I felt like I was barely holding myself together.

The day of the funeral, the sky was dark and overcast. Dressed in black, I stood at the entrance greeting guests, my face blank and my posture straight.

A large crowd came. Kyle's old neighbors, my coworkers, and reporters from several media outlets had all heard about the story.

What should've been a funeral had turned into an anti-scam livestream. Before it even began, thousands of people were already waiting online to watch.

When Joshua and Vanessa arrived, a murmur swept through the room.

Joshua wore a perfectly tailored black suit and a solemn expression. Vanessa, meanwhile, wore a white dress with light makeup. In a room full of black, she stood out immediately.

"Cassidy, you've lost so much weight. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Vanessa stepped toward me and reached for my hand, but I moved aside. Her hand hung in the air for a second before that concerned look returned to her face.

"Don't push yourself too hard. Joshua told me everything. Your company's transferring you to headquarters, and this is a big opportunity for you. You really can't afford to wear yourself out right now."

She sounded concerned, but every word felt like a dig. She was making sure I knew Joshua told her everything, while reminding me that I was about to leave.

I looked at her.

"You don't need to worry about me."

My cold response immediately annoyed Joshua. He stepped in front of Vanessa, putting himself between us.

"Cassidy, can you act like an adult? Look where you are."

I couldn't help laughing. "Look where I am?"

I glanced around the funeral hall, then looked back at him and spoke slowly.

"What about you? Do you even remember where you are? And you actually thought it was appropriate to bring her here?"

I didn't raise my voice, but his expression immediately stiffened.

He glanced at the cameras around us and clearly didn't want to make a scene.

Instead, he snapped, "Enough! Stop causing trouble and send me the PowerPoint. The livestream's about to start. Don't hold everything up."

His words echoed through the funeral hall.

So that was all this was to him. A chance to promote himself using his own father's death.

Vanessa stood behind him with a faint smile.

They thought this livestream would put them in the spotlight and open doors for them, all by exploiting what they still believed was my father's death.

What they didn't know was that I had already decided exactly how this would end.

I lowered my head, pulled out my phone, and calmly tapped the screen.

"Okay."

I found the file and hit send.

Joshua's phone buzzed. He glanced at it, gave a satisfied nod, then walked onto the stage.

Facing the cameras and the crowd, he bowed solemnly.

"Today, I'm going to talk about a fraud case where one man's own poor judgment ultimately cost him his life.

"He spent years chasing easy money, convinced he could get rich without putting in the work. He completely lost touch with reality, and in the end, that mindset led to a tragedy."

Before he could continue, the room erupted.

"Poor judgment?!"

"Are you seriously talking about your own father like that?"

Joshua let out a cold laugh. "My father? My dad would never be stupid enough to get scammed out of his entire retirement fund."

Joshua's uncle, Walter Knight, shot to his feet and pointed a trembling finger at him.

"Y-You ungrateful brat!"

Joshua barely reacted. "Uncle Walter, why are you getting so worked up? Someone like that doesn't deserve to be associated with our family."

Gasps rippled through the room. The relatives stared at him in disbelief.

Walter suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed. Joshua's grandmother screamed and caught him as people nearby rushed over to help.

"Joshua, Kyle raised you all these years, and this is how you send him off?"

Joshua's aunt, Claire Knight, sank to the floor, sobbing as she cursed him.

Joshua frowned. "What are you talking about, Aunt Claire? This is my father-in-law's funeral. What does any of this have to do with my dad?"

Claire cried even harder. "You don't even know your own father is dead! Kyle really wasted all those years raising you!"

Joshua finally started to panic as he looked at the chaos below and heard the guests whispering.

He quickly clicked the remote and pulled up the PowerPoint.

"Look! This is my father-in-law's funeral. He's the one I'm using as the case study!"

The huge screen behind him lit up, and everyone squinted at the sudden brightness.

Joshua's confident expression froze. Then all the color drained from his face.

The first slide showed a large portrait of his father, Kyle.