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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ashes of Passion: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

9 Kabanata

Chapter 1 A Stranger in My Own Home

"We need a family member's signature before we can proceed with the cremation."The doctor on duty slid Dad's death certificate across the desk. I picked up the pen and signed my name, Lucas Gibson.The doctor frowned at my signature. "Where are your parents? Something this serious needs to be handled by a legal guardian."I shook my head and handed the paperwork back. "There's no one else. I'm all he has… had."…A few hours later, I walked out of the crematorium holding a square black urn. There was a light drizzle, so I wrapped the urn tightly in my jacket and hailed a cab. It was already dark by the time I got to the hillside mansion.When I pushed the front door open, I found the living room brightly lit. My mother, Celia Gibson, was sitting at the dining table with Arthur and his son, Noah Poole. The three of them laughed and chatted like they were one big, happy family.They all looked up when they heard the door open. For a moment there, I felt like a stranger intrudin

Chapter 2 The Last Thing My Dad Left Me

I stared at the woman I'd always known as my mother. For the first time in my life, she seemed like a complete stranger.The urn in my arms suddenly felt unbearably heavy. It held everything Dad had left behind in this world."What if he never comes out?" I asked quietly.Celia didn't even bother to look up. "Don't start pulling the same pathetic stunts as your father."She reached into her purse and pulled out a gold-embossed envelope."Since your father refuses to admit he was wrong, I've decided to give your recommendation letter to St. Edmund's Academy of Fine Arts to Noah instead. Noah has had a difficult childhood, and he needs this opportunity to build a future for himself."She glanced at me and continued, "You're my son, Lucas. You'll always have the Gibson family fortune to fall back on even if you don't have this letter."Arthur bit his lip, pretending to object. "Celia, that's too much. Liam worked so hard to get that letter for Lucas. Noah doesn't deserve something

Chapter 3 Shattered Memories

I rushed to get all my paperwork in order over the course of the next three days. The day before my flight, I returned to the mansion to collect my last documents.As I approached the house, I heard piano music coming from the attic. My heart sank, and I immediately raced upstairs.When I reached the attic, I found Noah sitting at Dad's custom-made grand piano.The piano was a wedding gift from Celia, flown in from Yarvenia. She'd hired a team of master craftsmen to customize every key to fit Dad's hands perfectly, and she'd even had his name engraved on it.After I was born, the three of us spent hours together in that attic. Dad would play the piano while Celia held me in her arms, watching him with the sweetest smile.But now, I found her standing beside Arthur, smiling as Noah clumsily banged away at the keys.I stormed over and slammed the keyboard cover shut. Noah quickly jerked his hands back, his eyes instantly filling with tears."Lucas, I'm sorry! I won't play anymore!

Chapter 4 Ashes of Betrayal

Celia spun around and glared at me. "Where the hell is your father?"I looked her straight in the eye. Although my voice shook, I tried my best to keep it steady as I replied, "I told you. He's not coming out. He's never coming out. He's dead!"Celia slapped me so hard that my ears rang and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth."Lucas! How dare you say something so horrible just to help your father get my attention!" she shouted, pointing a trembling finger at me as her chest heaved with rage.Arthur quickly grabbed her arm. "Celia, please calm down. You're scaring the boy. Liam must have put these awful ideas in his head."His gaze swept down the hallway before settling on my bedroom door. "Maybe we should let Noah check Lucas's room. The watch might be in there."Celia's expression hardened. "Search his room!"The security guards immediately stormed into my bedroom.Noah followed close behind and pointed at the large suitcase under my bed. "Ms. Gibson, I saw Lucas pack

Chapter 5 Too Late for Regrets

The butler stood frozen, the landline receiver trembling in his hand as a deathly silence settled over the living room.Celia shot to her feet so abruptly that her mahogany dining chair toppled backward. She snatched the receiver from the butler, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "How much did he pay you to go along with this sick little act?"The doctor on the other end sounded furious as he spat, "What act? I'm calling from the morgue at Ashport General Hospital! Ms. Gibson, your son personally signed the cremation authorization. Now, please come settle the outstanding emergency treatment and morgue fees!"Then, the line went dead.Celia stood there gripping the receiver, her face drained of color.Arthur hurried over and grabbed her arm. "Celia, Liam's just trying to scare you. He loves you too much to actually die. He must have paid someone to put on this whole show.""Get off me!" she snapped, shaking him off violently.He stumbled backward and fell ont

Chapter 6 Truth Hidden in the Ashes

Noah stepped out of his room, wrinkling his nose in disgust when he saw Celia kneeling on the floor."Ms. Gibson, why are you touching that filthy stuff? Lucas only brought that garbage here to gross everyone out."Celia's head snapped up, and her bloodshot eyes settled on Noah's leather shoes, where traces of Liam's ashes still clung to the soles."You stepped on him," she whispered, her voice so hoarse that it barely sounded like her own.Arthur sensed something was wrong, so he quickly stepped in front of his son. "Celia, Noah didn't know any better. Please don't blame him."Celia suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Arthur by the throat, and slammed him against the wall."Oh, but you knew better, didn't you?" she hissed. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you pretended to be depressed and pressured me into aborting my baby! And you knew exactly what you were doing when you stood there and let your son trample my husband's ashes!"Arthur's face turned purple as he struggl

Chapter 7 Ghosts of the Past

The plane I was in touched down in Brixtonia's capital, Brixton.I stepped out of the airport terminal, clutching the black cloth bundle against my chest. A cool breeze brushed against my face, carrying none of Ashport's sticky, humid air. I held the bundle a little tighter and whispered, "Dad, we're here."…It took me three days to settle in. I rented a red-brick house with an attic, where a huge skylight flooded the room with natural light. It was the perfect place for me to paint.One bright morning, I went into the backyard and spent hours digging beneath a tall sycamore tree. Once the hole was deep enough, I gently scattered Dad's ashes into the earth and covered them with fresh soil.I didn't put up a headstone because I didn't want a cold slab of stone marking where he rested. After everything he'd endured, Dad deserved to be free of this world, with nothing holding him down.I stood up and brushed the dirt from my hands as a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves overh

Chapter 8 Beyond Forgiveness

Celia remained on her knees, her fingers digging desperately into the cracks between the marble tiles. "I found out the truth, Lucas. I found out everything about what happened back then."She lifted her head, her eyes bloodshot and swollen from crying."That explosion at the docks wasn't an accident. Arthur paid a local criminal to plant explosives under my car. I tracked down the original police files, and I even had the woman brought back from a casino in Sundara. I had her arms and legs broken until she confessed to everything."Her breathing grew ragged as she continued, "Arthur paid her half a million to plant explosives under my car. He planned to swoop in and save me so I'd think he was some kind of hero. Unfortunately, the bomb went off earlier than he'd expected."He was so terrified that he hid behind a shipping container. He didn't even dare come out to help me. It was your father who rushed into the explosion to save me. He was badly injured, but he still held me in hi

Chapter 9 Where the Light Remains

My solo exhibition, "A New Beginning," officially launched at 10 a.m. the following day.The gallery was filled with art critics, journalists, and prominent art-world figures. Camera flashes went off throughout the room as I stood in the center of the exhibition hall, dressed in a tailored white suit and answering reporters' questions.Once the interviews were over, I made my way to the far end of the gallery, where a painting not for sale hung on the wall.It was titled "Moonlight."It was unlike my other works as this painting had no vibrant colors or intricate details. Most of the canvas was left blank, with only a soft beam of moonlight illuminating a black grand piano. There was a man in a white shirt sitting at the piano with his back to the viewer, his hands resting gently on the keys.It was my father, exactly as I remembered him at his most handsome.There was no looming countdown over him or any despair over a mission gone wrong. The painting showed none of the pain h

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