Chapter 11
On his way home, Benjamin called his assistant and told them to look for Rachel and Wendy.
When he arrived home, the place was pitch dark. He turned on the lights. to illuminate the surroundings, but still felt an eerie emptiness.
Upstairs in the bedroom, he saw Rachel’s suitcase, which she hadn’t finished packing.
Even so, he could tell that she had left behind everything he had given her, as well as anything from the Garza family. She hadn’t considered taking any of it. She wanted to draw a clear line between herself and them -or perhaps, between herself and him.
It felt as if an invisible blade had pierced his chest, every breath bringing a tearing pain.
At that moment, his phone rang. Benjamin froze for a second, then hurriedly answered: “Well? Did you find them?”
On the other end, the assistant replied awkwardly. “We’ve found that Ms. Hudson’s identity information has been canceled, and Mrs. Hudson… hast been officially declared dead.”
His pupils contracted, his face full of disbelief: “What did you say?!”
The assistant repeated the information, and Benjamin said in a low voice, “Find out the cause of death immediately, and hurry up and find Rachel.”
He knew how important Wendy was to her, which only made him more desperate to find her quickly. He couldn’t bear to imagine how she would
Chapter 11
face all this alone. The thought brought a sharp pain to his chest.
Benjamin didn’t sleep a wink all night, anxiously waiting for news.
Morning came, but there was no dawn breaking through the sky. Instead, heavy clouds pressed down, as if a storm was about to arrive.
The phone on the coffee table lit up as it charged, its ringtone sounding like a death knell. The rain that had been held back all night finally began
to fall.
In the dim light, Benjamin stared at the phone vibrating incessantly, but hesitated to answer.
Because he sensed that this call would bring a pain to both him and her that could never be erased in this lifetime.
In the final second before the call was about to disconnect, he finally picked up.
Even though he had tried to prepare himself, when the truth struck, he was still caught off guard.
“Mr. Garza, Mrs. Hudson died of heatstroke. The date was July 23rd. The cause was standing too long under the scorching sun. By the time she was found, it was too late…”
The time and the cause–Benjamin was all too familiar with them,
because he had caused it all himself.
That day, his phone had received countless calls from Rachel. And what was he doing at the time? He was accompanying Angelina to a concert.
Regret, pain, and despair surged all at once. The pain in his heart was like being cut by a knife, making every breath tremble through his entire body.
다
Chapter 11
The assistant sent Benjamin the address of the funeral home. He rushed over, the rain outside pouring relentlessly, the sky as gloomy as it had been that day.
He walked up to the front desk and said, “I’d like to inquire about someone’s ashes.”
The receptionist looked up and met a pair of bloodshot eyes, startled before responding blankly, “May I ask the name?”
Benjamin hoarsely gave the name. The receptionist checked for a
moment, then said, “The lady’s ashes were taken by her family. They were
neither stored nor buried here. ”
He wanted to ask more, but suddenly caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye.
His pupils contracted, his heart pounding wildly. He raised his hand to point at the necklace hanging behind the counter and heard himself ask, “What is that.”
The receptionist glanced back and said, “That’s a product we offer here. You can put a small amount of a loved one’s ashes inside and wear it with
VOLL.
All the surrounding sounds faded away, leaving only a roaring in his ears. He swayed unsteadily, and his assistant had to support him.
That necklace was identical to the one Rachel used to wear, and yet he had treated it so carelessly back then, even letting it fall into the fire.
He had never felt such despair as he did now. As the truth was revealed bit by bit, he felt the chasm between them growing ever wider.
And all of this was his own doing.
