15 ( new)
"That's impossible," Verena hissed into the phone. "That's her grave. It's already been paid for—"
"No, ma'am. Only part of it. The payment was being made in installments. We tried to reach the last contact but—well, no one replied."
Verena closed her eyes briefly. Of course. Two weeks ago was exactly when she had been released.
Those who had promised to "handle things" for her had abandoned their duties the second she was free.
Her hand trembled around the phone, knuckles whitening. "Who authorized the sale?"
"There was no response. We waited the two-week grace period… I'm truly sorry, ma'am. I called because I remember you came once before, and Mr. Vandeleur left your name as a secondary contact."
Verena couldn't speak.
The phone remained at her ear, the silence on her end taut and trembling.
"Auntie?" Benny's small voice broke through the tension. He tugged on her sleeve gently. "Are you okay? Your hand's shaking again…"
She looked down at her hand.
Her fingers were clenched so tightly around the phone that it looked as though she might crush it with her remaining good hand.
Louis rose from his chair.
"Verena?" he asked sharply.
She swallowed hard and looked at him. "They sold my mother's grave." Her voice was barely a whisper.
Louis's face darkened. "Who?"
She shook her head, blinking away the stinging in her eyes.
"It doesn't matter now. They… didn't finish paying. And now someone else owns it."
Verena sat in silence for a while, still holding her phone loosely.
Her mother's resting place… sold like an unused piece of furniture.
She turned to Louis, who was now standing beside the table, arms crossed, watching her with unreadable eyes.
"I want to go there," she said quietly. "I need to see it for myself."
He gave a slight nod.
"Can I borrow your driver?" she asked, her voice hesitant but composed. "…Just for a while."
Louis didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he stepped back, straightened his cuffs, and walked toward the hallway.
Verena blinked. "Where are you going?"
He glanced over his shoulder, already loosening the top button of his shirt. "With you."
"No. I want to go alone." She frowned.
Louis stopped, turned fully to face her. "You can't even walk yet."
"I can manage." She looked down at her feet and shook her head. "It's something, I need to do on my own."
He said nothing in return. A second passed—two—and then he quietly walked behind her wheelchair.
Benny blinked at the adults, then leaned toward Verena and whispered, "Don't worry. Daddy can fix anything."
Verena blinked at Little sweet Bunny for those motivative words but she couldn't take his help when she could do it her own.
With a smooth, wordless motion, he unlocked the brakes and began pushing her toward the front doors.
"Louis—" she tried.
"Don't waste energy arguing," he said calmly. "Save it for whoever sold your mother's grave."
She sat back, frustrated and quietly touched all at once.
The black car waited outside. A sleek, tinted vehicle that looked far too luxurious for a cemetery visit. Louis helped the maid lift Verena into the back seat, then took the spot beside her without saying a word.
Up front, the driver nodded in the rearview mirror.
"Sir?" Joshua looked at Verena and then at his Boss.
Louis glanced to his right, at his assistant in the passenger seat. "Joshua, call Southridge Cemetery. Tell them we're on our way. I want the site manager present when we arrive."
"Yes, sir." Joshua replied immediately, pulling out his phone.
Verena looked out the window, hands clenched in her lap. The ache in her chest was growing again.