Elisa had been dead for seven days, and the Powell family in Bankshire was in disarray. Tobias had the authorities inform the Powell family about Elisa’s passing and had someone come over to sign the death certificate and claim her body. Properly arranging Elisa’s remains was not only good for Hamish but also for Elisa. Surely, when Elisa died, she wouldn’t have wanted her body to be mistreated by Hamish.
When Ivan received the call from the Chiwood Police Department, he was stunned. Elisa dead? How could such a troublemaker die? Ivan couldn’t believe it. He stood there with his phone, as if struck by lightning, his face gradually losing its color. He hadn’t cared about Elisa for a long time, almost forgetting she was his only sister. How old was Elisa? Ivan never remembered. He only knew his mother had died… 27 years ago. When she was home, Ivan would hurl the most vicious words at her, cursing her existence, blaming her for their mother’s death. Why couldn’t it have been her who died from the start? And now someone was calling to tell him.
-“Mr. Powell, your sister’s body is at Chiwood. Please come to claim her. She died in a fire…”
Ivan collapsed like a boneless snake, his body limp on the ground. The pain in his mind spread instantly to every corner of his body, even making his prosthetic right hand tremble. His legs were as weak as noodles, unable to support him. His vision darkened, a brief blindness engulfing him, leaving Ivan in helpless panic. He felt like a scarecrow whose support had been taken away, staring blankly, his mouth muttering, “She’s dead, really dead, good riddance… this disaster, the cause of our parents’ deaths… I won’t go claim her; I don’t have such a sister. Let her face the consequences of her actions…”
Elisa’s death should have made him happy. It was because of her that his hands were crippled, his parents died, and the Powell family fell into ruin. Such a troublemaker should have died long ago. So why were his eyes wet, his vision blurry, and tears gathering and streaming down his cheeks, falling onto his cold prosthetic hand?
When the phone hung up, Ivan didn’t know. He sat there dazed, from afternoon until night, and then until morning. The already cold day chilled his soul, making him shiver. He had no idea how long he had been sitting on the ground, feeling dizzy, his eyes swollen.
Since his hands were disabled, Ivan had been languishing at home, rarely going out. His once fair complexion had become even paler from a night in the cold, making him look sickly, like aged paper.
The household servants had already taken their annual leave to celebrate the new year, leaving the house eerily quiet and empty. Thus, the sudden knocking startled him, jolting him to attention.
He staggered to his feet, half-walking, half-crawling to the door. His body almost hung on the door, and when he saw who was knocking, Ivan shook his head in disbelief, “Why is it you?”
Standing outside the door was Micah, whom he hadn’t seen in over two years. Micah had returned to the country, and when Ivan saw the news of Hamish’s engagement on his phone.
…
Seeing Ivan’s disheveled appearance, Micah couldn’t help but frown, “What’s wrong with you?”
During his time abroad, Micah had been busy with research and was unaware of many things in his home country. As for some of Elisa’s “news,” he had to ask his family when he called. Elisa had cut off contact with him a year and a half ago, and Micah had been worried about her but couldn’t do anything, fearing causing her trouble by contacting her. He could only turn his longing into motivation, working hard on his research to find a way to save Elisa.
Now, with new developments in cancer research, he had returned to the country with his findings. However, he had lost track of Elisa’s whereabouts upon returning to Bankshire. He asked his family, but everyone he asked seemed preoccupied and evasive. He had no choice but to come here to find Ivan, hoping to learn where Elisa was so he could take her for treatment.
Ivan didn’t give a direct answer. He had caught a cold after being out in the cold all night, and his throat felt like it had a thorn stuck in it, hoarsely saying, “What are you here for?”
“Elisa? Do you know where she is?” When Micah asked, Ivan’s eyes reddened, bloodshot veins entwining the whites of his eyes. His dark pupils lost their usualluster. Micah’s heart sank with an unsettling premonition. Before he could process this feeling, Ivan murmured three words, “She is dead.”
Micah blinked his dry eyes, stiffly pulling his lips into a cold smile, “I didn’t come here today to listen to you curse her. Where is she?”
Ivan’s crimson eyes met Micah’s, his expression unusually serious as he uttered, “I said she’s dead! Just yesterday, the Chiwood Police Department called me, saying she died in a fire and asked me to sign her death…”
Before Ivan could finish, Micah’s fist struck his face hard. Being weak, Ivan tumbled to the ground from the blow. Before he could react, Micah grabbed his collar, pulling him up forcefully.
Ivan, leaning his head weakly, looked at Micah’s hands, which were turning white from the force of the grip, the tendons on the back of his hand bulging.
“You’re lying to me! How could she be in Chiwood? How could she be dead?!” Micah was shaking with anger, the pain spreading through his entire body, even causing his lips to tremble and his breath to falter.
Ivan slowly raised his left hand, resting it on Micah’s wrist, mechanically saying, “It’s good she’s dead. She deserved it. My hands are crippled because of her, and my parents died because of her. I won’t claim her body. Take the Chiwood Police Department’s call, do whatever you want… I never had this sister…”
“Are you even human?!” Micah, trembling with anger, slapped Ivan across the face, trying to shock him awake.
Ivan had a bad temper, having previously wielded his family’s influence, directing all his negativity towards Elisa. Normally irritable, Ivan now seemed like a puppet in Micah’s hands, allowing himself to be hit and scolded. He spat out blood, his expression listless.
The more Ivan behaved like this, the more frightened Micah became, afraid that what Ivan said was true, that Elisa was really dead. Hearing Ivan’s cruel words, he wished to strike him dead.
Micah grabbed Ivan’s collar, pressing against his heart, and hoarsely questioned, “How did you break your hands? Don’t you know? You gambled and lost money, tricked Elisa into a casino to save yourself. How did she treat you, and how did you treat her?”
“She’s your blood sister, not your enemy. She poured her heart out to your entire family, yet received no mercy in return!”
“Do you know she was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer three years ago? She was living on borrowed time! She went for tests alone, received IVs and injections alone in the hospital, coughed up blood and fainted alone. Even when she miscarried, and they sent a critical condition notice, you all didn’t even know!” Micah’s breathing was rapid, his eyes bloodshot, tears flowing as if they were not tears but blood.
Ivan felt a lump in his throat. He clenched his left hand tightly. When his left hand had been broken by someone, it hurt like a needle prick whenever he exerted force. But now, he seemed to have lost all sensation. His dry, stinging eyes began to shed tears.
Elisa diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer three years ago? How was that possible? At that time, she was fine with Hamish.
Ivan shook his head in confusion, murmuring, “If she had stomach cancer, why didn’t she divorce Hamish?”
Micah replied, “Because of you, a useless person, holding her back. She couldn’t divorce Hamish because of the torment he put her through. Ivan, you don’t deserve to be her brother!”
“Ivan, you don’t deserve to be her brother.”
Ivan’s tears flowed more violently. Micah released one hand, and Ivan’s body collapsed, kneeling on the ground, looking panicked, as if he had lost something precious and valuable, utterly bewildered.
“Who do you think you are, Micah? You’ve been living carefree abroad. Have you ever cared about Elisa in Bankshire? On the day she and Hamish went to court for the divorce case, she almost smashed her head against the wall!” Ivan trembled as he raised his left hand, pointing at Micah, his words cutting, “It was your father who forged evidence for Hamish, claiming she transferred eight billion of their marital assets, and even said she had a mental illness!”