Chapter 574: Smoke Clears

Book:Mr. Burns Is Killing His Wife Published:2024-6-4

The phone call ended, and Louis finally spoke beside her, his tone filled with worry. “Who wants to meet with you?”
“Tobias.”
Louis naturally knew Tobias; he was one of Hamish’s people. Why was he calling to meet Elisa alone now?
Seeing her furrow her brows, Elisa reached out and gently rubbed the furrow between his eyebrows.
“It’s just a meeting, and it’s scheduled to take place at home.”
“What time?”
“Let me think about it.”
Louis wouldn’t stop Elisa from meeting whoever she wanted, but he couldn’t help but worry. With Elisa pregnant now, she had to be extra careful about everything.
In the car, Louis suggested a time, “How about tomorrow? If we can sort things out early, I don’t have to go to the set tomorrow and can stay at home with you.”
Elisa nodded and then sent a message to Tobias to confirm the time for the next day.
Upon receiving the message, Tobias felt a weight lifted off his chest. He initially thought Elisa wouldn’t agree, but she had made a decision so quickly. Perhaps she was just too kind-hearted, easily swayed by others.
The meeting was set for ten in the morning, and Tobias arrived ten minutes early at Vaquita Bay, carrying a briefcase and a laptop.
“Miss Powell.”
“Hmm.” Elisa gestured for him to come inside, “Come in, what would you like to drink? Juice, coffee, or tea?”
Tobias was surprised by Elisa’s kind attitude. Not only did she not show any hostility towards him, but she also asked him what he wanted to drink. Had she forgotten that he had almost taken Louis’ life?
For some reason, Tobias felt a pang in his heart. He had gone from being a bystander to a perpetrator, almost causing a catastrophe. He never expected to receive Elisa’s forgiveness, but her calm demeanor was more unsettling than if she had scolded him.
People… can be foolish at times.
Tobias sighed heavily. He had been with Hamish for too long, adopting a false façade like him, never revealing his true thoughts and intentions on his face.
“I’ll just have water, thank you.”
Elisa led him to the meeting room, while Louis went to get him a cup of tea.
Elisa’s favorite tea was a fruit and flower blend, fragrant and soothing, made personally by Mrs. White. Whenever Elisa had nightmares, Mrs. White would pick flowers, dry them, and bring them here for Elisa to drink.
“Thank you.”
Tobias felt awkward, guilty even. He didn’t know whether to pick up the glass of water or take out the documents from his briefcase.
Seeing Louis nearby, Tobias asked, “Mr. White, may I have a word with Miss Powell in private?”
Louis was cautious, understandably so. After all, Tobias had almost taken his life. Trust was not something easily given when it came to matters of life and death, no matter how forgiving one may be.
Elisa pondered for a moment before saying, “Let’s talk for a bit. Everything will be fine.”
Tobias reassured her, “Don’t worry, I won’t harm her.”
Louis glanced at the monitor on the wall, his actions meant to serve as a reminder to Tobias that he was not a saint, and not everyone could be trusted.
Tobias understood the implication. After Louis left, the tense atmosphere dissipated gradually.
Tobias pursed his lips and then stood up, taking a step closer to Elisa, bowing and bending at a ninety-degree angle, frozen in place.
Elisa tightened her lips and looked at him. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry. The amusement park accident was my doing. It had nothing to do with Mr. Burns. I only wanted to use means to bring you back to him; I never intended to harm Mr. White.”
If there had been no ripples in Elisa’s heart before, they were surely stirred up now.
“Do you know that your actions only make me hate him even more?”
“I do.” Tobias tightened his jaw, still looking down. “I knew you would misunderstand and blame Mr. Burns, increasing your hatred towards him. But to someone like me, who places interests above all else, the process doesn’t matter as long as the result is what I want. Mr. Burns just wanted you to stay by his side for a few days to test whether the White family truly cared for you. Though his methods were extreme…”
Tobias paused briefly, rearranging his thoughts. “One more thing, I wanted him to understand that holding onto you forcibly only leads to hatred. Mutual torment is not love. Thankfully, he eventually realized that.”
“You seem to understand him well.”
Tobias looked up, smiling wryly. “After all, I’ve been with him longer than you have.”
Elisa took a sip of her tea, relieving the dryness in her throat. She gazed at the tree branches swaying outside the window. “In your eyes, am I just someone to manipulate at will? You and Hamish, willing to sacrifice anything for your own benefit. Do you realize that life is unpredictable?”
“No one knows what will happen next. If Louis had really met with an accident at the amusement park, would you care about that life? One life, one family, destroyed the lives of several people. Perhaps you wouldn’t bat an eye in the pursuit of your interests. Just like… ” Elisa muttered to herself, “When he sought revenge on me, bankrupting the Powell family, sending my father to prison, indirectly causing the deaths of seven people. In your eyes, those lives were insignificant compared to your interests, weren’t they?”
These were things that Hamish and Tobias had never considered. Elisa’s throat tightened, struggling to voice her thoughts, her eyelashes trembling with moisture.
“Do you still hate Mr. Burns?”
“Hate? That’s no longer hatred,” Elisa said, looking down at her belly, gently placing her hand on top. “It’s not forgiveness either. It’s just losing interest in a past grudge.”
Hamish was her destined curse, ever since they met, her life had spiraled out of control.
In matters of the heart, hurt was inevitable. The deeper the love, the heavier the wounds. Elisa had moved on from the past, and naturally, she no longer harbored hatred towards Hamish.
From her life experiences, letting go of the past was the best way for a person to grow stronger. When you stand firm and tall, nothing can shake you. All the struggles that once tormented you become insignificant, fading away like smoke clearing.
Tobias tensed his lips. Elisa’s words made sense. Nobody would hold onto a grudge forever. Excess hatred only consumed one’s emotions. Elisa wasn’t seeking reconciliation with anyone; she was reconciling with her past.
Tobias hadn’t come here to discuss these things with Elisa. He opened his briefcase and turned on his computer.
While waiting for the computer to boot up, he handed the documents to Elisa.
“Miss Powell, this is something that Mr. Burns wanted me to give to you.”
The words “inheritance” were boldly displayed on the cover. Elisa’s pupils constricted slightly. “What is this?”
“Mr. Burns passed away two weeks ago. This is his will, dividing his properties into three portions. The majority share goes to you, and another portion is for the White family. He entrusted me to handle this matter before he passed away.”
Hamish was gone.
When Tobias insisted on meeting her and bringing up important matters, Elisa anticipated something significant. But even her vivid imagination couldn’t have predicted Hamish’s sudden demise.
It had been foreshadowed earlier.
The weight on Elisa’s head felt unbearable, her neck strained and sore. Her eyes focused on the will on the table, contemplating the inheritance.
She tried to force a smile. They said Hamish was a villain, and the Burns family’s status was built on stepping over others. The Burns family prioritized material gain over emotions. How could Hamish, who had finally taken control of the Burns Group and become a prominent figure in the business world, fall so easily? Why would he hand over these things to her without consulting her or asking if she wanted them?
Elisa stared at the signature on the document, as arrogant and self-assured as Hamish himself.
She gazed for a long time, her eyes becoming tired and sore. When she finally closed her eyes, a sense of exhaustion crept in. This was truly the end; the saying, “all things fade away like smoke clearing,” could never compare to the finality of a person’s departure.