“Sergio, as soon as the Ocean Heart is in our possession, we can get ready to leave. The plane is on standby, and all procedures are done and dusted.” Yadriel’s wily eyes were eclipsed by a shadow. He had already made preparations for this day. “Head over to Richards Manor in A City to find ways to get the treasure, and I will deal with tomorrow’s election. Remember, this thing can’t be delayed any longer. If it goes on, then what awaits us will be the threat of imprisonment.”
Yadriel warned sincerely.
Sergio nodded and walked out, completely disheartened.
The strong dominated the weak. That was the law in this world. From then on, would he spend the rest of his life in a foreign land? No, he didn’t want to, for he might never be able to see her again.
He lowered his head and trudged out of the Xanthe family’s courtyard.
Liya was hiding in the guest room of Crystal Cove Garden. She covered her head with the quilt, with her whole body trembling.
What happened the previous night was too horrifying.
She had never thought that such a thing would happen.
The night before, Letty had requested them to start with Meroy and ask her about the treasure’s whereabouts. She didn’t want to go. Ever since the miscarriage, her body hadn’t recovered yet. However, Letty was very aggressive.
Helplessly, Liya had no choice but to discuss a method with her.
Meroy was Vivian’s personal caretaker. Usually, she wouldn’t leave her easily. If they wanted to find out the treasure’s whereabouts, then they would have to go to Vivian’s bedroom.
However, both of them were not allowed to enter Vivian’s bedroom.
Liya thought of climbing in through the window in the back garden. Nonetheless, due to Marissa’s incident, she was worried that someone might suspect her. She was also worried that the windows in the back garden would be locked. So, they decided to enter at the darkest time before dawn.
It was likely that Richards Manor had been too chaotic over the past few days. The windows remained the same. Letty had been in Richards Manor for a few years and had long learnt of a path. They could travel from the kitchen in the Ink Garden directly to Vivian’s back garden.
At this moment, Richards Manor was completely silent. They entered Vivian’s bedroom, and were safe and sound. Coincidentally, Meroy was helping Vivian change her clothes.
After the two of them went in, they quickly restrained Meroy and stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth.
They had thought that this old hag would tell them where the treasure would be hidden after being subjected to duress. However, she was stubborn. Not only did Meroy refuse to give away any information, she also scowled at them. She would rather die than surrender.
After a long time, Liya heard small voices in the lounge outside. It seemed that the person who was on night watch duty was about to wake up. They immediately panicked. At that time, the bloodthirsty Letty produced a knife and stabbed Meroy to force the word out of her.
Meroy’s clothes were stained with blood. She would rather die than to submit.
Liya was worried about that it would go out of hand. So, she pulled Letty away.
However, the woman grabbed their clothes tightly, and footsteps were coming in from the lounge outside. Panicking, she also picked up a knife and slashed her.
Meroy suddenly rushed over and clung to her leg. She refused to let go of her even if she died, and her mouth was mumbling.
Letty lost her patience and slit her neck twice again until she let out her last breath. Then, she pried open her hand and the two of them escaped.
Liya couldn’t fall asleep ever since she escaped from the crime scene, and she didn’t dare to go anywhere. She just shivered in the quilt.
In a daze, she saw Reid standing in front of her, saying, “Liya, you have to stay in Richards Manor in the future and live a happy life. I will be looking after you in Heaven.”
“No, no. Why did it turn out this way?” Liya was a bit distracted. Her entire body was trembling, and she curled up in the blankets in great fear.
For the entire day, she didn’t dare to get up, much less go out. She lay there in a daze, like a withered tree. Sometimes, when she accidentally opened her eyes, she would see that rare treasure standing in front of her, shining brightly. Liya’s expression was one of excitement, as if she had become the richest woman and envied by all the other women in the world. She was so excited that she would burst into hysterical laughter.
However, when she reached out to grasp it, the treasure vanished. In her hand, there was nothing but blood. She widened her eyes as though she saw Meroy’s bloody eyes staring at her.
She was so scared that she quickly shook her hand and screamed in horror.
Liya was lying on the bed in a daze and trembling all over the whole day. She was either terrified, extremely excited, in tears, or laughing hysterically. Her mind was haunted with all kinds of horrible images and hallucinations, pushing her over the edge of sanity.
In the mourning hall, the white ribbons hung high, fluttering in the wind. All of the descendants of the Richards family were dressed in mourning clothes, kneeling in the mourning hall.
Two days after Vivian’s death, people from all walks of life, relatives, and friends visited to mourn her death.
As there were too many people, Jenna made a notice that read, “People from all walks of life will pay their respect today, and friends and relatives tomorrow. In this way, the workload would be reduced a little.”
The mourning hall was located in the living room of the Ink Garden. The coffin was facing the main hall of the Ink Garden.
Marissa couldn’t come out to welcome the guests as she was injured, and Hansen hadn’t returned from Capital City yet.
Norton was in charge of standing at the door to welcome the guests and lead them to the mourning hall. Given that Trevor and Claude were old, after standing for a while, they were exhausted. They could only support each other to the mourning hall to rest and stand guard.
Jenna stood in front of the memorial tablet with her big belly. After every guest came to pay their respects sincerely, she would express her gratitude. Then, she invited them to get up and return the courtesy to them. Afterwards, she would lead them to the rest area of the guests.
After bustling for the whole morning, she was so tired that her waist and knees were sore and tired.
Yet, Jenna didn’t feel like it was a big deal. She wasn’t that weak and delicate. When she was carrying Jerry, she had suffered far more than this. Even then she had been able to endure it. To her, it really wasn’t a big deal!
Jenna tried to keep a clear head and calmly completed every procedure. She even personally watched over every purchase and selected the restaurant in charge of their meals.
The news broadcast the event live when Richards Manor was fully opened, and the people from all walks of life came to mourn Vivian. All the guests and the audience on TV could see Jenna wearing mourning attire over her big belly. She swallowed her grief and calmly commanded the scene. The whole mourning process was complex, which involved a large number of people. However, the whole process was clear and in order. All guests entered from Richards Manor, took a tourist van, and headed to the Ink Garden. The rituals were done smoothly. Everyone could see the long queue stretched out far and wide. All of them were silent and proper, with a solemn look on their faces. The scene was decorated in black and white, and was utterly imposing.
However, the President of the Richards Group, Vivian’s eldest grandson, Hansen, did not appear on the TV screen. This led many people to hatch various guesses. After all, the charge against the Richards Group was also announced to have been dismissed in the press conference. During the whole process, they did not see Hansen. They were also puzzled about the rumor that he had something important to deal with and had left A City.
However, most of them cast an approving glance at Jenna.
During these two days, Jenna was not only grieving but also in a state of anxiety, no less.
Her eyelids kept twitching, and her heart was beating fast from time to time. She wondered, where did Hansen go? At that moment, Vivian was dead, but he hadn;t come back. When she asked Trevor, his face was still as pale as a ghost. He closed his eyes and sat in the mourning hall, holding rosary beads in his hand. He was silent and grief-stricken.
Jenna could not figure out whether he was sad about Vivian’s death or worried about Hansen’s condition.
She had never felt so uneasy in her heart!
According to the procedures, after all of the relatives and friends finished mourning, they would spend the night in the Ink Garden. The day after tomorrow, the final procedure, which was the memorial service, will be held.
When the time came, there would be more people, and the scene would be more ceremonious. After that, Vivian’s corpse would be sent to the funeral parlor to be cremated.
Meroy’s funeral was also held step by step in the funeral hall in between all these events, and this was all attributed to Jenna’s guidance. In the funeral hall, Jenna had arranged Meroy’s funeral according to the highest standard, comforting Meroy’s relatives. If she had not been calm enough, then Jenna, who had held back the grief, would have almost fainted several times.
The next day, Jenna picked Sara up. As the Richards family had been busy all this while, Jenna did not have the courage to bring Sara here, mainly out of fear that she would be heartbroken and worried when she saw her.
Sabrina was not a Richards family descendant. Although she didn’t receive guests like the daughter-in-law of the Richards family, she was still dressed in mourning clothes and helped with various affairs. She was kept busy during the whole event.
At noon, a military vehicle from Capital City slowly entered Richards Manor.
The driver got out of the car and opened the door.
A mighty, middle-aged man in a military uniform walked out of the car, accompanied by a secretary wearing glasses and a briefcase.
It had been more than a year, but Richards Manor was still lush and green. However, in General Delia’s eyes, it seemed to have experienced many vicissitudes of life.
Vivian, who had fought valiantly, had just left the world. How would the future hold for Richards Manor? Would they be able to maintain their honor? That was unknown.
Maud, who was guarding the door, spotted General Delia’s arrival immediately and came forward to greet him.
“Nice to meet you, General Delia. This way, please.” Maud led General Delia into a fancy tourist van with white flowers on it and headed straight for the Ink Garden.
Trevor, Claude, and Norton all came out to welcome him.
“Hello, General Delia.” Trevor and Claude greeted him first with a solemn look.
“Mr. Richards, the Old Madam has left. I’m deeply sorry for your loss.” General Delia’s expression was grave as he nodded slightly.
“Nice seeing you, Uncle Delia. Thank you so much for coming here to pay the final respects to Grandma,” Norton uttered piously as he walked up to him. He handed him a sleeve and a white flower.
The secretary took it and helped him put it on.
General Delia’s dignified gaze swept briefly over Norton before he shifted his gaze away from the latter. He merely snorted through his nose as a way of greeting.
Norton knew that General Delia didn’t have a good impression of him. He felt guilty and immediately lowered his head. He followed Trevor and the others to send General Delia to the mourning hall of the Ink Garden.