Winifred Dawson did not expect Henry to be the first to contact her. He reached out and asked if she wanted to see Leland Burns one last time.
Receiving such a call early in the morning left Winifred momentarily speechless. After hesitating for a while, she agreed.
Henry gave her the address, which was not far from her place, just along the nearby coast.
She checked the time; it was five in the morning. The sun had just risen over the coastline. Winifred got up early; even Mrs. Protich was still asleep. After a quick wash, she tied up her hair, took her phone, and followed the map.
Henry and Wesley were standing on the coast. It was a bit chilly in the morning. Winifred wore a trench coat, and the sea breeze fluttered its hem. Her neatly tied hair got tousled by the wind, and she tucked a few stray strands behind her ear. When she saw Henry and Wesley in the distance, she paused, feeling an almost imperceptible unease about to burst forth.
Winifred didn’t know what made her uneasy. She stared at the wooden box in Wesley’s arms, momentarily stunned before reacting.
“Finally, the lady arrives. I thought you wouldn’t show up today,” Henry said with a sarcastic tone.
Winifred didn’t expect him to speak kindly to her. This was already better than usual-just sarcasm without any foul language or physical altercations.
Ignoring the wooden box in Wesley’s hands, Winifred asked, “Didn’t you say I could see Leland Burns one last time? Where is he?”
Henry took the wooden box from Wesley and opened it in front of her, revealing grayish-white ashes inside.
“Here he is.”
“You mean this pile of ashes is Leland Burns?” Winifred had been in disbelief about Leland Burns’s death since last night.
She thought Leland Burns was cunning and had lurked around her for years with malicious intent. He not only killed her father but also drugged and assaulted her on her birthday.
Such a person, as people often say online, would live long despite being a scourge. How could he die so easily?
His death was termed an accident, but no one knew how it happened. Everything seemed suspicious. Without seeing Leland Burns’s body herself, she couldn’t believe he was dead.
Henry’s face remained expressionless, his eyes deep and unreadable.
“Mr. Burns looked terrible when he died. He said he didn’t want you to see him at his worst, so we took him directly to the crematorium. He also said to scatter his ashes into the sea after his death.”
To Leland Burns, Winifred Dawson was like the moon-scattering his ashes into the sea would be his way of embracing the moon.
“I know you don’t believe it. Here’s Mr. Burns’s death certificate with official seals,” Henry signaled Wesley to hand over the documents to Winifred.
Winifred opened the envelope with suspicion and looked at Leland Burns’s death certificate. The official stamps indicated that Leland Burns no longer existed in this world; everything he owned had been confiscated and erased.
If Leland Burns were faking his death, would he go to such lengths?
Perhaps for him, enduring twenty-two years in prison was worse than dying right away.
When he went to prison, most of his possessions had already been confiscated. Even if he were released, he couldn’t hold his head high again.
The so-called starting afresh after release often came with ridicule and couldn’t compare to an ordinary life.
Henry and Wesley watched Winifred closely, looking for any clues on her face but found none. She calmly flipped through the death certificate and then slowly said, “This kind of thing can be forged by you too, right?”
Henry sneered, “You give us too much credit; forging official seals is illegal.”
“Aren’t you afraid of breaking the law?”
“Of course we are; otherwise, why would Mr. Burns end up in prison? And now he’s dead under unclear circumstances. Everyone fears death… don’t you agree, Miss Dawson?”
As soon as Henry finished speaking, he saw Winifred tear up the death certificate.
“You…”
Winifred said calmly, “Without seeing Leland Burns’s body, I won’t believe he’s dead.”
Henry laughed angrily, “You can’t wake someone pretending to sleep. Miss Dawson, didn’t you hate Mr. Burns? Shouldn’t you be celebrating his death? Why don’t you believe it now and insist on seeing him one last time? Can I assume that you actually can’t let go of Mr. Burns?”
Winifred wasn’t angered by his words; she had always been patient. This place belonged to Henry now. Leland Burns was a madman, and so were his subordinates-who knew if they might push her into the sea next?
She stuffed the torn death certificate back into the envelope and tossed it at Henry’s feet.
“Think whatever you want; I just wanted to see if Leland Burns is really dead.” If he wasn’t completely dead, she wouldn’t mind finishing him off because leaving someone half-dead could lead to revenge that might cost her life later.
Winifred looked at the rising sun over the sea; it was beautiful-a golden sunrise emerging from the horizon with rays piercing like swords that were almost blinding.
Seeing only ashes without a body left her feeling empty-perhaps disappointed too. If she had seen Leland Burns’s body, she might have been happy enough to celebrate with Mrs. Protich upon returning home.
As Winifred turned around and took two steps away, she heard Wesley sigh behind her.
“The year you left, Mr. Burns spent considerable effort rebuilding Autumn Joy Estate for your return. He knew you liked big houses and flowers-he planted roses all over so you could see them from your bedroom window. Knowing you’re allergic, he prepared special roses for the chapel that wouldn’t trigger your allergies.”
“You always said Mr. Burns was possessive rather than loving you truly-but did you ever acknowledge his genuine love when he showed it?”
“He was ready to spend his life with you but ended up entering this small wooden box first.”