Chapter 147
“Come on, let’s go inside and talk,” Keira said, wiping her tears and linking arms with Hannah as they walked into the house together.
The housekeeper had already set out tea and a tray of pastries-specialties from
the city.
Hannah and Stephanie hadn’t been back to the city in years, so it only made sense to let them sample the local treats.
After a while, once the two older women seemed to have calmed down, Stephanie suggested, “Mom, why don’t you ask Keira to take us to see Stuart?” Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn.net
The real reason for their visit, aside from seeing Keira, was to check in on Stuart. Hannah nodded.
Keira rose from her chair. “Come on, Stephanie, Hannah, let’s head this way.” Stuart lived alone in a separate wing.
His room had once been the newlyweds’-the very place he and Carey shared after their wedding.
Framed photos of their wedding still hung on the walls, alongside a picture of Freya as an infant, and the little crib Freya had slept in was still tucked in the corner.
Even Freya’s favorite stuffed bear was still nestled in there.
The room was full of warmth and memories.
As soon as Hannah and Stephanie stepped inside, it was as if the happy scenes of Stuart, Carey, and little Freya together played vividly before their eyes.
Both women felt a heavy ache in their chests.
Their eyes stung again, and the composure they’d struggled to regain began to falter.
Keira walked over to the bed. “Stuart, your mother and Stephanie have come to see you p>
Stuart lay there, unresponsive.
Tears welled in Hannah’s eyes. She reached for Stuart’s hand. “Stuart, you have to get better. Only when you wake up can we find out who really hurt your family. I swear, I’ll see that those who wronged you pay for what they’ve done. I won’t let them get away with this p>
Just as Keira had suspected, Hannah had always believed the accident that killed her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter wasn’t just a random tragedy.
Stuart was the only one who’d survived.
Only he could reveal the truth-if he ever woke up.
Amanda stood quietly off to the side, something flickering in her eyes, before she stepped forward to offer Hannah a tissue. “Please don’t be too upset, ma’am. If that accident really was deliberate, I believe the truth will come out in the end, and justice will be served p>
Stephanie joined in. “She’s right. No one escapes justice forever. When Stuart and his family come through this, I know they’ll rise from the ashes, stronger than before p>
Their words brought Hannah a measure of comfort.
As the saying goes, every hardship eventually passes.
Her daughter and son-in-law had already suffered so much. Surely, brighter days were ahead.
Hannah squeezed Stuart’s hand, then suddenly noticed something. She wiped her eyes and said, “Look, Stuart has a birthmark on his arm. I remember when Freya was born, she had the same one p>
Keira nodded, smiling gently. “You remember right. Freya had an identical birthmark on her arm. She had Carey’s eyes and mouth, but her nose and that little mark came from Stuart p>
Keira often thought, if only her Freya had lived, she would have grown into a real beauty. After all, both Carey and Stuart were such striking people—especially Carey, who, before she married, had been known as the most beautiful woman in Neon Spire.
Amanda caught Ann’s eye and then said, “Mom, you and Lady Hannah and Lady Stephanie haven’t seen each other in so long. You must have a lot to catch up on. Ann and I will go start planning dinner p>
“Alright,” Keira nodded. “Go ahead, girls p>
Ann followed Amanda out of the room.
Once they were outside, Ann glanced back over her shoulder, curiosity getting the better of her. “Mom, do you really think Uncle Stuart’s accident was no accident p>
Amanda narrowed her eyes. “Even the police couldn’t prove foul play. Honestly, it’s just something they tell themselves to feel better p>
Ann clung to her mother’s arm, grinning. “Well, I’m just glad you and Dad couldn’t make it that day. If you’d been in that car, it would’ve been us instead p>
Amanda’s face gave nothing away as she replied, “Everyone has their fate. Maybe that was just Stuart and Carey’s family’s destiny-to come into this world, leave nothing behind, and take nothing with them p>
Whereas their own family, Amanda thought to herself, was destined for fortune and power. No one was going to take that away from them.
“Yes, that’s just how life is. You never know what fate has in store until the very end.” Ann tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Freya was supposed to inherit the Gonzales estate, but now everything’s changed p>
Now she was the heir, the chosen one of the Gonzales family.
Freya was just a memory-a dead girl.
Once Keira was gone, she would waste no time changing Gonzales Holdings into Templeton Group.
She’d once thought, out of respect for her mother, she might keep the old name. But not anymore.