Chapter 8
288 Vouchers
At the police station, the two of them sat across from each other.
Lena looked completely spaced out, like a doll with the soul sucked out of her. She hadn’t moved an inch for over 30 minutes, just sitting there
silently in the chair. No one paid her any attention.
The officer across from her sighed repeatedly.
Just then, his colleague walked in with a lead. “I got Mr. Halden’s number,” he said, dialing it right away. “Hello? Is Lena your wife?”
There was a pause on the other end. Then came the answer. “Yeah.”
As soon as he confirmed, the officer hit the speaker and started recording. “Mr. Halden, we have reason to believe your wife may have been assaulted. She’s clearly shaken up and unable to speak. We need you to come pick her up from the station.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end.
Then, a cold snort. “Lena, how long are you planning to keep up this little performance? That man–he was someone you invited over. And now you’re dragging this whole act to the police? If you’re that obsessed with roleplaying, I’m not joining in.
“Officer, if she wants to stay, let her. Might do her some good to sleep it
off in there.”
Click. He hung up.
The room went completely silent. Across the table, Lena’s lashes twitched. Her lips curled into a bitter smile.
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And just like that, things played out exactly the way Kevin wanted. She went from being a victim to being labeled a “public disturbance” and ended up spending the night in holding.
That night, Lena was more awake than ever. She sat in the dark all the way through till morning–didn’t shed a single tear. Instead, she quietly counted down the hours in her head.
Just one day left.
The next morning, she was released. But instead of going home, she made a detour to the cemetery. She wanted to visit her mom one last time before leaving.
But when she got there, the grave was gone.
“What did you just say?!”
“Your mother’s ashes were relocated. Ms. Callen came by yesterday with a written authorization and paid all the moving and maintenance fees. Everything was in order, so we allowed it.”
Zoey–again?!
How the hell did she even know her mom had passed?
Burning with confusion, Lena rushed back to the villa. As soon as she stepped through the front gate, she saw her.
Zoey was out in the yard, trimming a tree. The flowers were blooming, and she held the pot up to admire them like she was appreciating some delicate work of art.
Lena stormed right up and yanked her by the wrist. “Where are my mom’s ashes?”
Crash. The plant hit the ground and shattered.
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Chapter 8
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But Lena didn’t care. Her hands were shaking with rage–she only wanted
one answer.
Zoey looked at her, calm as ever. She didn’t say anything at first. Just glanced down at the soil and broken ceramic on the ground.
“What a shame.” She sighed. Then, her lips curled into a faint smile. “I was going to give it to you as a gift. You can’t really blame me now, can you?”
Lena looked down.
The dark soil was mixed with grayish–white specks–a powder that definitely didn’t belong there.
Ash.
It looked like human ash.
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