Chapter 10
+25 BONUS
After I died, Maynard spiraled. He drifted through each day in a daze, drinking nonstop and staring into nothing. The house echoed with his manic, hollow laughter.
Hansen Group’s stock plummeted. Maynard was ousted from the company and eventually committed to a psychiatric facility.
Derek seized the opportunity. He took over most of Hansen Group’s major contracts and crushed their family business.
Just when the scandal had finally quieted down, a shocking report surfaced. Maynard had escaped from the psychiatric facility. Overnight, the Hansen Group was thrown back into the spotlight, right at the center of a public firestorm.
With Maynard on the loose and mentally unstable, the public saw him as a serious threat. Hansen Group was under immense pressure to track him down immediately.
They launched an aggressive search, mobilizing nearly all their resources. But after a full month with no leads, he simply vanished. Most people assumed he was dead.
M
Even the Hansen family gave up. They made a half–hearted effort to find him, then quietly moved on like he had never mattered.
After my death, Derek never got married. He lived alone for five years.
Then, during a site inspection for a redevelopment project near the slums, he stumbled upon a gaunt boy scavenging through the trash. The boy was crouched next to a trash bin, gnawing hungrily on a half–eaten bone he had wrestled from a stray dog.
The boy was skin and bones, and his limbs were gaunt and fragile. His skin was darkened by sun and dirt, and most of his face was hidden beneath a tangle of filthy hair.
But Derek recognized him instantly.
It was Waldo–the boy who had vanished years ago.
The moment Waldo saw him, he panicked and tried to run. Derek caught him before he could disappear.
He brought Waldo back home. Waldo was so hungry he kept eating five servings of spaghetti before he finally stopped.
Once he was full, Derek asked quietly, “Waldo, I need to ask you something.”
Waldo seemed nervous but gave a small nod. “Do you know where your father is?”
At the word “father“, Waldo flinched, like a horrible memory had struck him. He sat frozen for a long moment before nodding. “Yeah, I know.”
“Where is he?” Derek asked gently.
Waldo shook his head. “He’s dead.”
After Maynard escaped from the psychiatric facility, he somehow managed to track down Darlene, who was a fugitive now. With a mix of coaxing and deceit, he lured her to a deserted island.
What happened next was nothing short of a horror story.
1/2
Chapter 10
+25 BONUS
He murdered her with chilling cruelty. Rumors said that he severed all four of her limbs, and when her body was eventually discovered, her head was nowhere to be found
Afterward, he took his own life. There was a steel blade still buried in his chest.
The entire Hansen family knew what happened. But to protect the family’s public image, they kept it under wraps.
家
That was when Waldo was cast out. The Hansens disowned him completely. With nowhere to go, he ended up wandering the streets and eventually landed in a slum.
Derek took a deep breath. Looking at the boy who bore such a striking resemblance to me, he felt a quiet sense of comfort settle in his chest.
“So, you did leave me something to hold on to in this world.”
Derek took Waldo in and adopted him.
I watched quietly from above. The weight in my heart was finally lifting. I was ready to let go and head toward whatever came next.
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