Chapter 255
But seeing her facial features, the butler felt he couldn't have possibly mistaken them!
While he was still shocked, Howard had already handed over a bundle of condolence money and said guiltily, "My wife, Keera, was a high school classmate of Mrs. Horton. Hearing of Mrs. Horton's tragic passing, she insisted on coming to pay her respects."
After that, he dragged Keira toward the mourning hall.
The butler stood there dumbfounded. He then looked down at the money handed over by Howard, which bore the words "high school classmate Keera".
So, the woman wasn't Mrs. Horton but her high school classmate?
The butler rubbed his eyes, wondering if he could have been mistaken.
He turned around wanting to look closer, only to see that woman had already blended into the crowd and disappeared into the mourning hall.
The butler decided he definitely must have been mistaken.
...
The mourning hall was set up in the middle of the main house, a spacious area that made it convenient for everyone to view the body and offer incense to the deceased.
No sooner had Keira entered with Howard than her gaze fell upon the coffin.
The coffin was placed at the front, with people blocking the way, not allowing anyone to approach.
A person nearby explained, "Mrs. Horton fell into the sea and became bloated from the soaking. Her face seems to have decayed beyond recognition, so they're not letting anyone see her face... they decided not to use an open casket."
Hearing this, Keira staggered.
Bloated?
She clenched her fists.
Her gaze swept over the crowd in the mourning hall.
She saw Oliver and Melissa from the first branch of the family greeting outsiders, their faces displaying sorrow, but their eyes betrayed a gleam of something else.
Next to them, Jake looked genuinely grieving, his eyes vacant, seemingly truly heartbroken for her.
Keira withdrew her gaze, attempting to find other familiar faces.
She didn't see Mrs. Olsen...
With Mrs. Olsen's health condition, she must not have been able to withstand the pain of losing a daughter. Had she fainted again?
But where was Lewis?
Just as she thought of this, she heard Melissa explaining to the mourners. "Alas, Lewis was so grief-stricken that he refused to acknowledge that the deceased was his wife. Now, he's hiding in his room, refusing to come out and give his wife her final send-off..."
Upon these words, the people around started whispering among themselves.
"Mr. Horton really loved his wife deeply, and he's going to such lengths for Mrs. Horton..."
"But I really feel that's not right. Mrs. Horton's body is in such a state that it would be better to bury her sooner rather than later. His sentimentality is getting in the way..."
"I always thought Mr. Horton was a rational man, but I heard that he hasn't even been to the Horton Group these past couple of days. Everything's being arranged by Mr. Davis..."
...
Listening to these conversations, Keira lowered her gaze.
Howard, next to her, was already schmoozing with other people, not noticing her.
Keira quietly turned around and walked out of the mourning hall.
Her face bore an earthy hue, like a country woman who had tanned in the countryside, with the iodine not fully washed off.
Wearing clothes that weren't her usual style, all in the gentle styles of Keera, barely anyone recognized Keira on her way here.
She quickly turned into old Mrs. Horton's courtyard.
Most of the servants were over at the main house helping out.
At the moment, Fiona was chatting with another nanny.
Fiona, with a dolorous expression, asked, "Has the master not eaten yet?"
The other nodded, "Yeah, ever since the lady's body was fished up, Mr. Horton has been beside himself..."
Fiona wiped away her tears. "He's deeply emotional. Old Mrs. Horton is also sick with sorrow. Gosh!"
As they talked, they walked away.
Keira thought for a moment. She then headed to the small building in the backyard and went straight up to the second floor, jumping onto the balcony of Lewis's bedroom.
Through the glass window, she saw the man curled up, leaning on the couch.
The room was thick with the smell of smoke, and the floor littered with cigarette butts.
Lewis clenched his fists, his eyes vacant.
He was reminded yet again of two days before, how he idiotically waited at the courthouse until 2 p.m., 3 p.m. ...
Keira was late, yet he somehow felt relief.
Keira's absence meant she couldn't bear to divorce him, right?
But what he never expected was to eventually receive news of her death!
He couldn't believe it and rushed to the seaside, only to see Mrs. Olsen standing there, flanked by Uncle Olsen and Taylor.
The salvage crew kept searching back and forth in the water.
At that instant, he felt his legs go weak!
Every time the salvage crew surfaced, he hoped for news yet feared it at the same time.
It had been over ten hours since the shipwreck... No one could survive at sea for that long!
Keira must have been swept away by the current to another shore... She could swim!
But a sentence from Samuel shattered his last defenses.
Samuel, pacing anxiously beside him, muttered to himself, "It's over. My boss is supposed to have her infusion today... She was meant to have it yesterday, but because of the divorce scheduled for that afternoon, it was postponed to tonight..."
Divorce...
Lewis staggered!
If only he hadn't been stubborn on the first day and if the divorce had proceeded smoothly, would Keira have gotten her infusion?
Then, even if she had fallen into the sea, there could have been a chance for her to survive...
Just as Lewis thought about this, the salvage crew had news.
A swollen corpse, unrecognizable, was brought to the surface...
As Lewis thought about this, his heart felt as if it had been pierced by thousands of arrows, pain spreading from his chest.
But these past two days, he had grown accustomed to the pain.
Holding his chest, he lit another cigarette.
Fiona's knock came from outside the door. "Sir, Madam's body is being taken to the funeral home. Aren't you coming out to see it off?"
The always refined and gentlemanly man suddenly looked up.
Lewis's eyes reddened. He grabbed the ashtray from the coffee table and hurled it toward the door.
"Bang!"
The ashtray fell to the floor.
Lewis roared, "Get out! That's not Keira! Keira isn't dead!!"
When Fiona heard this, she let out a silent sigh. "Sir, please open the door. Old Mrs. Horton has arrived."
But Lewis still didn't move.
Old Mrs. Horton's trembling voice came from outside. "Brat, your wife always cared for her dignity while she was alive. She valued propriety. Now, look at her, bloated and decomposing at home, do you understand how unsightly that is? Do you really want her to leave this world so disgracefully?!"
That somehow struck a chord with Lewis.
The usually composed man buried his head in his knees. He hugged his head with both hands, and a muffled voice came out. "Grandmother, that's not Keira. My gut tells me, that's not her!"
Old Mrs. Horton sighed, "I know it doesn't look like herself anymore, but the police have taken her DNA and done the tests. Brat, face the reality!"
These words caused Keira, standing on the balcony, to feel a sudden twinge in her chest.
When she heard people couldn't recognize the body, she held onto a sliver of hope, but now reality crushed it.
Her sister looked so much like her; they must have been identical twins, hence the DNA would be 99.9% similar!
So, the corpse was truly her sister?
Keira, coming to this conclusion, saw Lewis clenching his fist and slamming it onto the marble floor...
"Bang!"
Blood seeped out, staining the ground.
In agony, Lewis said, "Grandmother, stop... that's not her!"
There was a pause from outside before old Mrs. Horton spoke again, "Brat, one must learn to let go and face reality in life. Running away like this disrespects your wife. Open the door, come out, and properly see off your wife on her last journey!"
These words made Lewis's fists tremble.
Bowing his head, he slowly knelt to the ground.
Watching him, Keira felt her heart break into pieces.
She stepped out of the shadows and gently tapped the glass door of the balcony.
"Lewis, don't be sad. I'm not dead."