Chapter 586 Someone Of Great Importance
Thomas ought to feel the impetus to weep, except that his emotional state did not facilitate this. As much as he tried to scrunch up his face, he was unable to squeeze out even one sliver of tear.
Natalie took this all in from where she stood, and her almond-shaped eyes radiated with scorn.
Not only had this father chosen to pass on conducting an autopsy to understand the cause of the unforeseen death of his own daughter, but he even found it such a struggle to shed a tear or two at her funeral.
Thomas subsequently made his way to the center of the hall with a heavy heart to read out a eulogy.
Fabricated completely from a template, the entire text was bereft of even one iota of genuine emotion from start to end, with the only notable change to the messaging being Melissa’s name.
Thomas was on the verge of choking up several times as he went along, but his tears did not flow, just as it was for him right from the start.
With a somber expression appropriate for the sorrowful atmosphere of the occasion, Yara wiped at the barely damp corner of her eyes with her own veil.
Everything that had transpired here brought Natalie back to her memories from five years ago when she was sent to Mount Surya to recover from the extensive burns she suffered, in the care of Malcolm and Donna.
Over the phone, she had asked Gerald about how Thomas and Yara dealt with her ‘body’ that was left behind in the fire’s wreckage, and whether they had any suspicions of her having survived the flames.
Gerald’s answer set her mind at complete ease.
The Nichols family had happily signed off on her death certificate and did not even bother to claim the ashes.
In the end, the police found a home for her ‘remains’ at a public cemetery where a marked grave was erected for her on humanitarian grounds.
Hence, she already had a taste of the Nichols family’s indifference and selfishness long before Melissa did. The only thing that set their fates apart was that she had better luck than her sister did.
She, at the very least, came out of it alive, and with the chance to seek vengeance on behalf of Arnold and herself.
Upon the completion of the eulogy, the attendees of the service, each with a stalk of white chrysanthemum in hand, encircled the casket three times in silence before they laid the flowers upon Melissa’s body.
With the completion of this service, Melissa was to be completely cremated.
Sprawled to the side of Melissa’s crystal casket, Yvonne’s cries increased in mournfulness until her voice croaked. “It’s all my fault, Melissa! I must have committed too many sins, so much so that you were made to suffer them in my place! You’re so young. It should have been me to have died, not you!”
Yvonne’s wails reverberated around the entire interior of the hall.
Although Natalie found Yvonne quite pitiful, this poor soul was doubtlessly detestable in her own way.
Just like Yvonne admitted so herself, on top of wriggling her way into the family as a mistress, she had also failed to take Melissa in hand ever since. All these were criminal in themselves.
Two black-suited men went up to pull Yvonne away from the casket. When she saw her daughter being pushed further and further from her, she passed out on the spot, instantly plunging the entire scene into chaos afterward.
“My wife has been overtaken by grief and needs to be sent to the hospital. Will someone come to give me a hand?” said Thomas.
Two of the staff voluntarily put themselves forward to lend support. They brought Yvonne to the VIP lounge and went about preparing a honey drink, gathering ointment, and the likes.
Thomas was about to go over to check on Yvonne when his phone started ringing, but he hung up outright as he was not in the mood to answer.
The caller, however, seemed quite intent on reaching him, making one insistent call after another, as though determined to get him to pick up.
Noting how distracted Thomas looked when he saw the name on his display, Yara took it upon herself to say, “Could it be an important work call, Dad? Why don’t you go ahead and attend to it, rest assured that I got things here under control.”
“All right.”
Thomas then hastily left the funeral service’s venue.
Observing how Thomas was willing to disregard the unconscious Yvonne, Natalie felt it in her gut that whoever he was eager to meet must be someone of great importance.
Hence, she lowered the brim of her cleaner’s cap and took off after him with the broom in hand.
When she tailed him to the funeral home’s side door, Natalie was almost certain that whoever Thomas came out to see must be of great significance.
Her expectations were confounded when she got a closer look at that individual. What the… It’s her!
