I got up and walked toward the door, where I saw several police officers briefing Ilma.

“We’re handing the victims’ bodies over to you. Please have the family sign here.”

Ilma looked at the officer in disbelief, shaking her head the whole time.

“No, it can’t be…”

When she saw me come out, she snatched the death certificate from the officer’s hand and flung it to the ground.

She pointed at me. “He’s the one who ordered you all to do this, isn’t he?”

As she spoke, she began shoving the officer in front of her.

“How much did he pay you to put on this show in front of me?!”

The officer was enraged by her actions and grabbed Ilma’s arm.

“Ma’am, we understand you’re grieving, but that’s no excuse for assaulting a police officer!

“If you keep this up, we have the right to arrest you!”

Seeing that her resistance was futile, Ilma broke free from the officer’s grip and lunged at me.

“Gareth, you’re really something else!”

She stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face.

My cheek, already swollen and red from previous blows, instantly burned with a searing pain.

I grabbed her wrist as she swung at me again, gripping it so tightly that she winced in pain.

“Ilma, snap out of it!

“Those are your parents’ bodies. You’re the one who cut off their only chance at survival!”

Ilma suddenly clutched her stomach and burst out laughing.

“Gareth, could you at least put some effort into your lies?

“My parents just video-called with me last week and said they were staying in Sitzerland for a full month. How on earth would they end up in a dump like Mounscour Hill?

“They love you more than they love me, and yet you make up such elaborate lies about their death! Don’t you have a conscience?”

Just then, Astel shuffled out of the ward, leaning on his crutch. His face was pale, but it was unable to hide his smugness.

He reached out to wrap an arm around Ilma’s shoulder. His words were light and airy, yet cut like a knife.

“Ilma, don’t let this upset you so much. Gareth just can’t stand seeing us happy. He’s deliberately bringing up your parents to try and drive a wedge between us.”

He paused as he glanced at the two hospital beds covered in white sheets. A sinister smirk curled his lips.

“Who knows? Maybe those two corpses are of some homeless people he dug up from some back alley. He did all this just to put on a charade and fool you!”

Ilma seemed to snap out of her daze. She rushed toward the beds and reached out to pull back the white sheets.

“I’ll see for myself what kind of fakes you’ve brought in to deceive me!”

The onlookers gathered around as well.

“What on earth’s going on here?”

“Could it really be a charade, just like they said?”

“Hurry and pull the sheets back so everyone can see if these are really this lady’s parents.”

As the crowd grew larger, an elderly police officer reached out to stop her.

“Everyone, please respect the deceased and be mindful of your words”

Astel snorted derisively from the side. “Ilma, Gareth’s just putting on a show. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he let you see him?”

Ilma shot me a resentful glare. “Gareth, you’ve really gone all out for this charade!”

She yanked her hand away from the old police officer’s grip. Her eyes brimmed with contempt.

“Why won’t he let me see them? He’s just lying! I’m going to expose his tricks!”

With that, she yanked the white sheet off the first bed.

The face beneath, ravaged by the miasma, was unmistakably my father-in-law’s.

Ilma’s hand froze midair. Her arrogant face froze, and the color drained from her cheeks.

She staggered back two steps, muttering to herself, “It can’t be… This isn’t my dad… He video-called me just last week…”

Astel was panicking too.

Leaning on his crutch, he took two steps forward. Upon seeing the dead person’s face, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes.

But he forced himself to remain calm. “Ilma, don’t panic. Maybe he’s just a look-alike… Let’s check the other one!”

Ilma clung to that excuse as if it were a lifeline. She reached out with trembling hands to lift the other white sheet.

When her mother’s face, with its familiar wrinkles, came into view, she could no longer hold herself up. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground. Her tears finally broke free.

“Mom… Dad… How could this happen…”