The cold rain beat against the ground vigorously. The sky looked gloomy, as though the sun hadn't been shining just moments ago. Holding her black umbrella, Julia stood beside James, her eyes unfocused as the priest they had called offered prayers.
She wondered if it even made sense to call a priest. But then—who else would she have called? A monk?
After the final prayers, the priest sprinkled holy water and the coffin was lowered into the ground.
"May her gentle soul rest in peace," the priest said.
Julia's lips curved faintly.
She would never rest—not until June and Alex were both beneath the ground. Perhaps she should bury them together.
After James, Julia placed her flowers on the grave. The priest and the grave tenders exchanged odd looks.
First a red suit, now red roses, one of them thought. This generation really does things differently.
"Thank you for coming to send off our dear friend, Tina Wang," Julia said softly. "It means a great deal to me."
Once the others had left, Julia turned to James.
"Go to the car and wait for me."
James hesitated, giving her a puzzled look, but still obeyed. Julia watched his back as he walked away. Though he was usually quiet, she could sense the deep sadness weighing on him. Right now, they both needed to be alone.
She let the umbrella fall from her hand.
The rain poured down her body, soaking her clothes, her hair, her skin. She didn't stop it. She let her tears fall freely as she knelt, her trembling fingers brushing against the cold stone.
Tina Wang.
The lonely orphan who worked harder than everyone else.
The girl who felt warmth the day she made her first friend—June.
She remembered how excited Tina had been when June laughed and said, Our names sound alike. We're sisters now. My parents are your parents too.
She remembered how Tina fell in love with the charming Alex when he asked her out, how over the moon she had been.
The family she thought she had… had betrayed her in the cruelest way.
Everything had been a lie.
The lonely girl.
The people-pleaser.
The one everyone hated for no reason at all—
She was dead.
Buried.
The person who lived now was nothing but a vengeful ghost.
"The rain doesn't seem like it's stopping anytime soon, sir. It's getting heavier," Finn said, glancing through the windshield. "I suggest we wait for it to subside a bit."
Kelvin shot his PA a sharp glare from the backseat of the Jeep. He was already in a foul mood—though he didn't know whether visiting his mother would make him angrier or calm him down. Missing their usual date was already irritating enough.
Finn nodded quickly and parked beside another car. He glanced toward the graveyard, shivering.
Who else is insane enough to visit a cemetery in weather like this? he wondered.
Opening his black umbrella, Kelvin made his way into the cemetery.
"Did you inform the grave tenders about our arrival?" Kelvin asked Finn, who was diligently following a step behind him.
"Yes, boss. I told them we would be coming. Maybe they didn't expect we'd arrive while it's raining this hard," Finn replied, raising his voice as it was nearly swallowed by the rain.
The late Mrs. Kings was buried in a private section of the cemetery, surrounded by a short gate. Because of that, the grave tenders were supposed to be present to open it.
"Call them and tell them that if they don't want to be the ones lying in the ground, they should open the gates before we get there," Kelvin ordered coldly.
"No network, boss."
It was all his boss's fault. They should have waited in the car for the rain to subside, but Kelvin had been in such a hurry—as if the dead Mrs. Kings could walk away.
"You should know how to break a lock, Finn," Kelvin said. "Or why am I paying you? You're breaking it."
Finn felt like crying out loud. Now he had to break a lock himself, under this heavy rain. How disrespectful. They looked like tomb raiders.
"What?" Kelvin asked, turning to his drenched PA. "You can't break locks?"
Finn swallowed, then forced a smile. "Yes, boss. I can break everything."
"Good."
When they reached the site, they found the gate already open.
Finn let out a breath of relief.
But the relief was short-lived.
His soul nearly jumped out of his body when he saw her—a woman dressed in red from head to toe, kneeling beside a freshly dug grave. He was certain it hadn't been there months ago.
Slowly, he turned to his boss.
Kelvin stood still, rain pouring over him, looking like the soul collector as rage built violently in his eyes.
"Who the fuck has the audacity to use my mother's private gravesite?" Kelvin's voice thundered through the rain.
Someone is definitely getting buried today, Finn thought.