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606words
My mom’s vibrant laughter was gone forever.
Ryan Cole appeared suddenly, handing me an ornate, colorful box.
As an online watchdog dedicated to exposing scams, he’d been tirelessly working to clear my mom’s name online ever since he noticed my plight.
But Nathan’s influence stifled his efforts.
“This is an urn I bought for your mom.I know you’re strapped for cash after the funeral.Don’t refuse it.”
Since Mom had always loved bright colors in life, I accepted the box, hoping she could rest joyfully.
After the cremation,I carefully placed her ashes inside.
The next day,I headed to the cemetery I’d chosen for her,but Nathan blocked me at the door.
He towered over me,and one glance at him made my chest ache so badly I could barely breathe.
He said coldly,“Have you come to your senses?When are you apologizing to Sophia?”
I noticed Sophia standing beside him,clinging to his arm with a smug smile.
The image of my mom’s broken body flashed before me.I clutched my chest and crouched down.
Nathan’s cold demeanor cracked.He instinctively bent to help me.“You okay?”
Sweat dripped down my face,stinging the unhealed scars.
My facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.
I didn’t need a mirror to know how horrifying I looked.
Nathan stared at me in pain,faltering for a moment before softening his tone.“Post a video online clearing Sophia’s name,and in return, I’ll get you the best doctors to fix your scars.No marks left,I promise.Stop targeting Sophia,okay?People are still tearing her apart.”
I scoffed.Me targeting Sophia?
Clutching the urn,I tried to leave,but Sophia grabbed me.
“That box you’re holding is mine.Give it back!”
Nathan’s face darkened.“How do you have Sophia’s box?”
Sophia burst into tears.“My ten - year - old dog died recently. I’d planned to put its ashes in that box. I won’t even ask for an apology from you. Just give it back. It means the world to me…”
“Did you steal it?”
Their accusations came one after another,and I found it absurd.
“Ridiculous.I don’t even know where Sophia lives,let alone her box.How could I steal it?”
The pain of my mom’s injustice hit me,and I shouted,“This was a gift from my friend!I’m not giving it to you!”
Nathan’s expression darkened menacingly. “Sophia’s been through enough.I’m not even asking for an apology,and I offered to fix your face.Yet you stole her box?Do you want your mom to keep getting slandered?Don’t you care about her?”
I turned,tears streaming down my face.“Nathan,I told you that day—my mom was deliberately hit by a car and killed.This is the urn my friend got for her ashes!”
“I don’t know why Sophia claims it’s hers,but it holds my mom’s ashes.I’ll never give it to her!”
Nathan froze,then sneered.“Your mom’s fine.Stop lying for sympathy.”
He signaled his bodyguards to seize the urn.
But they hesitated,their faces showing pity.
Sophia wailed,“What about my dog?”
Nathan’s eyes hardened. He lunged forward to grab the urn.
I was no match for a grown man’s strength,but I clung to it desperately.
In the struggle,Nathan yanked hard,and the urn crashed to the ground.
The lid popped off,and my mom’s ashes spilled out.
A gust of wind scattered them.
I screamed,scrambling frantically to gather the ashes.
But they slipped through my fingers like the wind.
Nathan smirked.“Nice performance.Using flour to trick me?”
He picked up the urn and dumped the remaining ashes into the air, then carelessly handed the empty urn to Sophia.
Sophia laughed with delight.
Amid her laughter,I stared,broken,at the scattered ashes.
A bodyguard couldn’t take it anymore.He stepped up and shouted at Nathan,“Sir,Emily’s mom really passed away!She wasn’t lying!”
