Even after Her Death by Rita Bond

Chapter 525 Farewell

A weight settled in my chest, cold and crushing. I could not wait any longer–I had to call Carter.

The phone rang. Then, at last, his voice came through, rough, and weary. “Chloe.”

I tried to speak, but the words caught in my throat. “Dad, he…

”

Carter’s silence stretched before he forced the words out. “He’s gone.”

The phone slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

I had known this moment would come. Jeffrey prepared everything, leaving no loose ends. The signs were there. The outcome had always been certain.

But knowing and accepting were two different things.

The finality of it struck like a blade, sharp and merciless.

I dropped to my knees, my hands covering my face. Sobs broke free, and tears spilled between my fingers. My whole body shook.

He had been a good man. A pillar of quiet strength. For 20 years, he had stood in my life like an unwavering presence, and I had come to love him as a grandfather.

If he had stayed–weak, frail, bound to a hospital bed—it wouldn’t have mattered.

He still would have been here. There would have been someone to visit, someone to miss.

Now, he was gone, and with him, the last thread holding the Boltons together had begun to fray.

“Jeffrey, why did it have to be this way?”

His health had failed him, but medicine had come so far. The Boltons had wealth, power, and connections. They could have kept him here a little longer.

But Carter had been right. No one could hold back a man who had already chosen to go.

A year ago, I buried my grandmother. Now, I had to bury Jeffrey, too.

me, guided me, made me feel like I belonged. Gone.

“Jeffrey … Jeffrey…”

gentle. “Ma’am, the master left strict instructions. You must take

house. Now, silence pressed in from every side. I looked up and saw Everett standing still, his gaze distant, his eyes searching for something unseen. Then, slowly, he turned toward

shifted in the air. A warmth, light and fleeting, brushed over me, like a hand resting

searching for him. Of course, I

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Chapter 525 Farewell.

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leave his grandson behind. He couldn’t leave me behind. Not yet. Not

kindness he had always carried. “Chloe, don’t

in my throat, and I whispered through trembling lips, “I’ll

draft stirred the air,

my hair before

shifted, then settled. The house

He had let go. He

let out sudden, piercing cries, their laughter vanishing as if snatched away

sprang

to prepare formula, and the

infants refused milk and comfort alike. Their wailing

nannies murmured. “They’re not wet, and

from my face, pushing myself upright with their help. “No. Give them to me.”

but obeyed,

voice came weakly. “Tell the

older nanny frowned. “For what, ma’am?”

words stuck. It took

women stiffened, eyes darting between me and the restless children in my arms. Perhaps, in their

no patience for questions. I

“Yes, ma’am.”

still hiccupping in their

little to understand. Their exhaustion soon won over, and their breathing evened into sleep.