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.

had loved me, guided me, made me feel

“Jeffrey … Jeffrey…”

her voice gentle. “Ma’am, the master left strict instructions. You

had filled the house. Now, silence pressed in from every side. I looked up and saw Everett standing still, his gaze distant, his eyes searching

A warmth, light and fleeting, brushed over me,

course, I saw nothing. But I knew. He had come back.

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Chapter 525 Farewell.

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his grandson behind. He couldn’t leave me behind. Not yet. Not before he made sure we would be

the same kindness he had always carried. “Chloe,

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

stirred the air, lifting.

of my hair

then settled. The

let go. He had truly left us.

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

sprang

to prepare formula, and the other checked

infants refused milk and comfort alike. Their

of the nannies murmured. “They’re not wet, and they just

the dampness from my face, pushing myself upright with their help. “No. Give them

but obeyed,

weakly. “Tell the butler to make

nanny frowned. “For what, ma’am?”

It took effort to force them out. “My father–in–law’s

and the restless children in my arms. Perhaps, in their minds, grief had cursed this house, following us like

questions. I waved them off. “Just do

“Yes, ma’am.”

with tears, their cries still hiccupping in their throats. I gave them

were too little to understand. Their exhaustion soon won