Chapter 126 The Ashes Were Swapped?
Grace was increasingly amazed. She knew Max loved reading, but she hadn't expected him to have read books on this subject.
"Which book did you read this in?" Grace asked.
"It's from Caitlin Doughty's 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,'" Max replied.
Alexander walked over and examined the powder on Max's fingertips. At first glance, it did indeed look like a mixture of magnesium powder and concrete.
"This definitely isn't cremated remains," he said. He had seen actual ashes before, and real cremains looked completely different from this.
Grace was momentarily stunned. "Then where are the real ashes?"
Max frowned suspiciously. "Could they have been swapped out?" He immediately dismissed his own theory.
What would anyone want with ashes?
During the cremation process, all organic matter is completely burned away. What remains is just a collection of inorganic substances—mainly calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and carbon.
"I've heard of people stealing ashes before, but never children's ashes. Especially not from a newborn infant," Alexander said.
The more Grace heard, the more chilled she felt. She never imagined that such morally bankrupt acts could happen in this day and age.
"But this child was just born—why would anyone steal his ashes?" she asked.
"This whole thing is suspicious. I'll have someone investigate immediately," Alexander said. "West Hollow Cemetery has always been poorly managed, with graves left unmaintained for years. This kind of thing was bound to happen eventually."
Grace nodded. "Either way, we need to get to the bottom of this." Gathering her courage, she walked over to Max and also reached into the urn, taking a handful of the "ashes" to smell.
Sure enough, there was a strong concrete odor.
"It really isn't ashes..." Grace said, looking dazed.
She looked at Max with appreciation. "Max, if it weren't for you, no one would have discovered something was wrong with this urn."
Max had been incredibly bold. Forget that he was only seven—most adults wouldn't think to open an urn to examine its contents.
"It's because Mommy rarely talks about my brother," Max said.
He was already seven years old, but his brother would forever remain newborn, never growing up.
The thought made his heart ache.
Liam stood nearby watching quietly, occasionally shrinking closer into Alexander's arms. He didn't understand what this small urn meant, nor did he know that when people died, they were burned to ash. All he knew was that cemeteries looked scary and forbidding, and he was frightened and didn't like this place at all.
Max held the urn thoughtfully, then looked up and asked, "Mommy, should we still keep this urn?"
Since it didn't contain his brother's ashes, there was no point in keeping it.
"Max, you're very smart. If it weren't for you, this concrete would have been buried as ashes," Alexander said.
Max smiled gracefully. "Well, look who my mother is," he said with elegant composure.
He hugged Grace. "You should thank my mommy—she's the one who made me so smart!"
Grace blushed.
Was Max being serious? Was he really sure his intelligence came from her good genes?
Max seemed to read Grace's thoughts and grinned. "Mommy, be more confident! My intelligence is all your doing. Look—same father, but Liam isn't as smart, which means Liam's mommy was a dummy."
Liam's eyebrows nearly flew off his face in indignation. He put his little hands on his hips and glared at Max, his tender little face showing an adorably defiant expression.
Max couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke Liam's nose. "Okay, I'm just teasing you. Liam isn't dumb at all—he's just not as smart as me!"
Liam's expression softened somewhat after hearing this.
He had to admit that was true.
He did feel like he wasn't as smart as Max.
But Max was complimenting him!
Liam joyfully hugged Max, and Max hugged him back—a picture of brotherly harmony.
Alexander looked at Grace and suddenly asked, "When can you be discharged?"
Grace asked warily, "Why?"
She was only halfway through her rehabilitation program. Although she had recovered considerably, she still needed to complete her physical therapy.
"Liam really misses you. He hasn't been sleeping well at night," Alexander said. After a pause, his gaze fell on Max. "He misses Max too."
Max's face turned an interesting shade of red.
He cupped Liam's chubby little face and asked, "Liam, do you miss me?"
Liam nodded vigorously, then widened his eyes and looked at Max hopefully. "What about you?"
Max fidgeted awkwardly. "I don't miss you at all... hmph..."
Max was a little tsundere—he wouldn't admit he missed Liam too.
Liam's face immediately fell with disappointment.
Max didn't miss him?
Seeing Liam's somewhat hurt expression, Max felt a pang of conscience. He squirmed a bit and made a "tsk" sound. "Well, it's not that I don't miss you... I do miss you, just a little bit."
Just a little bit...
Light rekindled in Liam's eyes. Even if Max only missed him a little bit, he was completely satisfied.
Alexander looked at Grace. "The boys get along so well. So, when are you coming home?"
Grace stared blankly. "Coming... home..."
"That house is supposed to be big, but now it's just Liam and me living there. It feels so empty and... I'm not used to it," Alexander said. After a pause, as if trying to cover something up, he changed tack. "If you're worried about your rehabilitation, I can hire the best nurses and the best physical therapists. I'll convert a spare room into a dedicated rehabilitation suite for you."
Grace fell silent for a moment.
Liam looked at Grace hopefully, reaching out to tug gently at her clothes, wanting Grace to bring Max home.
Grace couldn't bear to refuse such an adorable Liam. After thinking for a long time, she said somewhat helplessly, "If the doctor approves, I can be discharged anytime."
She also wanted to recover as quickly as possible so she could investigate what had happened seven years ago.
She had always felt there was something suspicious about that incident. Now, with concrete and magnesium powder mysteriously mixed into the urn, where had her deceased baby's real ashes gone?
They say the dead should rest in peace.
What kind of heartless person would tamper with an infant's ashes?