Chapter 57
Mrs. Maple released Susan's hand. That withered hand trembled as it reached toward Evelyn.
"Child... child..."
Her lips moved with difficulty, the words unclear, yet desperate to say something. Her eyes brightened, completely different from the dullness before—as if she'd seen something extraordinary.
Evelyn froze. Instinctively, she stepped forward. Mrs. Maple's hand found her, gripping her wrist with unexpected strength, as if confirming something.
"You... you are..."
The words remained unfinished. Her hand suddenly loosened, her arm falling limply. The heart monitor let out a shrill, continuous beep. The line on the screen went flat.
"Alice!" Susan cried out. Logan rushed to call the doctors and nurses.
They burst in, pushing Susan aside. Her face was ashen, eyes locked on the bed. Evelyn saw her entire body trembling.
After what felt like an eternity, the doctor straightened up and shook his head gently. "I'm sorry. We did everything we could."
The room fell terrifyingly silent. Only that long, piercing beep from the heart monitor continued to sound.
Susan swayed. "Alice..."
She called the name once, then collapsed.
"Mrs. Gray!" Evelyn rushed over to catch her.
Another flurry of chaos. The medical staff surrounded Susan, lifting her onto the adjacent bed for examination.
Evelyn stood to the side, unable to name what she felt. Before today, she hadn't known these two elderly women shared such history. Now, one of them was gone.
Eventually, the room quieted. Susan lay in the bed, eyes closed, face still pale. The doctor said it was shock from emotional distress—rest would help.
Evelyn sat by the bedside, keeping watch. Outside the window, night had fallen. Occasionally, nurses' footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Looking at Susan's sleeping face, Evelyn thought about everything that had just happened. Two old friends, a lifetime together. They'd supported each other, resented each other. In the end, even their final meeting was filled with regret.
She sighed softly. Then she remembered the way Mrs. Maple had looked at her in those last moments. Those suddenly brightened eyes. That hand reaching desperately toward her. Those unfinished words.
"You are..."
What? What had she wanted to say?
Evelyn frowned, unable to understand.
"Eve."
Evelyn snapped back to attention. Susan had woken. She leaned in quickly.
"Mrs. Gray, you're awake? How do you feel?"
Susan looked at her, eyes somewhat vacant, taking a long moment to focus.
"Alice... is gone?"
Evelyn nodded, her chest tightening. Susan closed her eyes and remained silent for a long time.
When she opened them again, her gaze was calmer.
"At this age, life and death become easier to accept," she said quietly. "But some things can never be resolved."
Evelyn didn't know what to say. She just held Susan's hand tighter.
Tears slid from Susan's eyes into the pillow.
"I hurt Alice, and I hurt Emily even more. Emily was such a wonderful girl..."
"I was blinded. I thought Emily had married in deliberately to cause trouble. I forced her to divorce. Even threatened to sever business ties between our families if she didn't."
"In the end, Emily was the one who spoke up. She said, 'Mom, I'll leave. Please don't make things hard for my mother.' She left decisively, took nothing with her."
"Alice came to beg me. She said, 'Susan, Emily wouldn't do such things. Look into it again—there must be a misunderstanding.' I said, 'The evidence is clear. What's there to investigate?'"
"Alice stood before me, looking at me for a long time. Finally she said, 'Susan, after all these years of friendship, you don't trust me?' I didn't answer. She turned and left. After that, we never saw each other again."
"Decades. We didn't see each other for decades. Now that we have, it's the last time."
She closed her eyes, letting the tears flow. In this moment, she wasn't a successful entrepreneur or a formidable businesswoman. Just a lonely old woman who had lost her dearest friend.
Evelyn didn't know what words of comfort to offer. She simply held Susan's hand, gently patting her back, trying to transfer the warmth from her palm.
After some time, Susan's emotions finally settled. She opened her eyes and looked at Evelyn.
"Eve, thank you..."
Before she could finish, noise erupted outside the hospital room door. Footsteps, voices, someone shouting "Move aside!"
Evelyn frowned and stood up. The door burst open and two people entered.
The first was a middle-aged man who bore some resemblance to Mrs. Maple. Behind him followed a garishly dressed middle-aged woman. As soon as she entered, her gaze fixed on Susan.
"Mrs. Gray," she began, her voice containing suppressed anger, "when my mother was unconscious, you were the only one present?"
Evelyn's heart sank. She instinctively stepped forward, positioning herself between Susan and the newcomers.
"Mrs. Gray," the woman continued, her voice growing colder, "I'm asking you a question."
Susan slowly opened her eyes and looked at her. Her gaze was calm, still as stagnant water.
"Iris," she said the name. "Your mother is gone."
Iris Maple's expression changed instantly. "My mother is gone?!"
"Did you upset her again?" The woman stared at Susan, her questions relentless. "You two haven't spoken in decades, and the day you visit, she dies. Mrs. Gray, what were you scheming?!"
"What was I scheming? I should be asking you that!" Susan shot back with a cold laugh. "Alice cut ties with you long ago, yet you still have the nerve to show your faces here. Are you trying to disturb her even in death?!"
"You!" Iris's face flushed red. She moved toward Susan as if to confront her.
The middle-aged man who had been silent until now held her back and looked at Susan hesitantly. "Mother..."
"I severed ties with you. Don't call me that!" Susan cut him off, her face full of disgust.
Evelyn stood frozen, processing their exchange. Iris was Mrs. Maple's biological daughter? This middle-aged man was Susan's son? Why were they together? And why had Susan said she'd severed ties with them both?