Chapter 146
William issued Robert’s obituary.
Three days later, his memorial service was held.
On the day of the memorial service, Gregory showed up at the funeral in a terrible state.He wore wrinkled clothes that looked like they hadn't been washed in days. His hair, usually meticulously styled, was now messy, and bruises marked his hands and face.
The guests started whispering among themselves. Gregory seemed oblivious to their whispers and rushed to the casket, bowing deeply.Tears streamed down his face as he said in a sorrowful voice, “Grandpa, I’m sorry—I came too late. I'm unfilial—I didn't even get to see you one last time."
Tears and snot covered Gregory’s grimy face as he spoke to the casket, "Grandpa, why didn't you wait for me?"
Grace walked over, crying as she tried to help Gregory up:"Gregory, where have you been? We couldn't reach you these past few days. Do you know how worried your dad and I were? You're finally back, but what happened to you? Why do you look like this?"
The murmuring voices around me reached my ears: "I heard Mr. Gregory Lopez went abroad to negotiate a business deal, supposedly a big one that would make good money, but looking at him now, seems like the deal didn't go so well."
"But I heard he went to get a loan from loan sharks. He’s got some nerve—he couldn’t get a loan in Lumaria, so he dared to go to Solstice. I bet he got scammed, didn’t he?”
“At this rate, the Novagen Group probably won’t last much longer.. Those creditors are sharper than anyone—they've probably already gotten wind of this."
The discussion wasn’t particularly loud or quiet—I could hear it, and Gregory probably could too.
He kept his head down without speaking, his shaking shoulders the only sign of his struggle to suppress his emotions.
The master of ceremonies came forward to remind them,"Mrs. Lopez, since Mr. Lopez is back, let him bow first, then change his clothes and thank the guests."
Gregory stood up and nodded at Grace, trying hard to maintain his dignity: "Thank you all for coming to my grandfather's funeral. I apologize—I came in a hurry, and I was too grief-stricken upon hearing of Grandpa's passing. I’ll go change my clothes now and then properly receive everyone.”
Grace quickly arranged for someone to come over, and soon Gregory was taken to another room to change into clean clothes.
When he came out, Gregory’s eyes immediately locked onto me.His gaze carried indescribable emotions—questioning, anger, and even possession.
I avoided his gaze and stood beside Oscar, following the master of ceremonies' lead to properly thank the guests.
As we left the chapel, a light drizzle began again, mixed with snowflakes that disappeared as soon as they hit the ground.und.
Days of rainy weather had filled the air with dampness. The cold wind blew against my cheeks, and the rain and snow hit my face, quickly taking away what little warmth remained in my body—a cold that even the thick clothes I wore couldn't ward off.
After placing the urn in the cemetery, people who had come to the funeral gradually left, but Charles and Isabella, who had been at the edge of the crowd, stayed behind.
Grace looked somewhat impatient when she saw them and turned to leave with Gregory in the car right away, but Isabella quickly stepped forward to stop them, with a somewhat ingratiating smile on her face: "I shouldn't be bothering you at a time like this, but I still want to ask—Gregory is back, but where's Jasper?"
Gregory's face darkened. He looked at Isabella, not knowing how to answer.
Seeing his expression, the smile on Isabella's face seemed to freeze, but she still asked hopefully: "Gregory, Jasper left with you. We haven't been able to reach him all these days. Did you not come back together? Is he coming back soon?"
Gregory didn't dare look at their faces. He slowly lowered his head, his lips moving but no words coming out.
Charles frowned and stepped forward, his tone anxious:"Say something! Where's Jasper? Did he say when he's coming back?"
"He... he probably won't be coming back." Gregory’s voice trembled as he spoke in a low voice.
Isabella stepped back several paces, and Charles quickly moved forward to support her, preventing her from falling.
I was curious too and couldn’t help stepping forward, wanting to know what Gregory meant by Jasper not being able to come back.
Charles’s face was livid, his hand supporting Isabella was shaking, and his voice was stiff:"What happened to him?"
Gregory kept his head down, took a deep breath, and said,"Everything was going smoothly after we got to Solstice. We had pleasant talks with them and agreed on the loan interest. But right after we signed the loan agreement and got the money, just as we walked out the door before getting in the car, the card was snatched and we were tied up. They locked us in a dark room without food or water."
Isabella was somewhat confused: "Then how did you get back? If you could come back, why can't Jasper? If they kidnapped you, they should ask us for ransom, right? How much do they want? We can raise the money."
Gregory frowned and shook his head, "I don't know why they let me go either. That's the strange part—after they caught us, they just tortured us daily but never once mentioned contacting anyone for ransom. So I suspect... I suspect..."
His gaze shifted slightly and fixed straight on Oscar.
Oscar smoothed the sadness from his face and quickly met his suspicious gaze, his tone indifferent:"Are you suspecting me?"
Gregory stared deeply at Oscar, as if trying to find something suspicious in his expression: "You introduced me to those people. I don't believe it's just a coincidence that we were targeted right after we got the money."
Oscar glanced at him coolly: "That place is full of all kinds of people, plenty of them watching all the time. I've been in Lumaria the whole time—do you think I could interfere?"
Isabella was crying so hard she was nearly fainting: "I just want to know how my son is! If you could be released, why couldn't he? Is he still alive?"
Gregory bit his lip, his body shaking as Isabella grabbed him, not daring to resist at all: "We weren't kept together. At first I could still hear his screams, but later, the sounds got weaker and weaker until I couldn't hear them anymore. So I really don't know if he's alive or not."
He couldn't continue, closing his eyes as if trying to forget this memory.
Charles and Isabella's faces turned pale. Jasper went to Solstice, got caught and locked up—even if he didn't die, he'd probably be half-dead.
William stepped forward, subtly separating them from Gregory: "Mr. Brown, don't worry too much. If Gregory could come back, Jasper will too. Now that we know where he is, we have a place to start looking. Gregory looks exhausted—let's go back first and let him rest."
Gregory shook his head, his gaze turning to me, "Since Mr. and Mrs. Brown are both here, let's all go home together to discuss another matter—about Emma."