He Thought Mom Died, Went Mad After Truth

Chapter 4

Hazel wasn't even my biological mother, but his words still cut deep enough to leave my fingertips numb to make my hands shake.

My eyes locked hard on Mason. "You can actually stand there and laugh right now?"

Mason's expression didn't shift. "Olivia, drop it. This isn't some ordinary funeral. It's a safety-awareness memorial.

"Better to put your mom to work doing some last-minute PR for the rescue team than to keep letting the internet drag Jennifer through the mud."

Jennifer bobbed her head along enthusiastically. "Exactly, Olivia. She's gone. The living have to keep moving forward. Once people watch the stream, they'll know not to mess around on a cable car."

I looked at her, all wide-eyed innocence, and my voice dropped colder with every word. "So defacing her portrait, knocking over her ashes, and going live to milk pity counts as positive PR now?"

The color drained from Jennifer's face. She ducked behind Mason. "I didn't..."

Mason cut in front of her, impatient. "So a little ash got spilled. So what?

"She's been burned down to dust. You think anyone can tell which pile is which anymore? And who exactly are you putting on this victim act for?"

The chat ran wild.

A: [The dead woman's daughter is back at it. Knew she'd kick off again.]

B: [Jennifer's nice enough to throw a memorial for the dead and still gets dragged for it.]

I stared at the words rolling past on the screen, and a laugh broke out of me.

"Fine. You're right."

I took a slow step back, clearing the space at the center of the memorial hall. "If this is how you all want to run it, then by all means, knock yourselves out."

Mason frowned at me, a flicker of suspicion crossing his eyes. He pushed it down fast.

"Olivia, you should've smartened up a long time ago. Lay off Jennifer, and I'll pretend you never brought up divorce."

The moment Jennifer saw I wasn't fighting back anymore, her smile snapped right back into place.

I sat down in the corner and watched the two of them step right over Hazel's ashes. My face went cold.

Mason looked up at the officiant. "What are you standing around for? Get on with it."

The officiant had no choice but to grit his teeth and flip open the program. "Ladies and gentlemen, we gather here today to hold a..." He trailed off, struggling to take in the room around him. "...safety-awareness memorial."

Someone in the back couldn't hold back a snort.

"I've seen weddings streamed before. Never seen a funeral streamed live."

"If she knew how rowdy her own funeral was, she'd be spinning in her grave."

Jennifer turned to me with a sweet smile. "See, Olivia? Everyone thinks this is fine."

Mason shot me a cold look of his own. "Olivia, the dead don't come back. What's the point dragging it all out like some big tragedy?

"Your mom never got much out of life. A loud send-off is the closest she'll ever get to a proper one."

I looked at him and spoke slow. "My mom would've hated this kind of dignity, this kind of send-off. As for yours, I really couldn't say."

Mason's eyes went dark in an instant. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I didn't answer.

He let out a cold laugh. "Your mom's already ashes. You think a couple sharp words out of your mouth are gonna bring her back?"

Jennifer hurried to loop her arm through his. "Mason, just ignore her."

Right then, the officiant spoke up again. "Will the family of the deceased please come forward to pay their respects?"

Before the words had even faded, the memorial hall doors swung open from the outside.

A middle-aged couple stepped through.

The whole room went dead silent.

The look on Mason's face froze solid.

I stood up and crossed the room to meet them. "Dad, Mom, you came."