"Then all of a sudden, he stopped breathing. I recalled how he clung to with one hand while pointing outside with the other, gasping for breath. "Maybe he was trying to give a clue. So, I imdiately reported to Sean. He also thought it was possible, so we were all thinking: could the person he was hinting at have ’sky’ or ’night’ or ’moon’ or ’star’ in his na?"
Steward’s voice trailed off into a sullen tone, "In the end, we followed this clue for a long ti but found nothing. Now I think about it, he was probably just pointing at nothing in particular. Got us running around for nothing."
All that ti and effort wasted.
Rosemary, however, pressed on, "What was outside at that mont?"
"Nothing really, from where he was lying in the car, he could probably only see the sky. I’m not even sure if the moon or stars were out."
Now think about it, the masterminds behind all this are Lucas and Beverly, but what does that have to do with him pointing at the sky?
He was just pointing randomly.
Suddenly, Rosemary was lost in thought, rembering how Lucas and Beverly had looked back repeatedly before leaving Reflections Villa.
It was Beverly who stopped first, her eyes brimming with complex tears as she looked at Rosemary.
Those eyes seemingly wanting to say a thousand words, yet in the end, they only turned into two light words, "Take care."
That didn’t sound like sothing an aunt would typically say to her niece at farewell.
It was as if she was warning that sothing might happen to her.
"You can’t handle him, don’t think too highly of yourself, even with the entire Collins family combined, you’re no match for him."
With that thought, Rosemary imdiately stood up and said, "Enjoy your al. Please close the lab door when you leave."
"Hey, Ms. Rose, where are you going." Steward looked confused—with so much food on the table, how could he finish it all by himself?
As Rosemary stepped out of the lab, her phone rang. It was from Jack.
"Boss, I’ve done so digging. Before Roo’s parents went to Tulip Road, they bought a bunch of fruit and a bouquet of flowers as if to visit soone. But they turned their vehicle around shortly after getting on Tulip Road. On their way back, George McMillian stopped at a supermarket and bought a pack of sanitary pads."
Back in the day, George, a grown man, dashed to buy sanitary pads—threw down a hundred dollar bill without waiting for change, and hopped into a luxury car—that was an unusual scene, which impressed people.
"Nothing else has been found for now."
But Rosemary already had her suspicions. She was certain that the masterminds weren’t George and Jennifer. After finishing the call, she made her way to the detention center, requesting to see Beverly specifically.
When Beverly was brought out, her eyes were calm, almost serene, like a tranquil lake, and she exuded an aura of peace.
Rosemary waited for her to sit before taking her place across the table. She studied Beverly’s composed and gentle deanor, a presence that neither boasted nor hid anything, her emotions as still as the surface of a placid pond.
"How have you been?" Beverly was the first to speak.
"I’m doing well," Rosemary replied, looking into her eyes with a soft concern. "Auntie, have you settled in alright here?"
"You still call ’Auntie’?" A ripple crossed Beverly’s still waters, her gaze on her niece filled with layers of complicated feelings. "I’m doing fine."
After all, the Collins family hadn’t torn her apart for her unforgivable sins, nor had they made things difficult for her inside. She was already incredibly fortunate.
"How are your grandparents and parents doing recently?" Beverly asked with concern.
"They’re all well," Rosemary answered, her voice steady and sincere.
"That’s good."
"Frederica and Alma are doing well too," Rosemary seed to know what she was worried about and offered the information. "On morial Day, they ca to pay their respects, and for our family reunion day, my parents invited them over for the barbecue, and they ca."
Because they were innocent, Kenneth and Louisa did not bla them.
Beverly hadn’t expected her brother and sister-in-law to still include her children in family gatherings. Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.
"At other tis, Frederica is still studying abroad, and Alma is in school here. Before you turned yourselves in, you left them that house. Alma sotis stays there on weekends."
As Rosemary stood up to leave, Beverly suddenly called out to her, "Rose."
Rosemary paused, turning to look at her.
"Take care." It was the sa phrase Beverly said again, "Auntie will be waiting for your next visit."
It was the sa sentence again. Telling her to take care again.
"Auntie, do you have any regrets?"
Perhaps unexpected that Rosemary would ask like this, Beverly was stunned for a mont, then gave a bitter smile, "More than regrets. I have so things left undone. I rember when your parents planned a family trip for the holidays. Since you’ve been back, I never got the chance to spend ti with you, not even a short visit to a nearby attraction. Now that I think about it, I really do regret it."
She looked at Rosemary again, her eyes shining with affection.
"When you have the ti, you and Roo can read poems written by Thomas Gray and John Donna, uh, sorry, John Donne, both of them are talented. I love reading their poems. It’s too bad I’ll never have that chance again. If possible, I’ll just have to take my regrets to the grave."
Rosemary’s eyes lingered with disbelief, the ssage from Aunt Beverly had passed on was...
She could hardly believe it.
That was impossible?!
How could it be them?
"Could you read those poems for or buy a book of poetry?" Tears welled up in Beverly’s eyes, her voice quivering like a fragile crystal in the quiet room.
"Are those poems fascinating as Auntie says?"
"When you read it, Rosemary, you’ll be blown away. It’s even more stunning than you could imagine," Beverly added, "It’s worth reading, I promise."
"Alright," Rosemary nodded, "Roo and I will definitely read it. If it’s as stunning as you claim, I’ll co back and talk about the poem and poets with you."
"I’ll hold you to that," Beverly couldn’t help but remind her. "Stay safe."
Rosemary knew her aunt was worried about her safety. With a nod of understanding, Rosemary reassured her, "Don’t worry, Auntie."
"Until next ti."
"Goodbye." Rosemary stood up and walked out.
"Have you boarded the plane yet?" she asked straight up.
Roo, about to board, smiled at her voice, "Missing ? I’m coming back early tomorrow morning, and we can have breakfast together before school."
"Roo, there’s sothing I need to tell you," Rosemary’s voice was heavy with gravity. "The real people behind things are your uncle and aunt."
Roo’s smile froze.
Rosemary relayed the clues she had gathered.
Beverly had ntioned two brilliant poets, Thomas Gray and John Donne. Thomas must refer to Tomas McMillian. When she ntioned John Donne, she intentionally made a mistake, saying Donna, so she wanted to say it’s Donna McMillian.
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