Frank then looked at Bet and added, "Your grandmother just passed away, and your mother is overwrought with grief, she''s not thinking straight. Take her home. You know how much she hates the smell of antiseptic."


    After her prematurebor years ago, Emma''s health had always been fragile. Having spent too much time in hospitals, she''d developed a particr sensitivity and dislike for the smell of antiseptic.


    Frank had even hired a private family doctor for his wife, so she would onlye to the hospital when absolutely necessary.


    "I''ve already arranged your grandmother''s funeral. Your mother isn''t well, so don''t have her attend."


    The elder Mrs. Thompson''s funeral was a stark and low-key affair.


    The elder Mrs. Thompson had no close family left. Her parents and brothers were long gone, and the remaining distant rtives weren''t going to travel from afar for her funeral.


    Vanessa''s family had been deported; even if Vanessa herself died, her ashes couldn''t be brought back, let alone for the elder Mrs. Thompson''s death. And Eden had already been transferred to prison, not to be seen again for a decade.


    As for the other Thompsons, Tobias, Karina, and Noah Thompson certainly wouldn''t attend.


    The elder Mrs. Thompson had abused a young Tobias Thompson; there was no mother-son affection between them.


    Emma, the daughter-inw, also did not attend her mother-inw''s funeral. The very day the elder Mrs. Thompson died, Emma fell ''ill'' and immediately flew abroad for ''treatment''.


    Bet, the biological grandson, did attend the funeral.


    Bet had a military career, and his future was bright. He couldn''t afford any blemishes on his record. It was just a formality, and there was no need to be branded ''unfilial'' over such a small matter.


    Frank and Bet, father and son, presided over the funeral. They invited almost no guests, and the ceremony was bleak,cking all the pomp and circumstance expected of Istra''s wealthiest family, the Thompsons.


    Mr. Thompson Sr., however, made a rare appearance at the funeral.


    had been no love


    Although there ha


    between them for years, death is a serious matter. By seeing the elder


    final


    Mrs. Thompson off on her final


    journey, Mr. Thompson Sr. was granting their marriage itsst shred of dignity.


    Mr. Thompson Sr. paid his final respects and then left.


    Frank chose a beautiful plot for the elder Mrs. Thompson''s burial, but she was notid to rest in the Thompson family vault.


    While chatting with Bet one day, Yvonne casually remarked that the elder Mrs. Thompson had been dealt a winning hand and yed it terribly.


    An illiterate country girl from a rural vige, if it weren''t for that unique period in history, she couldn''t have married into the Thompson family even if she''d sprouted wings.


    But because of the debt the Thompsons owed the Monroes, the elder Mrs. Thompson married Mr. Thompson Sr., making a huge leap in social status. It was the luck of a lifetime.


    A slightly smarter person-or even a


    less intelligent one who was just more decent-would have known to take good care of young Tobias to win her husband''s heart, and then have a biological son of her own That would have guaranteed a lifetime of inexhaustible wealth and luxury.


    But the elder Mrs. Thompson just had to cause trouble, so much so that she was nearly thrown out.


    It was sheer luck that she had raised such a sessful son in Frank. After she was cast aside by her husband, this good son provided her with another half-lifetime of riches.


    But the elder Mrs. Thompson insisted on continuing her ways, relentlessly antagonizing her daughter-inw, Emma. She had caused Emma immense harm but in the end Emma had literally angered her to death, leaving her unable to rest in peace.


    If one had to sum up the elder Mrs. Thompson''s life in a single word, it would be:


    pathetic.