Chapter 5

The crib that once belonged only to their daughter now houses Adrian and Chloe's child.

With Martha's help, I painstakingly created a photo wall for my daughter.

All of them were replaced with photos of the three of them together.

I looked at them blankly:

Where are my daughter's photos?

Chloe pursed her lips and whispered:

“Adrian asked me and the children to move here, but there’s a saying in my hometown that you can’t hang pictures of the dead in the bedroom. If they’re already hanging, you have to burn them all, otherwise the children will have nightmares.”

“I was worried about the baby, and I didn’t want to disturb you while you were resting in the hospital, so I burned the photos first. Evelyn, we’re both mothers, you should be able to understand me, right?”

My gaze fell on the trash can in the corner.

All that remained inside were charred pieces of paper curled up after the photograph had burned.

"Baby, Mommy hasn't seen what you look like yet..."

I staggered and squatted down, and with a light touch of my fingertips, I turned to ashes.

I don't know who broke the beer bottle last night, but the shards got mixed in and immediately cut my finger.

Adrian frowned and pulled me up.

“Evelyn, be normal. It’s just a few photos. Do you have to act like someone has wronged you?”

"Chloe was also thinking about the children; the dead should always make way for the living."

"At worst, I'll have someone contact the photographer again to see if he still has any negatives."

He said it with a relaxed expression.

As if forgetting, the elderly photographer retired and went on a world tour shortly after taking the photos of his daughter.

They even put the equipment up for sale online, so they have no idea whether the film is still there.

The files stored on Adrian's phone were formatted due to a device malfunction.

During those days when I couldn't see, I carefully traced my daughter's eyebrows and eyes with my fingers again and again.

I dream that one day I will regain my sight and see her lovely little face with my own eyes.

Even that last bit of hope was destroyed by them.

Adrian glanced at my still-bleeding finger:

"I'm going to get some iodine and bandages, so I don't get infected."

As soon as he stepped outside, Chloe smiled and held up a ceramic photograph.

“Evelyn, don’t be sad. There’s another one here. I dug it out of your daughter’s tombstone.”

The small black and white photo shows that little face that I've sketched countless times.

A bad feeling suddenly crept into my heart:

"What did you do to my daughter's grave?!"

Chloe smiled meaningfully:

“My baby son has been crying at night a lot lately, but he’s not sick, so Adrian went to find a master to take a look.”

He said that children are weak and easily attract unclean things, so they should wear jewelry with strong yang energy. It would be even better if a relative had worn it, as the energy would not be repulsive.

"It's a pity that neither Adrian nor I have any. Fortunately, your daughter's birth chart is pure Yang, so Adrian took the initiative to make two bracelets from her ashes for my son. It's as if you, this useless person who refuses to leave, are still somewhat useful."

She tossed the ceramic photo into my pocket, admiring my expression:

"Evelyn, do you regret being able to see this?"

"Otherwise, you can continue to be a stupid and happy idiot, living in that beautiful dream that Adrian truly loves you."

My mind went blank, and I stared intently at Chloe.

Unable to control his anger, he raised his hand and slapped her across the face: "You two beasts!"

I walked toward the crib, intending to take off the bracelet.

Chloe suddenly screamed, "Evelyn, if you have any complaints, take them out on me! Don't hurt my child!"