Chapter 194: HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO HELD HER
"I don’t want to answer this question," Hazel said in a small voice. She averted her eyes from Ranon’s sharp gaze.
They agreed not to meddle with each other’s businesses, but his question was understandable. Hazel would ask the same thing if she were in his shoes.
More so, Hazel preferred not to say anything. There would be a high possibility that Ranon would be able to tell if she were telling him a lie.
Especially when there was no good reason to answer his question, as he knew Hazel had interacted with River not so long ago.
How could she explain herself when River had been dead for four months?
"I am sorry." Hazel stood up and then faced Ranon. At a quick glance, she looked fine. The lipstick helped with her pale complexion, but upon closer look, you could see the sorrow in her brown eyes.
Hazel walked towards Ranon. She was ready to leave. They were going to the Central Hospital, where they kept the body.
Based on what Hazel had gathered from Ranon’s conversation with Lucian, the body was in a very bad condition and was hard to recognize.
She also learned about Arthur’s visit and where Ranon held him. After all, she had bugged his phone all this time without him knowing it.
With Arthur, she was not worried. She believed Ranon wouldn’t kill him.
"Let’s go."
"If you can’t answer that question, I want you to answer this."
Ranon stopped Hazel from leaving the room; he blocked the door with his towering body. His expression was devoid of any emotions. It was hard to read what was in his mind.
"Did you kill her?"
Even though Ranon said what Arthur suggested earlier was ridiculous for Hazel to kill River, he learned a lot from his unpredictable wife.
With her, there was a possibility for that.
"No, I didn’t kill her." Thinking Ranon wouldn’t believe her, she hastily explained. "I am always here. Even when I went out, Nolu and Yara would have come with me. You can check with them."
Ranon didn’t say anything, which prompted Hazel to explain more. Her mind was a jumbled mess; thus, she didn’t even try to hide anything from him, nor was she capable of playing a mind game with this man.
"You may think I can kill River since I could kill that man in Olivia’s apartment, but you must realize the difference between that man and River. That man was a thug, while River was born to be a killer."
Hazel wanted to laugh at herself. She couldn’t help but notice the irony of the situation. River was born to be a killer, but she was killed instead by the people who were so close to her.
Their betrayal pierced deeper than a bullet.
"I didn’t kill her."
Their eyes met. Hazel didn’t even flinch when Ranon looked at her closely, as if he could see through her soul. Would he be able to see River within her? Or did she lose her soul when she died in the river that night?
"Are you sure you have been in contact with River?"
The implication of Ranon’s question was pretty obvious. He wanted to find out if someone had impersonated River and used Hazel to carry out their plans.
That could be a possibility.
"Yes." Hazel was sure about this.
And when Hazel thought Ranon would ask more questions, he dropped his gaze and circled his arm around her waist.
"You have made people know about your interaction with River. They will look for you with questions." Arthur was an example of it.
"I am aware." Hazel nodded. She lowered her head and spoke softly. "After giving birth, I will leave." She said this because she didn’t want to implicate Ranon and their daughter with her problem.
Ranon was not pleased to hear that, even though it was the rational decision to make. Ares and Lucian had been on his ear telling him to stay out of whatever trouble Hazel was facing, insisting that it wasn’t worth his involvement.
She was very unpredictable and mysterious. They were not clear what kind of problem she would bring.
Both of them went to the Central Hospital; neither of them talked during the whole journey, as they were busy with their own thoughts.
***
"Arthur has gone missing for two days," Jack informed Arlo, who looked very distracted. "You must have heard what happened with River."
This time, with the mention of River’s name, Arlo flinched. "There is still a possibility the body is not hers."
"You still don’t know?" Jack raised his brows, surprised that Arlo had not yet heard the latest news. "Arthur himself had done the test. It’s River."
Arlo’s jaws clenched tightly, and he shook his head. He couldn’t accept this. River should be alive. She should have been planning a revenge against him and Aubrey.
He knew her well; she was not that easy to kill. But if it were really River, then someone else must have killed her.
The time of death didn’t match the time when Aubrey shot her.
"This is the copy of the result." Jack managed to get it. He had his own way to obtain this kind of information.
The paper on the table that Jack handed to him was like a sore sight for Arlo. He didn’t want to confirm it, because it would be the end of it.
"Where is Arthur?" Arlo tried to distract himself. He didn’t want to face the reality.
"I don’t know," Jack answered truthfully. "My men tried to look for him, but after he got the result in the Central Hospital, we lost him."
Arlo finally retracted his gaze from the paper and looked at his father. "What do you want?" His voice sounded very distant, without feeling. "You didn’t call me to let me know about this, right?"
"Yes, there is something I want you to handle." Jack stood up from his seat; he approached his son. "We will advance our plan and use Arthur’s absence."
"What do you mean?" Arlo narrowed his eyes; he knew what his father wanted, but he was not in the right headspace to think about it.
"This is the end of the Lozens."
***
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ranon asked. He saw how Hazel’s face went pale. Roland stood by his side and gave him a look.
He was confused about why Ranon brought his pregnant wife to visit the morgue. He had explained how severe the condition of the dead body was.
Sure enough, it was not a sight suitable for a pregnant woman.
Even Ranon couldn’t understand why he went through with it. Hazel’s emotional state and her deep sorrow didn’t make sense to him at all.
He learned that River and Hazel had gotten close somehow, but even so, her strong sadness was a little bit out of place.
What was the relationship between the two of them? How close were they? How long had they known each other?
"Yes," Hazel replied. She nodded and steeled her heart. "I want to see her."
Ranon said nothing to persuade her to change her mind. They were already here; none could make Hazel do otherwise.
And with that, both of them entered the morgue as Roland guided them to River’s body. They preserved her body until someone claimed her.
It was the hardest part for Hazel, as she had to face the fact. By seeing this, it would cement the reality for her: she was dead.
River was dead.
"I still think this is not a good idea," Roland said. He eyed Hazel worriedly. He wanted to know why she felt the need to see the body, but it was not his place to ask.
"Do it," Ranon said. He stood right behind Hazel.
Having no other choice, Roland pulled one of the compartments of the mortuary cabinet, and everything fell apart for Hazel the moment she saw it.
Roland was serious when he said the body was in very bad shape. It was hard for them to recognize her because that was exactly how River was.
The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition. You could tell it was only her skeleton with a few remaining chunks of flesh here and there, bloating and discoloration. The formation of adipocere had occurred.
Hazel staggered.
She had her share of witnessing gruesome sights, and often she was the cause of it. But this was different. It was her body, yet she couldn’t recognize it at all.
However, Arthur had confirmed it was River. It was her. She was dead, and it was final.
"Mr. Leighton..." Roland called for Ranon, who fixed his eyes on his wife. "I think this is enough." He didn’t think it was an appropriate sight for Hazel, especially after he saw her strong reaction.
Still, Ranon didn’t do anything. He watched closely as grief took over Hazel. She was trembling, and if it were not for Ranon to support her, she would have fallen to her knees.
"Ranon..." Hazel’s tears streamed down her face. She grabbed Ranon’s hand and looked at him. "Ranon, please, help me... I can’t... Help me."
She had never asked for help before; she always figured things out on her own. She was raised with the thought that she was the only one who could help herself. But right now, she didn’t think she would be able to.
"Help me..."
Her world was crumbling, she was falling, and he was the only one who held her.