Chapter 626: How Vicious Your Father Is
Chapter 626: Chapter 626: How Vicious Your Father Is
That night, Willow and Glenn lay on the big, soft, comfortable bed, the air filled with a fresh, pleasant scent.
It wasn’t a hard, plank bed, and there was no foul odor.
Glenn rolled around on the bed and couldn’t help but exclaim, "Willow, this place is so nice!"
"It is," Willow replied softly. "Glenn, we have to work hard so Mom can sleep in a bed this comfortable too."
Glenn, who had just wanted to be lazy and do nothing, hesitated for a moment. "Okay. We’ll work hard so Mom can live in a big, pretty house and sleep on a bed as soft as cake."
The siblings, filled with hope and dreams for the future, slowly drifted off to sleep.
In the study on the second floor, Renee Jennings stood before the French doors, her heart heavy as she gazed into the deep darkness of the night.
"What’s going to happen to Willow and Glenn now?" Michelle Fuller sighed.
Renee Jennings pressed her lips together and said softly, "If their grandparents are capable of taking custody, then they’ll raise them. If they can’t, the only option is to send them to a child welfare agency."
"That’s so awful." Michelle Fuller’s heart ached.
"It is," Renee Jennings also sighed. "I just don’t have the courage to tell Willow the truth."
"Then could someone else tell her?" Michelle Fuller asked.
Renee Jennings thought for a moment. "I’ll talk to Henry Stark about it."
「The next day.」
Renee Jennings took Willow and Glenn back to Steingard Alley.
"Huh?" Seeing the house cordoned off with police tape and the door sealed, Glenn’s little face was full of curiosity. "What’s all this? Why is our house surrounded?"
Willow frowned. "I think the police put it up."
Just then, Levi Hollis and Sawyer, both in uniform, came up behind them.
"Are you the children of Polly Eames and James Yelric?" Sawyer asked.
Willow turned around, a flicker of confusion in her eyes. "Officer, I’m Polly Eames’s daughter, and this is my little brother. Can I ask why our house has been sealed off?"
Sawyer said softly, "Kids, we’ve discovered a homicide here. We need you and your brother to come with us to the station to assist with the investigation."
"A homicide?" Willow’s brow furrowed tightly as she asked in confusion, "What does that mean? Did someone die?"
Glenn’s eyes widened in terror. "Did someone in our family die?"
Hearing her brother’s words, Willow’s eyelashes trembled. Her heart felt as if it had been suddenly seized by an invisible hand, a dull ache spreading through it.
Sawyer glanced at Renee Jennings, her gaze falling on the little girl’s suddenly pale face. She opened her mouth, but her throat felt terribly tight.
Levi Hollis took a deep breath and said slowly, "Come with us to the station first."
Willow’s eyes were red-rimmed as she looked pleadingly at Renee Jennings. "Renee, what do we do?"
Renee Jennings gently hugged her and said in a warm voice, "I’ll go with you."
As the police car moved through traffic, Willow sat in the back seat, countless ominous thoughts flashing through her mind. Her palms were already damp with sweat.
The car was silent.
After what felt like a long time, Glenn suddenly spoke up. "Who died? Was it Dad or Mom?"
Levi Hollis’s hands tightened abruptly on the steering wheel.
Sawyer clenched her fists, mustering the courage to answer him. "It was Polly Eames."
It was Polly Eames...
Willow’s mind suddenly went BUZZ. Those four simple words spun and echoed in her head.
"Mom..." she whispered tremulously. "Mom..."
It was as if she couldn’t say anything else, just repeating "Mom" over and over.
"Willow." Renee Jennings gently took her hand.
"Renee..." Willow’s eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down her cheeks as she choked out, "Mom’s dead... I thought Mom went somewhere safe... I never thought I’d never see her again... How could this happen?"
A beat behind, Glenn also burst into tears. "WAHHH! Mom’s dead! Willow and I don’t have a mom anymore! WAHHH!"
Renee Jennings pulled Glenn and Willow into her arms.
A heavy atmosphere filled the car. Glenn wailed his little heart out, while Willow shed silent tears, her soft sobs filled with suppressed anguish.
Renee Jennings pressed her lips together tightly, a heavy stone weighing on her heart.
She wanted to speak several times, but she didn’t know how to comfort them.
By the time the police car stopped, Glenn had cried himself tired. His head drooped, his shoulders slumped, and he looked completely lifeless.
Silent until now, Willow suddenly asked before getting out of the car, "How did my mom die?"
Sawyer got out of the passenger seat, then opened the back door for Willow. She said softly, "The police already have the suspect in custody. It’s James Yelric."
"James Yelric." Willow murmured the name. Her voice was quiet, but she enunciated each syllable with weight, anger slowly coalescing in her eyes.
Hearing the name, a look of shock spread across Glenn’s face. "Dad? Did Dad kill Mom?"
Willow clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, and said furiously, "That James Yelric is a devil!"
"How could Dad kill Mom?" Glenn couldn’t accept this reality. "I don’t believe it!"
’He knew his dad hit his mom all the time, but he never imagined that one day his dad would actually kill her...’
"You don’t believe it?" Willow looked at her brother and asked hatefully, "Don’t you know how vicious your father is?"
"But... but..." Glenn said, his voice choked with tears, "But that’s our mom! How could Dad do that...?"
Willow said angrily, "Because your father has no humanity!"
"Willow, Glenn, let’s go inside first, okay?" Sawyer asked softly.
Willow nodded, but her clenched fists never relaxed.
The group entered a conference room.
Sawyer took out two bottles of milk, the kind she often drank, and placed them in front of the siblings.
Glenn, normally a little foodie, couldn’t even feel happy looking at the milk right now.
He sniffled and asked sadly, "Why did Dad kill Mom?"
Willow glanced at him, then her gaze fell on Sawyer. Her voice was unnaturally calm. "Officer, will James Yelric be executed?"
Hearing this, Sawyer explained, "Willow, the specific sentence will be determined by the People’s Procuratorate after their review."
Willow nodded, only half-understanding.
After a moment, she asked again, "Then how did my mom die?"
Sawyer didn’t know if she should tell her, a hesitant look flashing in her eyes.
But Willow was smart. She quickly put something together, her expression growing agitated. "Did James Yelric kill Mom and hide her in the refrigerator?"
Sawyer slowly nodded. "Yes."
"But wasn’t the refrigerator broken?" Glenn asked, his face full of confusion.
Willow shot him a glare, her tone dripping with exasperation. "You still don’t get it?"
Glenn frowned and asked blankly, "Get what?"
Willow’s face flushed with anger as she said hatefully, "Your father must have killed Mom, hidden her in the refrigerator, and then taped it shut because he was afraid of being discovered. He lied to us and said it was broken!"
Renee Jennings and Sawyer exchanged a look, seeing the same astonishment reflected in each other’s eyes.