Page 268 of Unravelling The Beast

He suddenly pulls me into him, trying to comfort me by stroking my hair.

“In time, this will get easier for us all. It's not a goodbye; you're right, I worded that wrong; it's simply, I'll see you again soon.”

I move away from him and wipe the tears from my face, and as I pass him, I speak coldly.

“Let's just get this done.”

I step out of the car as soon as we enter the cemetery, observing the hundreds of people here and the area flooded with black suits and dresses. I don't recognize anyone here, and while I continue to glance around slowly, Cree's tiny hand slips into mine.

I gaze down at him and give him a sweet smile before going ahead until we reach the place where he will be laid to rest. Cree stands in front of me, holding Sara's hand in his other, with Jasper beside her and Carmella alongside me.

I plainly stare ahead, and it's completely silent until the priest starts talking, but I feel like I'm in a state of stupor, and everything he says is a blur. I feel like I can't cry even if I wanted to because I'm hollow inside, hypnotized and traumatized by all that has happened, and I fear I'll never be the same again.

My eyes follow him as they lower his body into the dirt until I feel Carmella place her hand into mine. I slowly turn my head to face her, and she looks at me with watery lenses.

We lock eyes for a time, and I realize we haven't spoken a word to each other since Arlo's death. After a brief moment, we both return our focus to the burial at the exact same time.

Later that evening I am sitting at Sara's dining room table, moving my food around with my fork, staring into nothingness. I'm here alone since Sara thought it would be a good idea to give me space while I eat, and I might eat more, which isn't working.

Suddenly I hear footsteps approaching the room, and I lift my eyes to see Carmella, Jasper, and a man enter.

I straighten my back as they all take a seat around the table opposite me.

“Wren, my name is Will Lewis.”

I just stare at him while he takes paperwork from his briefcase and places it on the table as I cast a glance at Carmella, who is already staring at me, before returning my attention to him.

“I'm Arlo's attorney.”

Again, I just stare and stay silent before he continues.

“We have some things to talk about. Around two to three weeks before Arlo's death, he visited me and put a will in place.”

My brows crease ever so slightly.

“He has put your name and Cree's name on all the assets that belonged to him.”

As shock hits me, my eyes shift to Carmella, who blinks at me blankly.

“All his money, businesses, and everything now belongs to you.”

My eyes dart back to him, and I manage to speak.

“But how? Why?”

He simply shrugs his shoulders.

“I don't ask those questions, unfortunately, and Arlo wasn't the type of man to tell me how or why.”

He starts pulling documents from the folders and laying them down in front of me, and I gaze down at it all.

“You just need to sign here, here, and here. If you need to read through it and drop it by another day at my office, that's absolutely fine.”

He then pulls out a set of keys and places them in front of me.

“Arlo also bought a house around the same time.”

My eyes snap to his, and I look at him confused.

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