Chapter 179

I nodded. "Yeah, it could be a setup, but knowing Karen, she might just want me to take care of Jason. She knows the Jordan family won't deal with his body."

"Probably figured I'd be the only one willing, so she called me," I added.

Royce nodded. "Whatever the case, let's go check it out. I'll go with you."

Asher wanted to come too, but I stopped him. "Asher, you should get settled in first. There'll be plenty of chances for you to help out later. Royce and I can handle this."

He reluctantly agreed. "Alright, but be careful."

Royce and I left and drove to Karen's gated community. The houses he and Elora used to live in were now empty, with overgrown lawns.

It was clear that without residents, the place had fallen into disrepair.

I knew the code to Karen's house because I had occasionally dropped Brett off there. It came in handy now.

I punched in the code and opened the door. The house was empty, with a strange, musty smell.

Royce told me to stay put while he quickly checked the house. He came back and shook his head. "No one's here."

I nodded and went inside. Following Karen's instructions, I found a bank card and a note with the PIN on her vanity.

She really did leave it for me. I turned to Royce. "Let's go to the bank and see how much is in here."

We drove to the nearest ATM. I inserted the card and entered the PIN.

The balance displayed on the screen made me freeze. Five million dollars.

"This must be Karen's life savings. Why would she leave it all to me?"

"And it's way more than needed for Jason's burial and her own."

I was increasingly puzzled. Why had Karen suddenly changed before her death? I never believed in the idea that people become good when they're about to die. A bad person remains bad until the end. But this situation was confusing.

Royce suggested, "Maybe she thought you and Brandon hadn't divorced yet, and by giving you the money, she was also giving it to Brandon."

I realized he might be right. "That makes sense. Karen probably thought that way."

"Well, in that case, I won't let this money go to waste." I transferred the money to my own account and discarded the card.

Royce dropped me off at home, and I told Savannah what had happened. She was just as shocked.

"Karen really surprised us. Who would have thought she'd do something good before she died?"

"Yeah, who would have thought?"

"Life is so unpredictable. Who would have imagined that Karen, who was so full of life a year ago, would die so soon?"

"And Elora, who was at the peak of her life, and little Jason, are both gone too."

Life is truly unpredictable.

I felt this deeply now and couldn't help but sigh.

After a simple dinner with Savannah, we went to bed early. I had a feeling the next few days would be busy, so I wanted to rest up.

The next morning, I got an unexpected call from Irene.

"Caroline, did you take something from Karen?" she demanded.

I frowned. "What does it matter to you? She was my mother-in-law. Why wouldn't I take something?"

"That's crap. She was my sister-in-law."

"I just want to know if you took something. Return it immediately."

"I can't. I threw it away."

"You... There's no way you threw away that much money."

"You're stealing Karen's money. Return it, or I'll call the police."

I rolled my eyes. "Karen left me that money before she died. I have a recording of her call. If you think I'm lying, go ahead and call the police. See if I don't have proof."

"Just you wait, Caroline."

She hung up, seething.

That afternoon, I got news from the hospital that Karen had died.

I was stunned. Remembering Irene's call that morning, I was sure her sudden death had something to do with Irene. They must have caused a scene at the hospital.

I called Francis. "Do you have surveillance footage from the hospital? Any video of Karen's death?"

He quickly responded, "Yes, I'll get it for you."

Soon, Francis sent me a video from the dimly lit hospital room.

Savannah and I watched nervously from the couch.

The dark room, with a single person lying on a white bed, felt like the start of a ghost story.

After a while, someone entered the room. It was Irene. The timestamp showed it was before she called me that morning.

She sat next to Karen and asked, "Karen, didn't you save any money over the years?"

Karen, seemingly in a daze, replied, "Yes, I saved some."

Even through the screen, I could see Irene's eyes light up. She quickly asked, "Where's the money?"

"I gave it to Caroline."

"To help bury me and Jason together."

Irene pressed on. "You must have more money than that."

"The rest is for my three grandkids' education. I owe them, so I left some money for them."

I finally understood why Karen had left me such a large sum. It was for the kids. She did something good before she died, not completely favoring Jason.

She must have realized that Jason was gone, and my three kids were the true heirs of the Jordan family.

But her plan would fail. Once I divorced Brandon, I would change my kids' last names, severing any ties with the Jordan family.

"Why give it to them? Their mom is rich. They don't need your money. Give it to me, Karen."

Thankfully, Karen still had some clarity. "No, I can't."