Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 285

Hannah Morse had just arrived at the train station. She was Oscar Morse's one and only sister. Their family were farmers, and they didn't come with her this time.

It took me a good half hour to get to the station from Barbara's place. When I saw Hannah, I was taken aback. She was the spitting image of Oscar, only softer and more feminine.

Hannah was a lot older than Oscar; she was even older than me. Her face was a portrait of sorrow, and her eyes seemed to be swollen from crying on the trip.

"Hi, I'm Irene Finch. I'm a friend of Oscar's." I had Barbara take Hannah's luggage and then I introduced myself to her.

"Ms. Finch, nice to meet you. This is my first time here. I don't know anything about this place, so I'm hoping you can help me out." Hannah said as she looked at me with sad eyes.

"No problem. If you're Oscar's sister, you're my sister too." I felt heavyhearted and a bit guilty because I felt that I was indirectly responsible for Oscar's death.

Hannah nodded. "Thank you. Oscar was lucky to have a friend like you."

Hearing that made me feel worse, and the guilt grew stronger. But I couldn't say anything. I just tried to put on a brave face. "Let's get going then. I'll take you to my place first. You can crash at my place for a few days. Once you're settled, we can go visit Oscar."

Hannah's eyes welled up again. She wiped at the corner of her eye, "Okay."

Barbara took me and Hannah back to Sterling Estates. I was originally thinking of having Hannah stay at my apartment, but I was worried that she might need me for something or might want to chat, so in the end, I decided to let her stay at Sterling Estates.

To my surprise, Neil was home. He was sitting by the window, sipping coffee, and flipping through a book. When he saw me come in with Hannah, he frowned, "Who's she?"

"Oscar's sister. She might be staying here for a few days." I gave Hannah a pair of slippers. She glanced at Neil, looking a bit uncomfortable.

I tried to reassure her, "Don't mind him. He's my ex-husband. Oscar knew him."

Hearing that, Hannah finally bent down to change her shoes.

I had the maid get the guest room ready, then asked Hannah, "Have you had lunch?"

"I've eaten." Hannah looked worried about being a bother, "I came here to take care of Oscar's affairs. My mom... my mom got sick from grief, so my dad had to take care of her. I was the only one who could come."

"My condolences," I said as my eyes stung, "Oscar was a good guy. No one saw this coming. If you or your family need anything, just say the word."

"Thank you, Ms. Finch. I heard from Oscar that you were good to him and treated him like a little brother. If he were still here, maybe we could have met under happier circumstances, but..." Hannah started crying again.

I patted her on the shoulder, trying to comfort her, but I didn't tell her about the suspicious circumstances of Oscar's death. I didn't want to add any more stress to the Morse family because they couldn't do anything about it.

I'd have to figure it out on my own and use Neil's influence to find out the truth.

Neil watched us coldly; there was not a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

He never showed any mercy to people or things that had nothing to do with him.

Hannah spoke softly to Neil, "Sorry to interrupt."

Hannah picked up on Neil's coldness, and her awkwardness became more apparent.

"Hmm." Neil responded simply, then continued drinking his coffee.

Seeing him like this, I regretted not having Hannah stay at my apartment.

It was already afternoon. I told Hannah to rest up first, and we could go to the funeral home tomorrow morning.

But she wouldn't have it. She wiped away her tears, "Ms. Finch, please take me there now. My dad told me not to let him lie alone in the funeral home."

I choked up, not knowing what to say. In the end, all I could do was nod, "Okay. Put your luggage away, and we'll head over."