Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 179: Could It Be Her?

When she left, the security guard inside was slumped over, asleep again. The woman didn’t take the main path, instead entering the nearby woods.

Ethan Lancaster had a long dream that night. He dreamed that Raina Reddington had actually returned, but with a different face. She was standing right in front of him, yet he couldn’t recognize her.

He was startled awake. Ethan Lancaster sat up. He hadn’t dreamed of her in a long time. ’It seems she doesn’t want to see me even after death.’

He called Seth Sinclair, telling him to wait out front.

It was still early when Ethan Lancaster left the house. He got into the car, and Seth Sinclair gently closed the door behind him.

"To the cemetery."

Seth Sinclair exchanged a look with the driver, then glanced back worriedly. "Fourth Master, the fog is heavy today. Perhaps we should go later?"

"I just want to go have a look."

Seth Sinclair knew there was no talking him out of it, so he could only instruct the driver to be careful.

Upon arriving at The Serene Hill Cemetery, Seth Sinclair took out the joss paper and other offerings from the trunk and accompanied Ethan Lancaster inside.

It wasn’t until he got closer that Ethan Lancaster noticed something was wrong. A panicked look crossed his face as he quickened his pace.

Seth Sinclair was also stunned. ’This is bad,’ he thought. Just as he feared, he saw Ethan Lancaster squat down and pick up a Chinese rose that had been torn out by the roots. His face was etched with grief, and his voice dripped with menace. "Who did this? Who the hell did this?"

The ground was a mess. The hanging decorations were shattered and ruined. The sight was more than Ethan Lancaster could bear.

"Who did this!"

"Fourth Master, please try to calm down. I’ll look into it right away." Seth Sinclair set down the items in his hands and called the driver, telling him to bring over the on-duty security guard.

The security guard arrived within minutes. He cringed in fear at the sight. He had accepted a good deal of money from Ethan Lancaster, who had repeatedly instructed him to watch over this place carefully.

Ethan was now kneeling on one knee, clutching the Chinese rose. "What happened?" he asked, his voice tight with fury.

"F-Fourth Master, I don’t know either. Everything was fine last night."

"Did anyone come this morning?" Seth Sinclair surveyed the surroundings.

The guard shook his head profusely. "No, the visitor log is empty. No one could have possibly come by this early."

"Was it a ghost, then?" Ethan Lancaster shot to his feet, grabbing the guard’s collar and yanking him closer. "Are you trying to fob me off with that excuse?"

The outburst jogged the guard’s memory. The woman he’d seen this morning must not have been a dream after all; there was no other explanation.

"I remember now... Yes, a woman came by. It must have been her."

"A woman?" Ethan Lancaster pulled him even closer. "Be specific. What woman?"

"It was before dawn. A woman came and just stood outside without saying a word. But when I went out to check, she was gone. The fog is especially thick today, so the cameras didn’t pick up anything. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me..."

Hearing this, Ethan Lancaster’s heart clenched inexplicably. "What did she look like?"

"I couldn’t get a clear look. She was bundled up from head to toe. I only saw that she was wearing glasses."

Ethan Lancaster let go and frantically fumbled in his pocket for his phone. He found a photo of Raina Reddington and showed it to the guard. "Was it her?"

The guard stared at the photo, then glanced at the picture on the tombstone, his legs trembling in fear. "Fourth Master, I really didn’t see her face. She was just dressed in all black, and her face was completely covered."

Ethan Lancaster clenched his fist, completely forgetting he was still gripping the thorny Chinese rose in his other hand. The sharp pain of the thorns piercing his flesh brought him back to his senses.

Seth Sinclair felt a headache coming on. His brow furrowed as he said, "I’m afraid the surveillance footage won’t show us much."

"Check."

"Yes, sir."

Ethan Lancaster turned and stared at Raina Reddington’s tombstone. He squatted down again and carefully began to sort through the uprooted plants. Some were hardy; if he replanted them, they might still have a chance.

Seth Sinclair watched as Ethan Lancaster went into the small burial plot, planted the Chinese rose he was holding back in the ground, then filled in the hole and patted the soil firm.

His pant legs and knees were stained with dirt. The fog was so heavy that his hair was soaked through.

Ethan Lancaster was no longer acting like a man possessed, insisting that Raina Reddington had returned. He had faced disappointment time and again over the past three years. At first, he had refused to give up without seeing her body, even continuing the search for her. But after being beaten down by reality so many times, he had slowly come to accept it.

He squatted before the tombstone, gazing at the photo on it.

"Raina, it wasn’t you, was it?"

’Of course it wasn’t. She couldn’t possibly still be alive.’

Seth Sinclair found the cemetery management and pulled the surveillance footage. The cameras at the entrance and inside were the most basic models; after all, who would break into a place like this to steal anything?

As a result, the footage was blurry. A figure was vaguely visible, but even when magnified, their face was unclear. Besides, the person had left via a side path, leaving no trace.

Ethan Lancaster stared at the figure on the screen. The person was so bundled up, their head bowed, that even their hands were hidden, shoved deep inside their pockets.

"What kind of person comes to a cemetery at the crack of dawn to do something like this?" Ethan Lancaster didn’t dare voice the suspicion in his heart, but the act was just too strange. He glanced at Seth Sinclair, whose expression was also grave; he couldn’t make sense of it either.

"Could it be... the Young Madam’s friend?"

’Annabelle Spencer?’

Right after Raina Reddington’s death, she had come and caused a scene several times, but she’d backed off after Cameron Fairchild had his men throw her out a few times.

A flicker of disappointment showed in Ethan Lancaster’s dark eyes. "Would she?"

"It’s hard to say."

"She and Raina were so close. Would she really be willing to disturb her eternal rest?"

"But ultimately... the Young Madam isn’t in that grave."

A dull ache returned to Ethan Lancaster’s chest, as if he were being pricked by countless needles. His eyes remained fixed on the figure in the surveillance footage.

「In a residential complex in Stoneworth.」

The woman opened the door and went inside, changing her shoes in the foyer before hanging her coat and hat on the rack.

A noise came from inside, and a moment later, a door was pulled open.

Miles Hawthorne emerged, phone in hand. He walked right up to the woman and touched her face. "Your poor cheeks are frozen solid."

"I’m fine."

He gently stroked her brow. "Raina, your health isn’t good. You shouldn’t be running around."

"I’ve been fine for a long time. You don’t need to worry about me," Raina Reddington said, taking Miles Hawthorne’s wrist. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Not yet. I was waiting for you."

Raina Reddington turned toward the kitchen. "I’ll make it."

"Save your energy." Miles Hawthorne pulled her back. "There’s no need for you to lift a finger. I’ve already made everything; the wontons just need to be cooked now. I’ll go boil some water."

"Okay."

Miles Hawthorne pulled her into his arms. "Why didn’t you tell me you were going out? I was worried something might have happened to you."

"Nothing will," Raina Reddington said, patting his back gently. "I won’t wander off."

"Where did you go?"

Raina Reddington couldn’t go back now. There was no going back for her anymore.

"I went to see myself."

"What do you mean?"

Raina Reddington buried her face in his chest. "It’s nothing. I was just reminding myself that I’m already dead."