Billionaire's Regret Finding Her (Caitlin and Sebastian) novel Chapter 26

26: Messing Things Up with Good Intentions

26: Messing Things Up with Good Intentions

“Mommy! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to…!”

Arthur lay on the ground, staring at the spilled ashes, his little face crumpled with regret. He had meant well but had messed up everything instead.

“Master Arthur!”

Quincy and the others were caught off guard. They froze for a moment before rushing forward, unsure how to respond. Bruce sighed, shaking his head at his younger brother’s clumsiness.

Caitlin frowned as she walked over, first checking Arthur for injuries. Once she was sure he was unharmed, her gaze shifted to the ashes scattered on the ground.

Tears streamed down her face.

Her heart ached deeply.

But how could she scold her own son? Arthur was already devastated.

“I’m sorry, Mommy…”

Caitlin knelt down and began to scoop the ashes back into the urn with her bare hands, her movements careful but heavy with grief.

Arthur, still trembling with guilt, cried out, “I’m so sorry, Grandma! I didn’t mean to spill you! I’m sorry…”

Quincy grabbed some tools and stepped forward, ready to help. “Mr. Lewis, let me-”

“Stop!”

Caitlin’s sharp cry startled Quincy. He froze mid–motion, unsure what she meant.

Thinking she might want to do it herself, Quincy hesitated. But Caitlin’s next action stunned everyone. She brought her hands to her nose and began sniffing the ashes.

Once.

Twice.

Then several more times, each with greater intensity.

Arthur, Bruce, and Quincy stared at her in disbelief.

Why would she sniff the ashes?

Caitlin’s expression suddenly changed, disbelief flashing in her eyes. “This… this isn’t right.”

Quincy furrowed his brow. “What’s wrong, Mr. Lewis? Did dirt get mixed in? Should I carefully sift through it?” “No!” Caitlin’s tone was grave as she gestured for him to stop. “This isn’t my mother’s ashes. Something’s wrong!”

Her sharp sense of smell had picked up something unusual.

“What do you mean? If it’s not Kelly’s ashes, then what is it?” Quincy asked, his face filled with shock. Arthur and Bruce stared at the ashes, their eyes wide.

Caitlin rubbed the powder between her fingers, then muttered in a low voice, “This is lime–quicklime, to be exact.”

“Quicklime?”

Quincy and the workers gasped, disbelief written across their faces.

Quincy bent down and sniffed the powder himself. Indeed, there was a distinct smell of lime.

“How could this happen?” Quincy was baffled.

Caitlin’s mind raced, her expression grim. “Get me some water, quickly!”

Quincy handed her a bottle of water. Caitlin scooped a small amount of powder into a container, then poured water over it.

The reaction was immediate.

The quicklime began to bubble and steam, releasing heat and white vapor as it reacted with the water.

“This is my mother’s urn, retrieved from your columbarium. But I’ve discovered that what’s inside isn’t ashes–it’s quicklime. Tell me, did anyone here tamper with it?”

“Y–yes, ma’am! I swear! We have strict rules here. No one would dare mess with the urns. There are even locks on the storage units!”

Caitlin’s voice dropped to a deadly calm. “So you’re telling me the urn hasn’t been moved since it was first placed here?”

“That’s correct! I swear!”

“How long have you been working here?”

“S–six years, ma’am.”

Caitlin signaled for Quincy to release the man. Then she ordered, “Find out who brought my mother’s urn here in the first place.”

The administrator scrambled to retrieve the records, flipping through a thick logbook. After a few tense minutes, he looked up. “It was… Mr. Jonathan Lewis. He delivered the urn himself. Here’s his signature–there’s no mistake.”

Caitlin inspected the logbook. The date matched her mother’s death anniversary five years ago.

“Pull up the security footage. I want to see who’s been visiting her niche recently.”

The administrator hesitated but complied, bringing up the footage. It showed a man dressed in a long black hooded coat and mask visiting Kelly’s niche just the day before. He placed the bouquet of jacarandas and left quickly.

The footage was inconclusive. The man’s identity was obscured, but his build suggested he was between 20 and 30 years old.

Who was this mysterious visitor?

Caitlin couldn’t yet say, but she wasn’t letting this go. As she left the office, she issued a chilling warning:

“I’m letting you off today. But if I find out that your negligence caused this, I’ll raze this place to the ground. And you’ll all pay with your lives for disrespecting my mother!”

Her voice was ice, her words a blade.

With Quincy in tow, she left the columbarium, her next target clear in her mind: Jonathan.

If he had dared to desecrate her mother’s remains, he wouldn’t live to regret it.