I sat frozen for a beat, then scrambled to check myself out. The billing desk told me my account had insufficient funds.
I stared. I hadn't expected Hubert to go that far.
I twisted the diamond ring off my finger and slid it across the counter. "Put this toward the bill."
I was leaving soon anyway. None of these things mattered anymore.
By the time I reached the cemetery, it was nothing but level ground.
Clarissa was already there. Her eyes swept over me, dripping with contempt and spite. "Oh, silly me. I forgot to dig out your parents' ashes first."
"Then again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I'm sure they're rotting in the lowest circle of hell by now."
"So really, ashes or no ashes, what's the difference?"
I was shaking from head to toe.
A calculating gleam crossed Clarissa's eyes, and her lips curled into a cruel smile. "Tell you what. Get on your knees right now and knock your head on the ground a hundred times. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be generous enough to leave your parents' urn in one piece. If you refuse..."
I glared at her, cutting her off. "In your dreams."
Clarissa scoffed.