Chapter 13 - Shadows of the Estate
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Four weeks passed. The mansion was quiet, filled with the soft ticking of grandfather clocks and the scent of fresh flowers.
Edward spent every single day at his mother’s bedside in the master suite. He had hired round-the-clock private nurses, ensuring Florence’s final days were comfortable and filled with dignity.
"You should get some sleep, Edward," Florence whispered one evening, looking up from her pillows. Her voice was barely stronger than a breeze.
"I’m not going anywhere, Mother," Edward replied, sitting in the armchair beside her, holding her frail hand.
He had spent the past month battling Victoria’s aggressive legal team in the press. Tabloids ran sensationalized headlines about the Vance Mansion Tragedy, painting Victoria as a victim of a wealthy family's cruelty. But Edward refused to engage in the public spectacle. His focus was entirely on his mother.
"Look at the ring, Edward," Florence murmured softly, gesturing toward his thumb, where he now wore his father’s simple gold band.
Edward turned the smooth metal around his finger. "It’s beautiful, Mother. Simple."
"Your father gave me that ring when we had nothing," Florence said, a faint, radiant smile illuminating her weary face. "We lived in a tiny two-room apartment. No marble floors. No crystal chandeliers. Just love. That ring was forged from his mother’s old thimble."
She squeezed his hand with what little strength she had left.
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"Don't let Victoria’s darkness make you bitter, my son," Florence whispered. "True wealth is never found in marble floors or grand mansions, but in the quiet, unbreakable bond of love."
That night, as the rain tapped gently against the glass, Florence closed her eyes and peacefully passed away, her heart finally at rest.
