Every step Elena took closer to the two graves bore a deep longing and sense of loss. Elena was left by her mother when she was ten years old. And one year later, her father followed, as if unable to bear to lose the woman he loved. Every day Elena wished she could go with them.
Elena placed a bouquet of white lilies on the gravestone, and then briefly closed her eyes. Faintly she heard the sound of footsteps and a wheel against the road.
Elena opened her eyes and turned to the side. She found Elleard in a wheelchair. Behind him were five people in all-black uniforms.
Because of their unique appearances, Elena could immediately tell that it was the man from yesterday who bought all of her flowers. Elena still watched the man slightly bowed in front of a gravestone.
She could only guess that the gravestone was the person the man loved the most. One could see from how sad he was. Elena hastily looked away when Elleard caught her just like she caught him. Elena's gaze returned to her parent's two gravestones.
"Mom, Dad. I'll take care of the flower shop now, I'll be back later." Elena waved as if the gravestones were her parents who also waved back.
Elena was about to pass the line of people all in black.
"Hey! Flowershop Lady."
Elena turned her head and flashed her usual friendly smile.
"I didn't bring flowers, can I buy flowers from you?" asked Elleard.
Elena's flower shop was still closed because she wanted to visit her parents' grave and her aunt couldn't come today.
"All right, sir. I'll get them for you." Elena immediately went to her flower shop and briefly arranged the white lilies.
People said that almost everyone loved white lilies. After finishing with the beautiful little bouquet of flowers, Elena returned to the cemetery. She then handed the flowers to Elleard.
Elena was still waiting for Elleard to finish praying. After that, the two of them together went to Elena's flower shop.
"I remember that this flower shop has been around since my grandfather's funeral," said Elleard, with his wheelchair moving on as Elena walked beside him.
"That's right, this shop belonged to my parents," the girl replied. "They have founded this decades ago, even before I was born."
"No wonder, I felt familiar the first time I came."
Elleard remembered briefly the memory when his mother was holding a little baby who was crying in this shop, while the baby's mother was arranging flowers. He was seven back then.
So... was the baby Elena?
Elleard once said he wanted to have a little sister to his mother after seeing the baby girl with a pink bandana on her head that looked very cute. His mother only laughed and said she would try her best. The memory put a smile on his handsome face.
The two of them had now arrived in front of the shop. Elleard turned to Elena and said, "Make me a big and expensive bouquet of flowers."
Elena smiled widely until her round eyes shone with joy. "Of course, sir."
She quickly opened her shop and immediately took out her flower arrangement tools and got to work. Elleard kept watching how the girl arranged each flower one by one to make it beautiful.
***
From the cemetery, Xavier took Elleard to their company that engaged in the automotive industry. The company's luxury cars were selling well in the global market. Now all assets and power would go to Elleard, which Xavier previously handled with his uncle who helped.
From the outside, there was nothing unusual about the high-rise building, but when one boarded the elevator, if they were Xavier's confidants or his parents in the past, the elevator would descend to the underground.
The existence of the underground space was the brain of the company, as well as the illicit trade inherited from their parents. Their businesses included weapons manufacture, casinos, as well as key information and security company that officials often use to outwit their opponents.
There were only two things the Osbarts didn't sell. Illegal drugs and human organs.
Elleard was already in an all-white room with glass walls, equipped with the most advanced AI technologies.
"You want to see mom and dad?" Xavier asked. Elleard nodded.
This room could only be controlled by the voices of the members of the Osbart family, including Xavier and Elleard. Back then, this room wasn't as sophisticated as it was today, but for a long time, this building had been the target of people who wanted the Osbart family's power.
The Osbarts were geniuses. They built this room and an extraordinarily sophisticated security system. With just their voice commands, their AI technology could search for even the smallest information.
Were there any limitations? Of course, there were, but only a few. Several systems could not be breached, one of which was the security of some superpower countries that used the same or more sophisticated security system than them.
Meanwhile, small countries could easily be infiltrated by the Osbart family, if they wanted to. Of course, they didn't do this often to avoid attracting the attention of others.
"Show mom and dad!" Xavier's voice was low.
It wasn't long before the glass wall in front of them lit up and turned into a sophisticated video screen showing some old footage.
Elleard clenched his jaws tightly as his eyes gleamed at the screen. There, he saw a video of his parents being together when they were young. Both of their parents were born in an underground world.
Marco and Gabriella's relationship was initially disapproved of by their respective families, but in the end, they managed to convince both sides to make peace and bless their marriage.
Elleard and Xavier used to always laughed it off when they heard their mother tell them that they used to threaten their grandparents that if they didn't approve of their relationship, Marco and Gabriella would commit suicide together. Like Romeo and Juliet.
In the end, the loving couple did die together… on their 25th wedding anniversary. Now, thinking about it made Elleard's chest tighten. He really missed his parents.