At the same time,
Evan Stone slowly walked up behind him, his gaze passing through the group of law enforcement officers and meeting Grace Stone's eyes.
The moment she saw him, Grace Stone's pupils contracted once again!
"You... it's you!!"
Grace Stone, now completely frantic, struggled violently against the ropes, but the other officers held her firmly in place.
"You should be dead!! You should have died long ago!! Disaster!! You are the disaster!!!"
Grace Stone's scream echoed in the night. Evan Stone stood quietly in place, looking at her with a complex expression.
"Maxe... Maxe." He softly called to the boy beside him. "You go wait over there... I'll handle this."
Maxe Stone stared at the frenzied Grace Stone, shaken by Evan Stone's voice. After a long pause, he nodded silently...
He walked over to the corner, away from the chaos, curling up with his arms around his knees, trembling uncontrollably.
"How come you can't even keep your mouth shut?"
One officer glared at his colleague, immediately bending down to pick up the white cloth and shove it back into Grace Stone's mouth.
With a heavy sigh, the officer added, "Child, don't take it too personally... Your mother's gone mad, she doesn't even know what she's saying."
"For public safety, we'll send them to a psychiatric hospital for stabilization treatment. They still have a chance to regain their sanity."
"Of course, you can visit them anytime."
He gave the other officers a look, and they immediately understood, speeding up to take the couple toward the headquarters.
Evan Stone watched the scene in silence, his feelings difficult to describe. These two had raised the original owner and then taken his life. From the original owner's perspective, their grudge had long been settled.
Evan Stone inherited not just the memories of the original owner, but also his emotions. He could sense that, deep down, the original owner didn't harbor much hatred toward them. The truth was, he really cared for Maxe Stone, his younger brother.
Had Grace Stone and Richard Stone explained everything to the original owner, he would have gladly traded his life to save his brother.
Unfortunately, the original owner trusted them, but they didn't trust him... simply because he was the adopted child.
"You're Evan Stone, right?" A figure approached Evan Stone. "Where did you go just now?"
Evan Stone turned around, his expression blank for a moment before he rasped, "Sir... What happened here?"
"Right now, I'm the one asking you," the officer frowned, but after thinking about the situation the young man was facing, he hesitated for a moment before adding, "A disaster broke into your house and scared your parents... Fortunately, they didn't resist, so don't worry, they're not in immediate danger."
"Oh, okay."
Evan Stone snapped back to his senses. "I took my brother to practice today."
"Practice what?"
"Traditional theater."
Evan Stone raised his hand, holding the neatly folded stage costume close to his chest.
Seeing this, the officer's vigilance eased slightly. After all, most people wouldn't carry around a stage costume when going out. So when Evan Stone said he had been practicing, the officer believed it for the most part, though he still asked as per procedure:
"Where did you practice? Was anyone else around?"
"Just at the end of the east side of Frost Street... There was no one, really. My brother is shy and doesn't want to sing in front of many people, so we just practiced in front of our house."
The officer nodded, "It's not safe outside these days. Don't wander around. If you notice anything suspicious, let me know... I'm Elliot Kane, and I patrol this neighborhood every day."
"Alright."
"By the way, where's your brother?"
"He... He got scared by mom and is hiding over there." Evan Stone gestured to the dark corner, where a small figure was curled up, seemingly crying.
Elliot Kane looked over briefly, then nodded slightly.
Just then, it seemed like something clicked in his mind:
"By the way, how many children do you have in your family?"
"Two."
Elliot Kane narrowed his eyes. "Two?"
Hearing the subtle change in Elliot Kane's tone, Evan Stone's heart sank. As someone with years of acting experience, he was highly sensitive to small shifts in dialogue. He quickly steadied himself and innocently asked, "What's wrong?"
"The records say you have two children, and you just confirmed it," Elliot Kane said slowly. "But last night, we ran into your parents at the mass grave. They said they were there to pay respects to their son...
If both of your sons are alive, then who are they paying respects to?"
The atmosphere suddenly froze.
"I see what you mean now," Evan Stone said, his thoughts racing, and a look of realization appeared on his face. "Many years ago, after my parents had Maxe, they were expecting another child... But my mom's health wasn't good, and the baby died shortly after birth. My parents buried him in the back mountain, and every year on his birthday, they would go to pay their respects.
When this happened, Maxe was only two years old, so he didn't understand. I only remember a vague outline of it."
The last sentence was Evan Stone's backup plan to avoid further questioning from Elliot Kane. If he became suspicious and tried to interrogate Maxe Stone, this story would provide a reasonable explanation. Of course, Evan Stone could also claim "I was too young at the time" to avoid further investigation.
"A stillborn child... No wonder there's no record in the files."
It turned out Evan Stone had worried too much. The officer, Elliot Kane, didn't have that strong of a suspicion. He nodded, made a quick note, and then turned to leave.
Evan Stone sighed in relief.
He hadn't expected that on the night he returned, Grace Stone and Richard Stone had also gone to the mass grave, and they had run into the authorities... He had almost blown his cover.
"Oh, by the way!" Elliot Kane turned back once more.
Evan Stone: ...
What now?
Just as Evan Stone's heart leaped into his throat, Elliot Kane pulled out an envelope from his coat and handed it to him.
"We found this on Richard Stone. It's a summons for you from the authorities. Report to the headquarters tomorrow morning."
After handing him the envelope, Elliot Kane left. This time, he really left.
As the law enforcement officers departed, Frost Street fell into silence once again. Evan Stone walked to the dark corner of the street, his emotions complicated.
"Maxe..."
Evan Stone looked at the small, drooping figure of Maxe Stone, unsure of what to say.
At this point, even Maxe Stone, no matter how naive, would know that the disaster that attacked their house was himself... Although Evan Stone had been "possessed" by the "audience," he didn't know how to explain this to Maxe Stone.
The master of "lines," Evan Stone, found himself at a loss for words.
"Brother," Maxe Stone spoke softly, "I'm tired..."
Evan Stone froze. He hadn't expected that Maxe Stone's only words would be these three.
No anger, no questioning, no confusion... Maxe Stone's chestnut-colored eyes looked at Evan Stone, as clear as ever, calm.
Evan Stone stared at him for a long time, realizing he couldn't read what the boy was thinking. He gently bent down and stroked Maxe's hair.
"If you're tired, sleep... I'll stay here with you."
The once warm home now had two large holes, and the living room was shattered. If thieves and robbers passed by, it would almost be a shame not to take anything.
Maxe Stone returned to the familiar bed, silently curling up in the blanket. Evan Stone sat beside him, his back against the broken wall, slowly sinking down.
Through the shattered roof, he saw the endless blue aurora dancing in the night sky, like soft ribbons covering the heavens. It was the first time Evan Stone quietly observed the aurora of this world, and as he watched it, all his chaotic thoughts seemed to disappear, leaving only eternal peace.
"Brother, are you cold?" Maxe Stone's voice came from under the blankets.
"I'm not cold."
"Oh..."
Maxe Stone didn't speak again. After a long while, only the sound of even breathing filled Evan Stone's ears.
He didn't know how long had passed before Evan Stone's eyes slowly closed...
He fell asleep.