Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 94

She needed to go back to the Imperial Gardens to get the ashes tested and see what exactly was inside that urn.

"Alright, I'll head back right now. If you get there first, please wait for me at home."

"Suit yourself," Stella said, and hung up.

She didn't see why Julius needed to make a special trip home, but he was a grown man; he could do what he wanted.

Julius, however, thought she was furious. He didn't even return to the boardroom. He called Sean, told him something urgent had come up and to take over the meeting, and immediately left the Blackwood Group headquarters.

The headquarters wasn't far from the Imperial Gardens, so he arrived quickly.

Coincidentally, Stella's car pulled into the driveway right behind his.

They walked into the house together.

"Stella, why do you say what I brought back aren't your mother's ashes?"

Stella opened the urn still sitting on the table, pinched a bit of the powder between her fingers, grabbed his hand, and dusted the powder onto his palm. "Look."

Julius inspected the substance. It was stark white and incredibly fine. It definitely didn't look like human ashes.

"How did this happen?" He pulled a wet wipe, cleaned his hand, and naturally wiped Stella's fingers clean as well.

"I don't know. This morning, when I was trying to put the urn in a bag, I accidentally knocked it over. The lid popped off, some spilled out, and that's when I noticed."

Looking back on it now, maybe her mother's spirit had knocked it over to give her a sign.

"So that's why you went to the Hawthorne house?"

Julius gently tapped her nose. "Since you know this isn't your mother's ashes, what's your next move?"

"I want to test this powder first and see what it actually is. Then, I'll go confront Frederick. Could you call your Uncle Abel and ask him to arrange a lab test for me?"

This was her plan, and the entire reason she had called him after leaving the Hawthorne house.

"No problem. I'll take you to Uncle Abel."

His Uncle Abel was the director of Brighton Hospital. Getting a small sample of powder tested would be incredibly easy.

Once the results were out, he would go with her to confront Frederick and help her find the real ashes.

If Frederick refused to speak, or tried to use the ashes as leverage against Stella again, Julius wouldn't show him any mercy.