Chapter 2312

After she hung up, Cecilia finally let out a breath.

As long as Cassandra didn’t do anything reckless, that was enough.

Cecilia was getting older now. All she wanted was a quiet, peaceful life.

If Cassandra stepped out of line again, Cecilia wouldn’t hesitate to deal with her for good.

Spring faded into fall.

Time slipped by in a blur.

Before long, black hair turned white, and Cecilia was nearing seventy.

By then, all of her sons had married.

Jonathan’s and Elliot’s children—her grandsons—were already in elementary school.

That day, Cecilia held her phone as one of her people reported, “Boss… Stella has passed.”

The word passed had become all too familiar over the years.

Her father-in-law and Linda had gone one after another.

Among the women she once called sisters, Madeline had passed the year before.

Then, in the first half of this year, Darren followed.

Now, only Amelia and her husband remained to carry the Faust family forward.

At least the man Amelia married came from a good family, with ties to Elena, and he treated her well.

Cecilia had already instructed her sons to look after Amelia—and Dahlia too, now that she had married abroad.

Cecilia exhaled slowly, then asked, “What about Cassandra?”

“There’s no news,” the man replied. “She disappeared sometime last year. She hadn’t been doing well—mostly surviving by begging.”

“Understood.”

Cecilia ended the call.

She already knew what that likely meant.

Then she shared the news in her group chat with her old friends.

Vivian sighed. “Everyone’s leaving one by one… I really can’t take it.”

Chelsea, on the other hand, sounded calm. “Don’t be afraid. They just went ahead of us. It won’t be long before we follow, and when we do, we’ll be together again.”

The others immediately flooded the chat with eye-roll emojis.

Cecilia simply sent a smiling one.

To her, life and death had become ordinary.

After chatting for a while, Cecilia slipped under the covers.

Nathaniel had already fallen asleep. He pulled her into his arms and murmured, “Ceci…”

After all these years, he still treated her like she was someone to be protected.

Cecilia sighed softly.

For no particular reason, she suddenly said, “Nathaniel… I hope I go before you.”

He froze.

His hand tightened around hers. “What kind of thing is that to say?”

Cecilia shook her head. “It just slipped out. Don’t overthink it.”

“Don’t scare me like that. Don’t say things like that again.” His voice grew tense.

In recent years, too many people they knew had passed.

Adrian had gone a few years earlier.

Miranda, his ex-wife, had reportedly been driven to death by her current husband.

The man, already old, had taken up with a much younger woman.

They were together at home when Miranda discovered them—and collapsed on the spot.

She was rushed to the hospital, but they couldn’t save her.

Just like that, she was gone.

Life changed without warning.

Now Robert had died too, leaving everything to Felix.

But Felix lacked ability, much like his father.

Recently, there had been talk that he’d already been outperformed by Vivian’s nephew, Dante.

“Alright. I won’t say it again,” Cecilia said softly.

She nestled into Nathaniel’s arms, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

That night, she dreamed.

In the dream, she returned to her childhood.

Martha stood there, smiling at her.

It felt so real it barely seemed like a dream.

Martha was alive again, standing before her just as she had long ago.

“Mom…” Cecilia called out before she could stop herself. “Did you come to take me with you?”

Martha didn’t answer.

She only smiled.

The next morning, at dawn—

When Nathaniel woke up, he realized Cecilia beside him had already stopped breathing.

He didn’t cry.

He just held her tightly, saying nothing.

Cecilia’s funeral drew a large crowd.

It was unusually full—almost bustling.

A week later, Nathaniel passed away as well.

They were buried together.

He had remembered her words all along—

“I want to go before you…”