The Mysterious Billionaire and His Substitute Bride (Ethan and Janet)
Chapter 705 The Girl Who Came Back

The weather was unusually pleasant on the day of Charis's funeral. It was rare for the sun to come out in the middle of December, but today, it shone brightly.

Mr. and Mrs. Turner held a simple funeral for their deceased daughter. It was mostly because they knew that Charis was a quiet girl who kept to herself. However, it was also partially due to the fact that she didn't have many friends towards the end of her life. Most of the guests who came to her funeral were her relatives.

After the service, Catherine squatted in front of the tombstone and burst into sobs.

Ever since Charis was scarred from the fire, Catherine had worried about her daughter day and night. Now, her daughter was dead. Catherine was mentally and physically drained, and many grey hairs sprouted on her head overnight.

Luke also changed. Since he lost his daughter, he stopped going out to socialize but stayed at home all the time to comfort his wife. When Charis was still alive, he didn't take good care of her. Now he felt terrible for not being there for her.

Garrett attended the funeral with two bouquets of flowers with him. He only came out of respect for his old friendship with Charis.

The second bouquet was from Brandon. Although she had done countless bad things, Brandon still valued the friendship between them. In the past, Charis had gone out of her way to help Brandon build the Larson Group from the ground up, despite everyone's objections. This simple bouquet symbolized his deep gratitude towards her.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Turner." After saying that, Garrett turned to leave, but Catherine suddenly stopped him.

"What did Brandon say?" Catherine asked harshly, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

She still held a grudge against Brandon, thinking that he was the reason behind her daughter's miserable death. But the police had already closed the case. No matter how dissatisfied she was, she had nothing on him.

"In honor of their previous friendship, Brandon agreed to protect Charis' reputation. He'll release a statement saying that she fell off the building by accident, and that it had nothing to do with her illness." At first, even Garrett was surprised that Brandon would be so considerate. Later, upon thinking about it carefully, he realized that Brandon was being respectful to the Turner family for the sake of his friendship with Charis.

He had always been so kind to her.

Catherine nodded slightly to show her gratitude. Charis had always cared deeply about what others thought of her. She made it a point to look perfect in other people's eyes. If she could be remembered in a decent way, she could rest in peace.

After Garrett left, Catherine and Luke also gathered their things and were about to leave.

Just then, a girl in a black windbreaker and a black umbrella approached from a distance.

The black umbrella was raised slightly, exposing the girl's beautiful face. She looked young and had delicate features. Her almond-shaped eyes were sharp yet bright. Anyone who looked into her eyes would've been mesmerized.

The girl carefully laid the bouquet of pink tulips in front of the tombstone and stroked the photo of the smiling woman on it.

"Long time no see, Miss Turner," she whispered. Her voice was full of affection and pain, as though she was truly grieving the loss of a close friend.

Noticing that the girl had brought Charis's favorite flower, Catherine approached and asked curiously, "Miss, may I ask who you are?"

She knew all of Charis's friends, but she had never seen this girl before.

Moreover, this girl was very young. Charis didn't like befriending younger girls because she felt that they were too naive and immature.

The girl stood up straight and smiled politely at Catherine and Luke. "My name is Vivian Cooper. It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Turner. I'm one of the students the Larson Group had sponsored. I just came home from abroad last week."

After saying that, she turned to look at Charis's tombstone and her expression darkened. "I never would've expected such tragic news as soon as I came back. I'm so sorry for your loss,

Mr. and Mrs. Turner."

Vivian looked at the cold, alienating tombstone in front of her.

She was one of the fifty students that Brandon and Charis had sponsored five years ago. The Larson Group had an elite plan to fund the education of these students. That way, when they came back, they would work in the Larson Group with the most advanced skills in their fields.

Vivian in particular had grown close to Charis.

Charis had grown fond of the girl and even sent her gifts every year. The two stayed in touch over the years and kept each other updated.

Vivian had always regarded Charis as her elder sister and they always chatted with each other without reservations.

Charis often talked to Vivian about her unrequited love for Brandon.

In Vivian's mind, Charis and Brandon were a perfect match. So when Janet appeared out of nowhere and stole Brandon away from Charis, Vivian was put off as well.

Later, Charis ended up being disfigured in a fire, and Vivian had lost contact with her since then. Vivian was getting worried, and that was when she got the bad news that Charis fell from a building and died a gruesome death.