As the Canary Contract Expired, I Left New York Carrying My Father’s Ashes Chapter 05
The airport announcement instructed passengers to proceed to their boarding gates.
I had already checked in my father’s ashes.
According to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, cremated remains could not be transported as regular luggage. After all required procedures were completed, the funeral home would arrange for them to be shipped to the destination through a designated channel.
I carried only the old coat and the cracked wooden carving.
As I sat down in the waiting area, David called.
He was the only person in the lounge last night who hadn’t laughed.
He was also Caleb’s cousin and the family’s Underboss.
The moment the call connected, he let out a heavy sigh.
“Nancy, enough is enough. Caleb is genuinely furious this time. He’s waiting for you at the Hampton house.”
“If you go back now, get soaked in the rain, kneel down, and apologize, this whole thing will be over. He’ll pay twice the amount for your father’s dialysis.”
I stared out the window at the planes taxiing across the runway.
“David, do all of you really think my father’s life was like some dog he owned?”
“Starve him today, give him medicine tomorrow. As long as there’s enough money, he’ll never die.”
David went silent for a moment.
“That’s not what I meant. I’m just afraid you’ll regret this.”
“Tell him something for me.”
My fingers brushed against the wooden carving in my pocket.
“He can keep that money and use it for his own medicine.”
I was about to hang up when Caleb’s voice came through the receiver.
“Put it on speaker.”
David did as he was told.
Caleb’s cold voice filled the phone.
“Nancy, I’m giving you one last chance. Come back before your plane takes off.”
“I’ll have someone repair the carving. As for everything you caused today, I won’t hold it against you.”
He probably thought this was the greatest concession he could make.
After all, he was the untouchable Godfather.
I asked quietly, “Caleb, do you still remember my father’s name?”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
“William Johnson.”
His answer came quickly.
My nose suddenly burned.
He remembered.
The kindness from three years ago had been real.
He had stayed with me at the hospital. He had found the best specialists for my father. He had even driven dozens of miles in the middle of the night just to bring me a change of clothes.
But the cruelty now was real too.
He remembered my father’s name, yet he still used the life of a dying man as a chain to force me into submission.
“Good. At least you remember.”
My voice was calm.
“Then don’t ever mention him again.”
“You don’t deserve to.”
The sound of a glass hitting the table came from Caleb’s side.
“Nancy, my patience is running out.”
David hurried to intervene.
“Okay, both of you, just calm down…”
Before he could finish, his phone rang.
It was the director of the intensive care unit at Crawford Family Hospital in New York.
The call remained connected.
A panicked, unfamiliar male voice came through the speaker.
“Mr. Brown, are you asking about William Johnson’s condition?”
David immediately answered.
“Yes. Don Crawford ordered the hospital to stop the medication, and Nancy she…”
“Don’t stop anything!”
The man cut him off anxiously.
“William Johnson was never in the ICU. He removed his own ventilator last Tuesday night and passed away. The family signed the Do Not Resuscitate consent form.”
The entire call fell silent.
David’s voice changed instantly.
“What did you say?”
The hospital representative continued.
“Miss Johnson paid the remaining storage fees this morning. The body has already been cremated. The ashes have also been processed for transportation.”
A heavy crash came from the other end of the call.
David cursed under his breath before asking, “Why wasn’t Don Crawford informed?”
The hospital representative hesitated.
“Don Crawford personally instructed us a week ago that regardless of whether the patient survived or passed away, we were not to report anything to him.”
“After that, Miss Foster’s assistant called and stopped payments from the medical account.”
“We contacted Miss Johnson. She arrived at the hospital that same night and stayed with the patient until the end.”
David’s breathing became heavier.
“So the night the payments stopped… he died?”
“Yes.”
There was silence for a long time.
I heard Caleb’s footsteps stumble.
Then everything went still.
When he spoke again, his voice was no longer controlled.
It was a furious, broken roar.
“What did you say?”
“Say that again… every word.”