The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 23

"The first time Elias brought her home, he was holding a massive bouquet of daisies. He said he was absolutely certain about this girl who loved daisies, for the rest of his life."

It felt as if something had just viciously stung Annelise's heart.

She thought of Clarissa.

She thought of that inescapable gardenia perfume that clung to her all year round.

Why would a woman obsessed with gardenias claim to love daisies?

Lies.

Even these tiny, insignificant details were woven with lies.

Annelise lowered her eyelashes, hiding the cold flash in her eyes.

She had to test the waters.

"Lizzie," she began carefully, keeping her voice light, laced with the perfect amount of innocent curiosity expected of a daughter-in-law. "What kind of man... was Elias?"

"By the time I married into the family, he was already..."

She didn't finish the sentence, but Lizzie understood.

"He was a good boy." Lizzie's eyes instantly reddened. "He was the finest son the Lehman family had. If he were still alive, everything in the Lehman empire would be his."

The words slammed into Annelise's chest like a boulder.

If Elias were still alive, everything would be his.

Then what about Hackett?

What about Clarissa?

And what about that little boy, Manuel?

"Then... what exactly happened to Elias back then?" Annelise finally asked the most crucial question.

The second the words left her mouth, the temperature in the chapel seemingly plummeted to freezing.

The tenderness and sorrow on Lizzie's face vanished without a trace, instantly replaced by an offended, hyper-vigilant frostiness.

"Do not ask about things that don't concern you."

She ground the words out through her teeth, syllable by syllable.

Annelise's heart sank.

She knew she had stepped into a minefield.

Just as she braced herself for her mother-in-law's wrath, Lizzie suddenly let out a long, heavy sigh.

It was a sigh steeped in endless exhaustion and despair.

"Your brother... had an accident during an overseas deployment."

She turned her head, avoiding Annelise's gaze, and dabbed the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

"They couldn't find him."

Her voice was low, trembling with suppressed sobs.

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