Chapter 1763
Relocating a grave was a massive undertaking, and since the plot was located inside the Gould Family Cemetery, it wasn’t Caroline’s place to step forward.
Mr. Gould refused to get involved, leaving the responsibility squarely on Shane’s shoulders.
As Jade Gresham’s biological son, Shane had every right to move her grave, and no one else had any grounds to object.
But knowing the utter lack of morals among the Gould family relatives, this was never going to be easy.
The next day, the sun was already high in the sky by the time they reached their destination.
Shane’s hometown was a rural farming community just outside Haverbrook City. It was entirely flat plains, dominated by endless stretches of vibrant green wheat fields.
The wheat was still short this time of year, leaving the scattered headstones across the fields clearly visible.
There were no large-scale municipal cemeteries out here; people were simply laid to rest on their own agricultural land.
Even with the recent shifts toward cremation, the urns were still placed inside caskets and buried traditionally beneath the soil.
The Gould Family Cemetery sat at the far edge of a field, meaning anyone trying to reach it had to cross straight through the crops.
Unfortunately, that specific wheat field belonged to Shane’s paternal cousin.
Pulling their cars over on the shoulder of the dirt road, they could immediately see several figures in the distance, violently digging into the cemetery dirt with shovels. Caroline’s heart leaped into her throat. “Are those animals already digging her up?!” They had received word late last night that the Gould relatives planned to excavate Jade’s grave today, even threatening to throw her remains to the feral dogs.
That was exactly why they had driven through the night to get here!
Frowning deeply, the group piled out of their vehicles and marched toward the cemetery.
The moment they reached the edge of the field, a middle-aged woman in drab clothes stomped over with a shovel, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“What do you think you’re doing? I’m warning you, don’t step foot on my property p>
The woman screaming at them was Penny Gould, the wife of Shane’s cousin.
She might have looked like a simple, hardworking farmer on the outside, but she was rotten to the core.
Threatening to dig up the grave had been entirely her idea. The holidays were approaching, and she wanted to extort a valuable city property from them so she could use it to find a wife for her son.
Caroline had dealt with this woman before. She glared at her.
“Have you lost your minds? Desecrating a grave is a felony p>
Penny scoffed, her face twisting with contempt.
“We aren’t touching a stranger’s grave! This is our family cemetery, and we can do whatever the hell we want with it. What business is it of yours? Your last name isn’t Gould!
Shane stepped forward.
“My last name is Gould! If you touch my mother’s grave, I’ll see every single one of you in prison p>
Penny furrowed her brow and looked him up and down. “Who the hell are you p>
“Shane Gould. Jade Gresham’s son p>
Penny froze. Her face darkened, and she turned around, screaming toward the cemetery.
“Get over here p>
A mob of men holding shovels
stopped their digging and marched
over. Two of them were older,
around their fifties, while the other to
three were in their thirties.
Penny pointed a dirty finger at the group.
“They brought Jade’s kid back p>
One of the older men-Shane’s paternal cousin-eyed him with clear distaste.
“I’m your older cousin. You’re a
grown man, don’t you know how to greet your family? I guess spending all that time overseas made you forget where you came from
Another man chimed in.
“He doesn’t just eat Western food, he sleeps with foreign women too. He’s a traitor,
a complete sellout! Pathetic p>
Winona’s temper flared instantly.
“Are any of you Goulds actually capable of acting like civilized human beings? Send someone who can speak like a normal person, or we’re done talking p>
The man who had just spoken turned purple with rage.
“You little bitch! Did you just insult us? I’ll cave your skull in with this shovel p>
Shane immediately stepped in front of Winona, his expression turning cold.
“I didn’t come back to argue with you people. I came to relocate my mother’s grave!
I’ll be the one moving her, so you can drop the shovels p>
The mob of relatives froze, caught completely off guard.
They hadn’t expected this play at all. If he moved the grave, what leverage would they have left to extort the city property from him p>