Third person's POV
Inside the Hartley family's villa.
Klein finally escaped danger, and Dwayne breathed a sigh of relief.
"Klein, you're finally awake. You have no idea how worried I've been," Dwayne said.
Klein, having just regained consciousness, was still pale, his body weak from the ordeal. Yet, he managed a comforting smile for his brother, a feeble attempt to ease the tension in the room. "How could I bear to leave you? Look at your hair, it's almost as wild as a lion king's."
Dwayne, a designer by profession and usually the epitome of fashion and grooming, had let his appearance go in the wake of Klein's crisis. His golden hair, once meticulously styled, was now unkempt and messy, a stark contrast to his usual fastidiousness.
"Klein, you shouldn't be in the mood to joke with me. You've had such bad luck," Dwayne remarked, a hint of a smile playing on his lips despite the gravity of the situation.
"Bad luck? I'm alive. To me, that's already very lucky," Klein replied.
Dwayne huffed, "We finally found someone with a matching kidney who agreed to donate. And then this accident happened."
"It wasn't their fault. Accidents like car crashes are beyond anyone's control," Klein said.
"You're just too kind-hearted. I had it all arranged for you earlier this year. Who cares how it was obtained? As long as you can live, that's all that matters. Even if they didn't sell it to you, do you think those people would have survived? They would just keep matching the next one," Dwayne said, a bit exasperated.
Dwayne felt speechless about it, "Klein, speaking of which, our Hartley family has been a bit too unfortunate these past few years. Hanley, our third brother, had a car accident and, although he survived, his legs were crippled."
Klein shrugged helplessly, "It's okay, we'll wait for someone willing. By the way, has anything significant happened lately?"
"Nothing big."
Dwayne suddenly remembered one thing, "Oh, right. That lady with the same surname as us contacted you."
"Ms. Hartley? You mean Tabitha?" Klein's voice was suddenly more alert, his interest piqued.
"Yes."
"There must be something important. Don't forget, we owe her a big favor," Klein said.
"Klein, I know. I asked, but she didn't say anything because you had this incident. I didn't ask much more."
"She must be in trouble."
Klein called his secretary, James, and asked him to check if Tabitha needed any help.
James came back with information that shocked him.
Klein was drinking water, "How is it? Is she in trouble?"
James looked very uneasy, and Dwayne urged, "What's wrong? Speak up."
"Ms. Hartley..." James couldn't bring himself to say it. The words seemed to stick in his throat, a testament to the gravity of the news he bore.
Seeing James's expression, Klein felt a sense of urgency, "What's going on? Has something bad happened to Ms. Hartley?"
"Ms. Hartley passed away a few days ago," James finally said.
The cup in Klein's hand fell to the floor, his face showing disbelief.
"What are you saying? How could she just pass away?"
James had to tell Klein the truth he had found out. "Ms. Hartley died of wolfsbane. She was looking for you before her death, probably wanting to ask if you had any better solutions. In the end, she couldn't bear the pain and chose to end her life by jumping into the sea."
Klein's mind conjured up Tabitha's face. He never expected their last hurried farewell to be their eternal one without even having the chance to say goodbye.
"Has she been buried?" Klein asked solemnly, "I will go and see her off."
"She has already been buried."
Klein sighed deeply, his face full of regret, "I'm sorry."