When he left the hotel, Stefan and Chris went to get some food from a restaurant with a drive thru. He ate while Chris was driving and when he was done, he drove the car to let Chris it his food. They only stopped to refill their fuel before driving off again.
Her mother was buried in City D's Sudlon Public Cemetery. It was quite far from City A. 'That father really know where to get a mistress.' Stefan thought to himself. 'I bet Clara didn't know about it until I came to this world. If I didn't come, Magnus would have kept it to her until the very end.'
After almost three hours of driving, they finally arrived at the cemetery where his mother's remains were buried.
"Sir, would you like me to come and help you look for the tomb?"
"No, it's fine. Just stay inside the car and wait for me."
"Okay, sir. I understand."
Stefan didn't wait for Chris to open the door for him. It's not like he's handicapped and couldn't do it himself. He stepped out of the car and left to get inside the place.
"Good afternoon, sir. Can we help you in exchange for some breads?" one of the homeless children approached Stefan. Seeing that he was dressed like some prominent figure in the society, they didn't hesitate to approach him but they weren't planning to ambush him either. They knew that people like him must have some scary body guard around him.
Stefan looked at them and then looked around the place where hundreds of people were buried. "Can you help me look for her name?" Stefan gave them the small paper with her mother's name written on it.
"Latticia Sugo? Is she from a rich household or not?" a little girl asked.
"I am not sure either."
"Who are you to her? Why didn't you know?" a little boy asked him as well.
"She's my mother but when I was young, I was taken away. I just found out the truth today. Can you help me find her?"
"Sure." the children echoed.
"Mr. Handsome, just wait over there." the little girl pointed the largest tree in the area. "You can take a rest there while we look for your pretty mother."
"Thank you." Stefan walked away and the children ran to different directions to look for his mother. He leaned on the tree trunk and rested for a while. He couldn't pinpoint the reason but there's something within him that tells him Clara was acting strange when he asked about his mother.
While he rested, he sent a message to Chris to buy some knickknacks, breads and drinks for the children.
Around ten minutes later, a young boy came running towards him. "Handsome brother! Handsome brother! Come quick. I found a tomb with that name you have written on a piece of paper."
The other children heard him, too and they all flocked to see the place that he was talking about and that includes Stefan. One big man with several messy children walked towards a small house with lots of flowers planted around it.
There was one tomb inside it and the name written on the memorial plaque was the same as his mother's. 'Is this really it?' He couldn't help but question himself. It was really beyond his expectation for someone who was a kept woman. With a heart full of doubt, he took a picture and sent it to his father asking if he was in the right place.
After getting a positive response, he was even more suspicious. Why would a mistress gets buried in a good place? And why was it well-maintained? A rich woman wouldn't allow herself to become a mistress. Therefore, he concluded that his mother must be poor. And if she's poor, her family wouldn't be able to afford to bury her in such beautiful and extravagant manner.
"I need to get to the bottom of this." Stefan murmured to himself while watching the place.
"Do you have a key to this place?" a little boy asked him since the small place was guarded with a floor to ceiling metal fence.
"Would you like me to get the caretaker and asked him for the key?"
"Oh? Is that fine?" Stefan questioned. He didn't expect that there will be caretaker who was entrusted of the place.
The little guy smiled at him. "For people who came from rich family and when their family don't have time for them, they will entrust them to a caretaker. They will have a key to the place as well."
"Can I trouble you to look for him?"
"Got it. Just wait for a while." Stefan stood outside the place where his mother was buried to wait for the caretaker.
"Mr. Handsome, your mother is very pretty." The little girl who called him Mr. Handsome earlier told Stefan.
"Really? he asked with a smile on his face. "I haven't seen her since I was born. In fact, this will be my last time to see her and she's even dead already."
"I am sure she's been looking after you ever since you were taken away. That is why you grew up to be strong and healthy."
"I agree with you on that. She must be guiding me all the time." Stefan talked to the children while waiting for the caretaker. If he was some other people, he might become disgusted with them and would probably shoo them away. However, Stefan wasn't that kind of person. Alexander didn't teach him to become prejudice and to discriminate other people; unless it crosses his bottom line.
As they continued to talk, the caretaker arrived with the little boy who went to fetch him. "Hello. Good afternoon." Stefan greeted the elderly with polite and gentle manner. "Can I ask you to open the gate? I want to take a look on my mother's tomb."
"I haven't seen you here before." The man commented while looking for the key to the gate among all the keys he was holding.
Stefan didn't comment on it. He just watched the man look for the key and open the gate for him. When it was finally opened, he stepped inside and found a small frame at the small altar. It was a picture of his mother.
"She's pretty." Stefan commented while caressing the frame. When he was standing outside, he couldn't see it clearly because of the photo was a bit old and he was far from it. Now that he was seeing it closely, he can tell that he got his looks after his mother. 'You look beautiful and bubbly, why did you become a mistress?' Stefan questioned mentally.
In his opinion, she could have found a better job with that pretty face but she chose to be hidden and kept by a man who never really loved her. "Loved her?" Stefan muttered.
He suddenly turned around and looked at the caretaker. "Excuse me, sir…" He called to get the man's opinion. "Who built this place for my mother?"
"Ah? You're her son?" the man questioned. "No wonder you look very much alike." He looked towards the picture on Stefan's hand before shifting his gaze back to Stefan. "It must be your father."
"Hn." The man responded resolutely. "She died when she gave birth to her son, who must be you. And your father buried her here and entrusted this place under my care. Once a month, he'd come here to check the condition of the place and to clean this place as well."
Stefan searched for his father's picture and showed it to the man. "Is he the one who kept coming here?"
"Yes. That's him." The man answered. "Your father must have loved your mother so much. There were times that I'd find him crying on the floor. Losing her broke his heart so much, I should say."
The more the man spoke, the more Stefan found it weird. Why would his father do this much for a mistress? He looked at his mother's picture once again before placing it back on the altar. "Do you know if my mother got other close relatives?"
"I don't know her personally but aside from your father, you're the only one who came to visit her."
"I see. Thank you so much for your help." Stefan smiled and turned around. "Please continue to take care of this place. I'll be leaving now." As soon as he got outside, he looked towards the children. "Come with me. I have something to give you."
Just like what most people say, you must share your blessing. Stefan was very generous with the snacks that he gave and he even asked the caretaker to buy groceries for those homeless children with the money he gave for them. That's the least that he can do for them.
When they're back on the road, he opened his social media account to try looking for his mother, hoping to see any information related to her.
"Chris, please investigate the matter of my mother's death. I don't think she died from giving birth."
"You mean someone killed her?"
"That's what I thought and once I find out the truth, I'll never forgive them for what they did."