Page 136 of Sixty Meters Under

Epilogue

Lennart stopped in front of the crowd with Isamu and Gunnar behind him. He looked at the resident’s faces; some of them left the canteen when they saw him, others stayed, scowling. Lennart knew it would be hard to get back their trust, and he knew he had to approach the matter with small steps. This was the reason he stood there.

“Good morning everyone,” Lennart said, but he knew very well how they felt about seeing him. Even so, he was determined to be the one to share this particular information with them. On top of all, it was his duty. “We have called this meeting for one particular reason–to inform you about the Scarlett Dover case.”

Murmurs resonated through the room and Lennart decided to wait until it quieted down.

“The case is solved,” Lennart added and looked around the room one more time. His eyes spotted Scarlett’s husband. The man was freed from the confinement as soon as Lennart found out the truth, but he didn’t get more information.

“Scarlett’s Dover death was an accident. She was poisoned.”

This time the murmurs were even louder. Most residents shook their heads in disbelief.

“This can’t be true!” someone shouted from the crowd.

“Who did it? How’s it an accident?”

“We have everything on cameras,” Lennart stated.

“We can imagine,” someone said mockingly.

“I don’t believe him.”

Lennart closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

No lies. I had to tell them the truth.

He looked in front of himself once again. In the front row he found Ryosuke looking back at him and nodding. It gave him the strength to continue.

“The person responsible is my mother. She accidentally dropped the pill in Scarlett’s drink.”

A middle-aged man stood up. “So, this is why you call it an accident? Because it’s your mother’s fault?”

Another resident added, “If it was someone else, I believe you wouldn’t be claiming this.”

“Of course not. And I know why you are thinking this way. But we have all the proof needed.” Lennart turned to men behind his back who nodded in agreement.

“What kind of punishment awaits her?” another man asked.

Lennart tensed but kept his face emotionless. “That still needs to be decided.”

“Well, I’ll decide for you, she should be banished from the bunker.”

Lennart ignored this comment and walked towards the exit. As he walked between the rows of tables, he did his best not to listen to the voices around him. Ryosuke walked after him, and when they were far away from everyone, he grabbed his hand.

“You did it,” Ryosuke said as their fingers intertwined.

“Yeah. But worse is coming.” Lennart released a loud sigh.

“You can do it. She needs to know the truth.”

“I know.”

Last night when Ryosuke stayed in his room, Lennart shared the newest details about the case. They debated about it deep into the night, and Lennart realized there was no other option but to tell his mother the truth. He despised lying, but with the same intensity he hated hiding the truth. And he didn’t want to do it with the residents of his bunker.

They stopped in front of his mother’s doors and Ryosuke said, “Good luck.”

Lennart pulled him into a hug and squeezed.I will need it.He let him go with a quick kiss on the lips and pulled out his key card.