Hiding Behind Her Superficiality novel Chapter 582
Callum patted Elspeth on the shoulder. His expression had softened up a little.
Elspeth shook her head. “I can’t go back just yet. There’s something I haven’t done.”
“What is it?”
“Old Mr. McGrath drugged Winter with a strange concoction. The formula contains some rare ingredients, so I need to take a few things from his stash just in case.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Callum was worried that something unexpected would happen to Elspeth and that she would get injured, so he insisted on tagging along with her.
“It’s fine. I was here in the past and I know where his storage is. I’ll be right back. Wait for me.”
Now that the McGraths had been dealt with, there was little risk in moving around on her own.
Callum had no choice but to do as she said.
However, Elspeth was gone for quite some time, and with each passing second, Callum grew more worried. He had to track her down by heading in the direction she’d gone and following the scent of medicinal herbs. True enough, the scent led him to the storage room.
“Elspeth?” Callum called out a few times and heard no reply which further solidified his fears.
His heart sank as he immediately rushed in, but the scene he stumbled upon left him feeling both amused and exasperated.
Elspeth was fast asleep with her head on the table and her hand still clutching a sprig of some medicinal herb. It was clear that she’d fallen asleep from over-exhaustion.
Callum quietly went over and took off his jacket to put it around her. As soon as the jacket touched her, her eyes flew open.
She rubbed her eyes and muttered, “Why did you come over? I thought I told you to wait back there for me.”
“You would’ve been sleeping here the whole night if I didn’t come looking for you,” Callum teased.
“Have I been sleeping for long? I only sat down because I felt a little tired and I blacked out after that.”
Callum knew she had a rough time the past two days and couldn’t bear to chide her. “It’s fine. You’ve been busy trying to locate Miss Joneson the past few days. It’s normal to feel exhausted. Make sure you get enough rest now.”
Elspeth jumped to her feet at once. “Has my mother been sent to the hospital?”
“Yes. I had them take her to the hospital as soon as we came.” Callum saw the expectation in Elspeth’s eyes and knew she wanted to hear about Helia. “Everything’s fine with Miss Joneson now. She just needs to rest.”
Elspeth was relieved. She rubbed her sore neck and turned around to search for the herbs she needed.
Her brief respite had renewed her energy and she was able to quickly locate everything she was looking for.
Elspeth was about to head home with Callum when a thought occurred to her. She came to an abrupt halt as her expression darkened.
“What’s the matter?” Callum piped up worriedly. “Did something happen?”
“I think there’s more to this situation.”
Elspeth’s brows tightened. How did the McGraths know so much?
Being the cautious and meticulous person that she was, she had people keeping tabs on Winthrop Residence. She would’ve been alerted at once if anyone suspicious appeared in the vicinity.
However, none of her people reported anything unusual to her.
This meant the McGraths had gotten the information by chance instead of being the ones spying on Winthrop Residence.
Who would’ve told them about this?
Elspeth thought about every single possibility and finally landed on someone she couldn’t help but suspect.
“I think I need to go and see him now.”
…
Meanwhile, Cecelia was getting discharged today, and true enough, she saw someone waiting for her outside the hospital.
She felt a headache coming on when she spotted Yozan and wanted to avoid him, but he noticed her anyway.
“Why are you hiding from me?” Yozan got closer. His shadow loomed over her.
“Isn’t it normal for me to avoid you? I told you to stay away from me. Don’t you understand what I said?”
As time went on, Cecelia began losing her patience.
“Cecelia, can you please wake up?” Yozan reined in his temper and calmly reminded, “You’re carrying my child right now. Do you want the child to be born without a father?”
Cecelia instinctively placed her hand on her stomach, but she quickly turned her head away in stubbornness.
“What does my child have to do with you? I’m not giving birth to this child for the sake of getting the child a father.”
“How could you—”
Yozan had never seen this side of Cecelia before. She was more determined and stubborn than he expected.
He felt as if his lungs were about to explode.
“Don’t you have even a shred of feelings for me, Cecelia?”
Cecelia was startled at first, but she pursed her lips and retorted, “Must I spell it all out for you before you get it?”
Yozan’s body stiffened. For some reason, his silhouette appeared somewhat lonely.
“Don’t come and disturb me anymore.” Cecelia took a deep breath. Every fiber of her being rejected Yozan’s presence. “You know full well that I can’t be fully invested in a relationship with you.”
This was the truth. She meant every word.
The young man she kept in her heart made it impossible for her to get involved with anyone else.
“Am I not important to you at all?” Yozan’s bitter chuckle sounded a little eerie in the quietness of their surroundings.
Cecelia hardened her heart and declared, “That’s right.”
Her response struck a nerve with Yozan. He grabbed her shoulders and glared at her in fury. “What’s so good about Hank Damazio?! Why are you still so hung up on him after all these years?!”
“H-How did you know?”
Cecelia had never told Yozan that it was Hank she couldn’t forget. After returning to the country, she didn’t do anything that made it obvious she had a close relationship with Hank either. How did he find out?
Yozan’s eyes glinted darkly as his expression grew cold. “Why wouldn’t I know about it? You think I wouldn’t get someone to investigate you?”
According to the information he found, Hank was the only man who ever appeared in Cecelia’s life.
If she was in love with someone, that person could only be Hank.
Cecelia was speechless.
She stood there in silence.
“Hank never felt the same way about you. That’s why he’s with Yelena now. Since that’s the case, why are you still hung up on him?”
Yozan’s words were hurtful, but he spoke the truth.
Cecelia had told herself the same thing countless times to force herself to bury the feelings she had for Hank.
Even so, the fact that she was hearing these words from an outsider made her feel like she had been stripped naked.
“It’s none of your business!”
Cecelia shoved Yozan away and turned to leave.
Alas, she’d shoved him so hard that he slammed into the tree behind him.
Thump…
Cecelia jumped in fright when she heard the sound. She quickly turned to look and saw Yozan slumping to the ground unconscious.
She quivered with fear when she felt the back of his head. Her palm had been dyed red.
Though she repeated his name a few more times, he didn’t respond at all.
“What should I do…” Cecelia was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t think straight. All of a sudden, a hand pressed down on hers and a weak voice called out, “Help me call 911.”
Cecelia smacked herself. Hang on. We’re right outside the hospital! Why would I need to call 911?!
She looked around and spotted a doctor in the distance, so she immediately walked up to him and tugged his sleeve to get him to follow her. “Doctor! There’s an injured person over there. Come quick!”
The doctor was startled and confused but he followed her anyway. He only realized the severity of the situation when he saw Yozan slumped under the tree.
He quickly called a few people over and they brought Yozan to the emergency room.
Throughout Yozan’s treatment, Cecelia remained on the side with a look of guilt.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you.”
“I know. It’s fine,” Yozan responded evenly with an unreadable expression.
“I…”
Cecelia felt remorseful, so she softly asked, “What can I do to make it up to you?”
“Marry me,” Yozan replied.
Cecelia was struck dumb. She didn’t respond. It was clear that she was displeased by his answer.
“Just stay here and take care of me.”
This option was… a little more bearable.
“Fine. Since I’m the reason why you got hurt, I’ll look after you for the time being while you’re at the hospital.”
Before Cecelia could say anything else, Yozan’s phone rang.
His expression shifted slightly when he heard the voice that came through.
“I’ll ask for permission to take some time off work.” Cecelia was about to make the call when Yozan stopped her.
“You don’t need to stick around and take care of me. Just go home.”
Cecelia thought she’d pissed him off somehow, so she asked, puzzled, “Why not?”
Yozan smirked. “What’s the matter? Are you so keen on taking care of me?”
“No, but I did cause your injury.”
Yozan’s eyes flashed darkly. “In that case, I don’t need you to take care of me. Just go.”
Cecelia didn’t move. She bit her lip and checked, “Are you sure?”
Yozan waved her away. “Hurry up and leave before I change my mind.”
Yozan waved her away. “Hurry up and leave before I change my mind.”
Cecelia took one last look at him before walking off.
Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Yozan called out.
Elspeth came in, and when she saw Yozan lying on the hospital bed, she forced herself to rein in her fury.
“What a coincidence. I just so happened to be injured and you just so happened to come and meet me.”
“I’m not here to chat with you today.” Elspeth sat down on the seat. Her voice was crisp and curt as she questioned, “Why did you give all that information to the McGraths?”
Yozan cocked his eyebrows and queried in confusion, “What are you talking about? What do you mean that I gave information to the McGraths?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Yozan. The McGraths wouldn’t have had such a clear grasp on everything if you didn’t pass the information to them.”
Elspeth had it all figured out.
Yozan was the only person apart from her who knew all this information.
Thus, it had to have been him who spilled to the McGraths.
“Fine. Since you figured it out, I won’t attempt to hide it any longer.”
Yozan looked pale but his words were as infuriating as ever.
“I just wanted to make life hard for Welson Harley.”
“There are plenty of ways for you to cause trouble for him. Why did you choose to hurt my mother?”
Elspeth was furious. She wanted to cut Yozan’s head open to see what was inside.
Yozan’s emotions were getting the best of him too. His expression was harsh as he raised his voice and fired back, “He has always been a careful man. I’ve never seen him care about anyone else as much as he cares about your mother. After all these years, she’s the only person who proved to be a worthwhile target. Why shouldn’t I make use of this opportunity? Do you know how he treated my mother?! He called her a b*tch and a sl*t who only knew how to climb into a man’s bed!”
Ever since he was a child, he heard these words repeated to him time and time again, and due to this, his personality grew volatile too.
After seeing the importance Welson placed on Elspeth’s mother, he was so enraged that he came up with this plan.
“So, that’s why you chose to harm an innocent woman, right?”
Elspeth could empathize with Yozan’s feelings, but she couldn’t accept what he’d done.
“I…”
Yozan snapped out of his emotional outburst. He couldn’t defend himself as he knew he was the one in the wrong.
All was silent as neither one of them spoke.
In the end, it was Yozan who broke the silence.
“How’s your mother?”
“She’s fine at the moment,” Elspeth responded curtly.
“That’s good to hear… Apologize to her on my behalf. I know I’m at fault for this. If there’s anything you need, feel free to tell me. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”
“I don’t need your help. Since you’re willing to admit your fault in the matter, I won’t hold it against you.”
Elspeth couldn’t blow up at Yozan when he was injured and lying in a hospital room.
“I’m really sorry.”
Yozan had regretted what he’d done as soon as he did it, but he didn’t know how to tell Elspeth about it.
The look on his face right now reminded Elspeth of her earlier conversation with Callum.
“Actually, Yozan was the one who told me about this.”
“Yozan?”
“Yeah. He suddenly called me up today and told me that your mother had been kidnapped.”
“How did he know about it?”
“I don’t know.”
“What else?”
“He told me that you would’ve most likely gone over to rescue her yourself, so he urged me to hurry up and find you.”
Elspeth snapped back out of her reverie and sighed when she turned her eyes back onto the unspeaking man in front of her.
“At least your conscience came back just in time. If it weren’t for you, it might’ve been too late by the time they found me.”
In a way, he’d made up for his mistake.
“It was still a little too late…” Yozan said with some difficulty as a complicated look flashed across his eyes.
“That’s enough now. You don’t need to beat yourself up over it. Mr. Harley will soon find out about what you did.”
Welson was a shrewd man. He was bound to figure things out when even Elspeth managed to do so this quickly.
After recalling the way Welson treated Yozan, Elspeth had a feeling that Welson would be even more incensed this time.
“It’s fine. This time, I’ll accept whatever punishment he decides to dole out.”
“What did you do, you b*stard?!”
Elspeth turned around, and before she could even register what was happening, a hand slammed across Yozan’s face which swelled up right away.
“If I hadn’t interrogated the McGraths, I wouldn’t have found out that my son had the audacity to put someone else in harm’s way!”
Yozan wiped the streak of blood from the corner of his lips and smirked. “You’re only angry because the person who was put in harm’s way was the woman you love.”
During his time abroad, he’d gotten into a fight and ended up beating that person half to death. He had to give several hundred thousand in compensation, and even then, Welson didn’t care at all.
He’s only reacting this way now because I hurt the person he cares the most about.
“Darn it! Do you not have a conscience?!”
Welson raised his arm once more but Elspeth swiftly stopped him. “It’s true that Yozan went too far today, but he has already admitted his mistake and did his best to make up for it in time.”
Yozan sighed. “You’re too kindhearted. If it were me, I would rip this b*stard to shreds!”
Elspeth chuckled awkwardly. “You did hit him earlier. It counts as teaching him a lesson. He’s still injured right now and his body’s weak, so let’s not resort to any more violence.”
Upon hearing that Yozan was injured, Welson finally took a good look at his son.
True enough, his head was bandaged. It was clear that he was sporting an injury on the back of his head. Alas, Welson had been too enraged to notice it sooner.
“It’s just a scratch. No big deal.”
Yozan snorted and said, “I know this bit of injury means nothing to you.”
The room fell silent once again.
Welson cleared his throat before curtly announcing, “Since you’re fine, I’ll get going. I still have work matters to attend to.” He took one last look at Yozan and informed, “I’ve made sure those people won’t be ratting you out, so you can just focus on your recovery.”
With that said, he turned and left.
Once Welson was gone, Elspeth sighed. “Mr. Harley does care about you, you know. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made sure they stayed quiet to stop them from dragging you down with them.”
What the McGraths had done were criminal offenses, and if Yozan got dragged down with them, he would have to serve a prison sentence too.
What the McGraths had done were criminal offenses, and if Yozan got dragged down with them, he would have to serve a prison sentence too.
“I know.” Yozan didn’t seem unhappy. “It’s only because he still needs me to be his heir. If something happens to me, all of his years of hard work would go down the drain.”
Elspeth chuckled in disbelief. “Now that I’m in the picture, do you think you can still be his successor?”
Yozan was startled. “Are you interested in it?”
In reality, Yozan wasn’t all that interested in the Harley Family’s fortune, but throughout all these years, he’d been groomed as the heir.
If he had to give it over to someone else… If it’s Elspeth… I guess it’s fine by me.
“I don’t, but what I meant is, you keep saying that Mr. Harley likes me, right? If I return to the family, do you think he’ll make me his heir instead?”
“So be it.”
Yozan truly didn’t care.
Elspeth was exasperated. “Why do I have such a stubborn younger brother? You’re so… What I meant is that Mr. Harley has someone else to choose as his heir, so he doesn’t have to worry about his hard work going to waste. He chose to protect you because he truly cares about you, his son.”
Yozan was stunned into silence.
“Also, don’t hold it against him. If it were me, I would’ve slapped you for what you did too.”
Elspeth rolled her eyes. Giving him nothing more than a slap would be going easy on him.
“I’m surprised you’re aware of the fact that you harmed the person he loves. Why do I recall someone recording a naked video of the person who pushed his girlfriend into the lake?”
You’re also the kind of person who takes an eye for an eye, so why are you getting upset now?
What a fool.
Yozan felt that Elspeth had a point.
Meanwhile, now that Cecelia had been brought up, Elspeth couldn’t resist asking, “By the way, have you and Cecelia made up yet?”
Yozan rubbed his temples with a sense of helplessness. “You’re really taking to the role of an older sister, huh?”
“Of course. You’re my younger brother, aren’t you?” Elspeth cocked her eyebrows in curiosity. “So? How are things going between you two? Is she still choosing to ignore you?”
A flash of fury flickered in Yozan’s eyes. “That’s right. She’s still hung up on someone else, so why would she agree to be with me?”
He didn’t know how long she would continue to pine for Hank, but the fact that she seemed hellbent on being loyal to her feelings for him made him seethe with rage.
“Are you talking about Hank?”
Yozan was surprised to hear the name pop out of Elspeth’s mouth so easily. “How did you know it’s him? Did Cecelia tell you?”
“I deduced it myself.”
“Exactly. She thinks she keeps her feelings so well-hidden, but in reality, everyone else apart from her knows how obvious her feelings for Hank are.”
Elspeth shook her head. “Not everyone. Yelena doesn’t know about it.”
Everyone could tell just how naive and simple-minded Yelena was.
Yozan had nothing to say to that.
He looked up at Elspeth and asked, “Can you get me an ice pack?”
Elspeth held her right hand out. “If you’re going to order me around, you’re going to have to pay me.”
Yozan was dumbstruck. “I’m just asking you to help me get an ice pack. If you’re not going to do it, then fine. I can ask a nurse for help instead.”
Why’s she so obsessed with money?
She’s not at all like me.
Elspeth clasped her hands together with a mischievous smile. “Of course. I care a lot about these things. That’s why you should hurry up and recover so that you can go back to handling the family business. Otherwise, I’d be snatching the position away from you.”
Yozan kept his snarky comments to himself.
“In the first place, I don’t care about that.”
“Well, I care, but I don’t want to handle the business.” Elspeth stretched lazily. “Oh, alright. I won’t tease you anymore. I’ll go and get the ice pack.”
She walked out of the room.
As she turned around the corner, she was surprised to see a young boy who looked extremely familiar.
As soon as she spotted him, her eyes widened in shock.
This little boy looks exactly like Callum!
Can two people look so similar?
Out of curiosity, she walked over to the boy, but as soon as she got near, the boy’s mother came over.
“What are you doing here, darling? Mommy’s been looking for you everywhere! Come on. Let’s go.”
However, the striking resemblance made it difficult for her to resist thinking more about it. In the end, she gathered the courage to approach and spoke as calmly as possible. “Excuse me…”
The child’s mother seemed to recognize Elspeth, for when she looked at her, a look of terror appeared in her eyes. “I don’t know you. Don’t come near me,” the woman said, grabbing the boy’s arm and attempting to pull him away.
“I mean no harm. I just wanted to ask a question.” Elspeth was feeling a little helpless. Yet, before she could finish speaking, the woman quickly interrupted her.
“I already said I don’t know you. Don’t harass us like this,” the woman insisted, but the fear in her eyes lingered in Elspeth’s mind.
Just then, the little boy looked up at Elspeth and asked in surprise, “Who is this, Mommy?”
“Nobody, just a stranger.” At last, under Elspeth’s blank stare, the woman grabbed the little boy’s hand and left the scene, almost like she was fleeing.
If Elspeth was only suspicious before, now she was almost certain that the child had something to do with Callum. She definitely knows me from the way she looked at me, but she seems to be afraid of being recognized by me. Also, her body was subtly protecting the child. Was she afraid that I would take him away?
Elspeth was unable to figure it out, no matter how hard she thought about it. When she returned to the ward with the ice pack, she accidentally bumped into the doorframe.
“How can you hit the doorframe when you’re walking normally? You’re so clumsy.”
She didn’t feel like bantering with Yozan at the moment, as the incident kept playing in her mind.
Sensing that she was absentminded, Yozan couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Did your soul leave your body out there?”
“I saw someone just now.”
Hearing that, he became a little curious. “Who did you see out there?”
Hearing that, he became a little curious. “Who did you see out there?”
As Elspeth swallowed a gulp of saliva, her eyes showed a complex emotion. “A little boy who has a striking resemblance to Callum.”
At once, he showed an exaggerated expression. “What? Serious? Did Callum have an affair behind your back and has even fathered a child?”
“And that little boy looks like he’s around three years old. He could even talk.”
Yozan clicked his tongue twice and said, “I think it’s undoubtedly his child then. After all, you had just met him at that time, and he didn’t care much about you. It’s normal for him to have a little fling outside.”
However, it was these words that made Elspeth even more uncomfortable. What made her most uncomfortable was that they had a child before, but because of health reasons, she was forced to have an abortion, which was still a sore spot for her. But now, a little boy with a striking resemblance to Callum suddenly appeared, and there might really be a connection between him and Callum.
Of course, she didn’t believe that Callum would cheat on her with another woman, but the fact was right in front of her. Unless she had evidence, she couldn’t dispel her doubts.
Knowing that she was in a bad mood, Yozan stopped making jokes. “Well, now that you know about this, why don’t you go back and ask him about it? If he admits it, then do whatever you need to do. If he doesn’t, then find out the truth of the matter.”
His suggestion was indeed the only solution, so she nodded, but her mind was still in chaos. “I’ll head back first then.”
Yozan just waved his hand, not caring much. “Have a good talk with him after you get back. Don’t easily suspect him. Once suspicion arises, it will become a fact. This is not good for the relationship between husband and wife.”
At this moment, she looked at him, surprised that he was even more insightful than herself.
When Elspeth returned to the Winthrop Residence, Callum had not yet returned, and only Margot was home.
As she stepped onto the porch, she saw Margot standing in front of a cabinet, seemingly lost in thought. Carefully, she approached her and noticed that there were faint tears in the corners of Margot’s eyes.
Upon seeing her, Margot snapped out of her daze and put on a warm smile. “Welcome back, Elspeth. Sit down and rest for a while. I’ll cook for you later.”
“No need to rush, Mom. What are you looking at over here?” Elspeth curiously scanned the cabinet and found out that it was full of certificates and trophies.
“These rewards are all Arthur’s.” The name ‘Arthur’ had not been mentioned for a few months now. Now that it was being mentioned again, it caused a touch of melancholy.
Elspeth looked at the numerous certificates and trophies and was surprised that Margot had set up a special cabinet for him.
“Arthur has always been proud and liked to be different since he was a child. That’s why, you see, while others keep their awards in their rooms, he displayed his in the living room where they can be easily seen.” When Margot talked about this, there was a faint smile on her lips, as though she were reminiscing about the past. “It’s a pity that Arthur can never come back again.”
Likewise, Elspeth felt deeply sorry for the death of Arthur, but since he was already gone, reminiscing about the memories with him would only increase her sadness and pain. In the end, she could only comfort Margot in a gentle voice. “Don’t be sad, Mom. Maybe Arthur will be happier and have more freedom in that place.”
“Maybe.” Margot wiped away her tears. “He was always so competitive for his whole life. I hope he can be more relaxed over there, without all the deception.”
Hearing that, Elspeth silently sighed in her heart. Throughout Arthur’s life, no one actually wanted to compete with him, but he was the one who always secretly competed with others, especially with Callum. He always wanted to surpass Callum, but he never fulfilled his wish, even after his death.
“Let’s stop right here. It’s not good to always bring up these sad things. You went to the hospital, right? How is your mom doing?” Margot had already heard about this from Callum and was particularly worried about Helia’s health too.
The last time she found out that Elspeth was Helia’s daughter, she was shocked, but after listening patiently to Callum’s explanation, she learned that Elspeth’s biological father was someone else.
Seeing that Elspeth hesitated to speak, Margot immediately asked, “What’s wrong? What is it?”
When Elspeth saw Margot’s anxious expression, she decided not to tell her about the kid for the time being and planned to ask Callum about it herself when he came back at night.
“It’s nothing. I just feel sorry that I’ve delayed some work these few days.” She simply made up a lie and managed to deceive Margot.
Immediately, Margot put on a stern face. “Work can wait. The most important thing now is to take care of your mother’s health.”
“I know, Mom.”
After saying that, Margot sighed and said, “Bring your mother over when you have time. I have some things I want to talk to her about.” As she said this, there was a hint of guilt in her eyes; perhaps she was still concerned about the thing that happened decades ago.
“Okay.”
Callum frowned and asked, “Why don’t we go and have a look?” He was also curious as to how much alike he and the boy would be.
Callum frowned and asked, “Why don’t we go and have a look?” He was also curious as to how much alike he and the boy would be.
Where did Yelena go?
Elspeth called out for her, but there was no response. At this moment, she realized that Yelena was in trouble. Hence, she quickly went back to the camp and told the men.
“What? Yelena is missing?” Hank emitted a cold aura when he heard the news.
On the other hand, Callum was relatively calm. “Where did you last see her?” he asked patiently.
“She told me that she wanted to go to the restroom alone, so I told her there was a public restroom nearby. Then, she disappeared in the restroom.” Elspeth felt a pang of guilt as she spoke. After all, this wouldn’t have happened if she had accompanied Yelena.
When Hank heard her words, he couldn’t help but blame her. “You know that she is reckless. Why didn’t you follow her? We are in the wilds, and she can’t fight…”
“She is an adult, yet she can’t take care of herself. As her boyfriend, don’t you think you are also responsible for this?” Callum wouldn’t allow Hank to scold Elspeth.
Hank said nothing and quickly made a phone call.
Yelena had gone missing for a short time, so they might still be able to find her.
Elspeth and Callum went back to the restroom and tried to look for any clues.
Suddenly, Elspeth saw something on the floor. It was a cigarette butt!
Callum took the cigarette and examined it. However, he shook his head in disappointment and said, “This cigarette is a normal brand. We might not find anything from it.”
“No.” Elspeth carefully wrapped the cigarette with a tissue. “We can find out whose DNA is on the cigarette. I will find out who he is.”
Hearing her words, Callum looked at her with admiration and said, “Should we go back now to analyze it?”
“We can’t.” Elspeth frowned. “We will be wasting too much time if we head back now. I’ll call Harper over and have him analyze it. On the other hand, we will find Yelena.”
Meanwhile, Callum looked down at the ground. Since it had just rained, a layer of mud covered the ground. Right there, Callum saw footprints.
“This might be the suspect’s footprints.”
Hearing his words, Elspeth crouched to take a close look. When she was abroad, she learned about the criminal investigation from a veteran detective. Thus, she was sure that the kidnappers who abducted Yelena were two men, and they were almost 6 feet tall.
After they exited the restroom, Elspeth saw tire tracks on the side of the road.
“They must have been waiting for Yelena in the restroom. Once they caught her, they immediately took her to the car and drove away.” Unfortunately, Elspeth couldn’t tell which way the car went since it was dark.
Besides her, Callum looked left and right before saying, “He must have headed toward the west side.”
“Why?” Elspeth was startled by his answer.
“The east side is an urban area. Now that it’s late, the urban area is brightly lit. Moreover, there aren’t any intersections, and there are police checkpoints. Thus, they would be caught easily. On the other hand, the west side… is the way to the mountains.”
As soon as Elspeth heard his words, her face went pale. “Is this human trafficking?”
“I’m afraid so,” Callum replied in a low voice.
If it was human trafficking, Yelena was in a much more dangerous situation than they expected.
“Go and get the car, Callum. We are heading toward the west side now.”
“Go and get the car, Callum. We are heading toward the west side now.”
Callum was worried that the same thing would happen to Elspeth if he left her alone.
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle it if anything happens.”
Only after hearing that did Callum feel at ease.
After he arrived with the car, Elspeth got in it. As they headed toward the west side, she called Hank and told him to be on the lookout on the east side. That way, the kidnappers wouldn’t be able to slip past their hands if they were to make the wrong guess.
…
In the middle of the night, Yelena slowly opened her eyes as the car rocked sideways. When she noticed that she was in an unfamiliar place, she tried to call for help. However, she noticed that she couldn’t make a sound. Only then did she realize that her mouth was taped shut.
At this moment, she was inside a minivan. A man was driving the car, while another man was beside her. When one of the men noticed she was awake, he smiled evilly and stared at her as he sat straight up.
“Oh, it seems like the beauty is awake.”
In that split second, Yelena felt panic surging through her heart. However, she knew that it was useless to be afraid now. Thus, she tried to calm herself by taking a few deep breaths.
When the man saw her chest rising and falling, his eyes were filled with lust. “She looks beautiful, man. Why don’t we pull up and have some fun with her?” The man had never slept with such a beautiful woman before. If he could do the deed with her, he would have no regrets.
“You are a good-for-nothing.” The man who was driving scolded him.
“Who cares. Damn. She looks young; I bet her body is delicate.” As the man spoke, he reached out and touched Yelena’s skin. When he felt the smoothness underneath his fingertips, he grew excited.
“Bro, this is the first time I have ever seen such soft skin.”
“That’s enough. Stop fooling around. The guest is still waiting for us.”
When the man heard his words, he retrieved his hand. However, he was still eyeing Yelena up and down.
On the other hand, Yelena felt nauseous when the man touched her. However, she couldn’t express her disgust since she was afraid of provoking him. She would be doomed if they got angry.
Seeing that Yelena was looking at him with teary eyes, the man couldn’t help but scoot closer to her. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Are you uncomfortable with the tape on your mouth?” As he spoke, Yelena could smell the stench of his breath.
She nodded and looked pitiful.
Looking at her, the man felt it would be fine to remove the duct tape. After all, it was useless to call for help since they were in the middle of the woods, not to mention that they were inside a car.
Thus, he reached out and removed the duct tape from her mouth.
When the tape was removed, Yelena breathed heavily, feeling a sense of relief.
“Who are you guys?”
As a singer, Yelena had a sweet voice. When the man heard her voice, he shivered in excitement. Before he was going to speak, he suddenly realized that he was a kidnapper.
“We won’t harm you. We are going to take you to a place.” The man could feel his lust rising as he caressed Yelena’s leg. Her legs are so smooth. I wish I could have sex with her, he thought.
“What? Where are you guys taking me?” Although Yelena had feigned her panic, she was genuinely in fear.
“It’s somewhere nice. You’ll know once you get there. Now, stop asking questions. If you ask too much, you will be punished.” The man snickered.
At this moment, the man in the front couldn’t stand it anymore. He threw a pen at the other man and said, “Be serious about this. We are now kidnappers. Hurry up and put the tape back.”
The other man rubbed his temple and said unwillingly, “She is weak. Plus, did you see how skinny she is? Nothing will happen even if I remove the tape from her mouth.”
“It’s for precautions. What if something happened? When that time comes, we cannot handle the consequences. Your heads might even be gone.”
When the man heard his reminder, he realized how cruel their guest was. Thus, he nodded and took the duct tape. “Alright now, sweetheart. I’m going to keep your mouth shut. When we arrive at the place, I will remove it.”
Yelena couldn’t help but whimper when her freedom was once again taken away from her.
Am I going to experience this kind of thing?
“Alright now, sweetheart. I told you not to worry. Everything is fine.” The man chuckled when he felt Yelena shivering.
However, when she heard his words, Yelena knew she was in a dangerous situation. Since she couldn’t escape, she only wished Elspeth and the others would quickly find her and get her out of there. At this moment, she longed for Hank. Moreover, she regretted that she had refused to let Elspeth accompany her. After all, none of these would have happened if Elspeth had been by her side.
As the car drove for some time, it arrived at a small village. After six hours, the sun was rising. In the midst of the morning light, Yelena was brought into the village.
Finally, the car stopped in front of a house.
The man carried Yelena single-handedly out of the car. Since Yelena’s limbs were bound, the man harassed her multiple times as he walked into the house.
“Ahh!” Yelena felt dizzy when her head hit the doorframe.
Soon, she was thrown onto a dirty bed with two other girls. Yelena noticed that the girls were being thrown into the room too. Plus, they looked younger and more apprehensive than her, seemingly as if they were college students. One of the girls cried aloud and said, “Please let us go. I’m rich. I can give you whatever you want.”
“Shut up now!”
Hearing the voice, Yelena looked over and saw an old woman in her seventies. She looked intimidating.
“Now that you guys are here, you won’t be able to choose your fate anymore.” The old woman laughed eerily.
The college student who was crying was silenced once again.
Once the noise had died down, the old woman nodded in satisfaction and said, “Alright. Now, listen up. There are going to be a few people coming over to choose you as their wife. Don’t you dare to resist, or there will be consequences to pay.”
Fear filled Yelena’s eyes as she heard her words. The girls beside her were even more scared. One of them jumped out of bed and tried to make a run. However, there was no way she could escape since her limbs were tied up. In the end, she was kicked by the man waiting at the door.
“I told you not to resist. This is the only way you will not get a beating. Why won’t you listen?” The old woman crouched in front of the girl. While the girl was wincing in pain, she grabbed the girl’s hair harshly.
The girl howled in pain. However, she could only cry helplessly as her mouth was taped shut. Once again, she was thrown to bed.
Then, the woman walked toward the two men who were guarding the door and smiled brightly. “These girls are better than the last time, especially the one on the left. She looks gorgeous. She is going to be worth 75 thousand.”
Immediately, the man had an exasperated look on his face. “75 thousand? That is way too expensive. Normally, it costs 15 thousand.”
“It’s been a long time since there are women as beautiful as her being sent here.” The old woman clicked her tongue. “To be honest, 75 thousand is still a low price. She is worth about 120 thousand.”
Hearing her words, the man chuckled dryly and said, “120 thousand is too much. No one has that much money.” Initially, the man wanted to use his connections and bought Yelena since he was also a bachelor. However, 75 thousand was too much for him to handle!
The villagers were in poverty since this was a remote place. They made a living by farming and raising livestock. Those who had thousands were considered rich in this place. Thus, no one would be willing to buy a wife for 120 thousand.
Seeing that the old woman had made up her mind, the man sighed inwardly and knew he had lost his chance.
At this moment, there was a stir by the doorway. The old woman slowly walked to the door. When she opened the door, several people were standing outside.
“I heard that you have some pretty women today, Mary. Is it true that one of them is extremely beautiful?”
“I heard that two of them are college students. I love college students. Can I have one of them?”
“I’m willing to pay 15 thousand for the most beautiful one.”
Mary covered her lips and smiled. “Alright now. The girls are waiting inside. Calm down and come on in.”
She brought the ones who had a high status in the village inside the room first. The villagers looked at the girls like they were an item.
Meanwhile, Yelena was observing those men. Other than the one on the left, who was well-dressed and seemed like an intellectual, the others looked hideous and seemed to be up to no good. She felt nauseous when she saw their yellowed teeth.
After looking at those men, Yelena sighed and could only hope that the one who looked like an intellectual would choose her. She had a feeling that he would not harm her like the others, which would give her a chance to escape from this place.
It was obvious that Mary respected the well-dressed man. She sat beside him and smiled cautiously. “What brings you here today, Mr. Seanzy?”
“I heard that you could buy a wife from here. Thus, I’m trying to buy a wife.” The man had a clear voice.
Initially, Mary was nervous due to the man’s arrival. After all, he was a secretary that was being assigned by the authorities. She didn’t know how he knew about this matter and wanted to come here. However, when she heard his reason, she breathed a sigh of relief and introduced the girls to him happily. “I thought you would hate this kind of thing. Never would I expect that you would want to buy a wife too. Lucky for you, these girls are top quality, especially the one on the left. She is beautiful.”
“Look at her nose and her eyes. She is so beautiful. I bet this girl’s family must be very wealthy; otherwise, they wouldn’t have raised such a delicate and pretty girl.” The old woman continued, leaning in and whispering to Federick, “I bet she is a heavenly experience in bed, and you won’t be able to resist her.”
Yelena couldn’t help but shudder upon hearing her remarks. Meanwhile, Federick mechanically nodded his head and his gaze was calm.
As the other men watched the old woman warmly entertain Federick while ignoring them, they felt slightly dissatisfied and complained, “Mary, we know you value Mr. Seanzy, but you shouldn’t be so biased.”
They were also interested in the girl on the far left. She was so beautiful that the other two girls beside her paled in comparison. They couldn’t help but compare and felt that the other two girls were just average.
Feeling that the men behind her lacked discernment, the old woman glared at them fiercely and said, “What are you talking about? Of course, Mr. Seanzy should pick first. You guys will have to wait for your turn.”
However, since these men had status and were important people, the old woman didn’t dare to say much. She then returned to Federick and asked with a smile, “Mr. Seanzy, what do you think?”
Hearing that, Federick slowly extended his finger and after surveying the three girls for a while, he pointed at the girl in the middle and said, “I want her.”
Yelena’s only hope shattered instantly. She had already guessed that this man was not an ordinary person, but she never expected that he wouldn’t choose her. Now, she might belong to some gross old man tonight and the thought of it made her shudder.
“Mr. Seanzy, you have great taste. Since you’ve made your choice, it’s our turn to choose.” The men behind him whistled in joy.
Even so, Federick didn’t rush to take the girl in the middle away but slowly spoke instead. “Leave the one on the far left for me too.”
Both at the same time? Not only was the old woman stunned, but the men behind her were also stunned. Moreover, it took Yelena a while to react to this statement. This man actually wanted to marry two girls at the same time? That was just outrageous.
At that, the old woman awkwardly smiled and looked hesitant, because she had already noticed that the several men behind her seemed displeased.
“Mr. Seanzy, I don’t think this is very appropriate.” The old woman wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and was lost for words. “According to the rules, each person can only choose one. Look, marriages nowadays are monogamous, not to mention, there are so many other men waiting.” The old woman delicately voiced her dilemma.
At the same time, the men knew that this matter had already violated their interests, so they didn’t bother to be polite and each of them spoke sarcastically to Federick. “Mr. Seanzy, you’re still young and have many more future opportunities. Can’t you give us the opportunity this time round?”
“What are we going to do if you choose two at once? Are we going to sit idly by?”
Even so, Federick didn’t seem to be threatened nor have the thoughts of backing off. Instead, his tone got firmer, and he insisted, “I want both of them!”
Yelena suddenly felt touched as she didn’t expect him to be so resolute in choosing her. However, at this moment, the girl on the far right seemed even more pitiful. She turned her head and looked at the girl in the middle. She noticed that although the girl looked nervous, her gaze was very firm. Meanwhile, the girl on the far right was trembling and was so scared to the point of passing out.
“Mr. Seanzy, I’m showing you respect because you’re a village official, but don’t push your luck!”
Hearing that, Federick slowly rolled up his sleeves and revealed his muscular arms. Since he was a tall man, standing nearly two meters tall, no one dared to mess with him. This was why he was able to establish his prestige in no time within the village as soon as he arrived.
“I didn’t quite understand you. Could you say it again?”
Federick seemed furious, and the men behind him were all thin and weak, with bodies as thin as sticks. Seeing Federick’s reaction, they could only sigh helplessly and make concessions.
“Alright, you can have those two girls, but the girl on the far right belongs to me.” Upon hearing that, Federick didn’t say anything, indicating his agreement.
“But… Mr. Seanzy, the price of these two girls is quite expensive. Are you sure you can really afford to pay for them?” Although the old woman considered him a village official, she wouldn’t hesitate to speak up when it came to money and profit.
This was because Federick didn’t look like he had much money. He had been wearing clothing made of coarse fabric since the day he arrived, and although his clothes were clean, they were washed to the point of discoloration. On top of that, his home was also very simple and it didn’t look like the home of someone with money.
But unexpectedly, Federick pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it over to her, “This card has 150 thousand in it. Is that enough?”
“That’s too much!” The old woman’s face lit up with joy as she took the card while her heart pounded wildly. “Mr. Seanzy, you’re too generous! Not only these two, but I can also give you the third one for free!” Since all she wanted was the money, it didn’t matter whom she gave the girl to.
Upon hearing that, Federick raised an eyebrow slightly. “Since that’s the case, why don’t you just sell me all three girls?”
She picked up the credit card and kissed it. “Alright, alright, you can take all three of them.”
“Mary, you promised that he could only pick two, and we would take the last one!” The men next to her immediately objected.
The old woman suddenly changed her demeanor, her tone becoming sharp and bitter. “I did, but who can resist money? If any of you can come up with 150 thousand like Mr. Seanzy, then you can take all three girls with you.”
The remaining men were speechless after hearing her request. 150 thousand? They had difficulties even with forking out 30 thousand.
They were all from rural families and couldn’t possibly produce that much money all at once. If they had to sell their land and livestock just to marry a wife, what would they do for a living after the marriage? The men exchanged glances and could only leave mournfully.
The old woman carefully put away the credit card and then approached Federick. “Mr. Seanzy, should I send these three girls to your residence for you?”
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