She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 378

Three bodyguards managed to block the woman at the door, trying to drag her away.

“Wait.” Loyce threw back the covers, about to get out of bed, completely forgetting about the IV needle still taped to the back of her hand. Hank immediately pressed her shoulder down. “Don’t move! You’re still on a drip!”

Forrest’s heart also skipped a beat, his hand gripping the corner of the blanket. “Loyce, do you know that… unstable-looking woman?”

Loyce nodded, her brow furrowing as she noticed the woman’s bare feet. “Her name is Zelie. She works in the kitchen at the manor. She was the one who saw the bear and warned me. If it wasn’t for her, the students would have been in serious trouble.”

“She ran all the way down from Yavon Manor by herself?” Morris, too, had noticed Zelie’s bare feet and looked shocked. “That’s a long way. She must have been walking for a full day, probably since last night.”

Forrest waved a hand at the guards. “Let her go. Let her come in.”

The bodyguards released their hold, and Zelie rushed to the bedside. Seeing Loyce’s injured arm and leg, her face filled with pain. She gently touched the bandages on Loyce’s arm. “Hurts.”

Loyce asked softly, “Did you run all this way just to see me? Why? I’m not your daughter.”

Loyce couldn’t understand why Zelie had treated her differently from the very first moment. There were hundreds of students at Yavon Manor, but she was the only one Zelie had called “my baby girl.” Why?

Of course, Zelie didn’t understand her words. All she knew was the pain of seeing Loyce hurt. She pulled two eggs and a crushed carton of milk from her pocket—things she must have brought from the manor—and placed them beside Loyce’s hand.

“Eat up, then Mama will take you away,” Zelie said, stroking Loyce’s hair, her eyes filled with a desperate urgency. “I’ll take you far, far away, where you won’t get hurt, where you won’t die.”

An ache settled in Loyce’s chest. “I’m not your daughter.”

If Zelie were really her mother, her three brothers would have already jumped to their feet. But they only watched Zelie with a mixture of confusion and wariness, ready to intervene if her unstable emotions turned dangerous for Loyce.

“Do you know her?” Loyce asked her brothers as she accepted Zelie’s offering and peeled one of the cold, hard-boiled eggs.

They all shook their heads.

It all made sense now—why Zelie talked about running away, why her own family life felt so suffocating.

Hank listened to the story, his expression softening with pity. “So she thinks Loyce is her daughter. That’s tragic.”

Loyce looked at Zelie, who was now trying to open the carton of milk for her. She glanced at the carton and recognized the brand—it was a premium, fresh milk, the most expensive kind. The manor’s cafeteria didn’t serve it; Loyce remembered checking the breakfast menu. It was only sold in supermarkets.

A strange feeling stirred inside Loyce. She felt she was missing something important. “Could we get a nurse in here?” she said. “To help her with the cuts on her feet.”

Word that Zelie was at the hospital soon reached her colleagues at Yavon Manor. They drove over in their small van to pick her up. When they got to Loyce’s room, they apologized profusely. “We’re so sorry, Loyce. We were cleaning the kitchen, and we took our eyes off her for one second. She’s usually so well-behaved. We don’t know what’s gotten into her these past couple of days, getting so emotional whenever she sees you.”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind,” Loyce said. She squeezed Zelie’s hand, seeing the reluctance in her eyes. Her voice softened. “You should go back now. I’ll be here in the hospital for a few more days. When my leg is better, I’ll come visit you, okay?”

Zelie seemed to understand. Her grip loosened, and her colleagues gently led her away. Her eyes remained fixed on Loyce, full of longing. Her final words were, “My girl… don’t die.”