Staring at the people in front of her, Lisa widened her eyes in shock. "What are you all doing here? Didn't you go to the fireworks show? Why am I all tied up? What happened?"
"Lisa, don't you remember anything?" Aurelia asked, concern lacing her voice.
Lisa shook her head, her blond locks swaying. "I just remember taking a walk, then feeling incredibly tired. My head was so heavy... I just hit the sack as soon as I got back to my room."
Aurelia nodded at her bodyguard, who promptly loosened the ropes binding Lisa.
To prevent any rash actions, Leopold instinctively shielded Aurelia behind his back.
Beverley chimed in, "Lisa, someone hypnotized you to whack your Aurelia."
"What?" Lisa jumped up from her chair, racing her heart. That explained the ropes.
She couldn't even squash a bug without wincing. How could she harm anyone, let alone Aurelia?
She turned as pale as a ghost.
Shaking her head vigorously, Lisa trembled with fright. "It's impossible. How could I hurt Aurelia? Why can't I remember anything? I was just sleeping!"
There was nothing more terrifying in the world than committing a heinous act and having no recollection of it.
"You were hypnotized, of course you wouldn't know," Skyler interjected. "Under hypnosis, you're like a puppet on strings, acting solely on the hypnotist's commands."
Beverley raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's hypnosis and not, like, possession?"
Skyler spread his hands. "Whether ghosts are real remains a mystery, but hypnosis? That's legit."
Scratching her head, Beverley pondered, "Who would hypnotize Lisa and send her after Aurelia?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The CEO’S Unplanned Heir novel (Aurelia and Leopold)