Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Rupert watched his son’s prolonged silence , mistaking it for acceptance , just as he moved to sit down , Torin’s voice cut through the tension .

“ Tad , why has Elysia bern living in a storage room on the ground floor for the past decade ! Are we truly so short on space ? Torin’s one carmed a wright that made his father pause .

Storage room ? The wonds echoed in Rupert’s mind ,

Tonin showed recently taken photos to his father’s lare .

As Hapert took in the room’s shabby interior , his stern facade cracked momentarily .

confusion and quilt flickering across his features before his expression hardened once more ,

“ Are you suggesting I’ve mistreated her ? be demanded , turning away .

“ Let vidrop this .

We’ll give her a guest room when she’s released .

Taking her in at all is more than generous .

”

Torin fell silent as memories flooded back .

His father had always cherished Elysia above all others , lavishing her with endless care and affection .

Yet now he was relegating her to a mere guest mon And she definitely had her own ram belure .

And what about her original room ! The thought struck Torin suddenly , accompanied by an image of Reena’s princess – themed bedroom .

His heart sank as realization downed – that had been Elysia’s momn .

Seeing his father’s rigid stance , Torin knew further discussion was

was pointless .

“These glasses .

.

you should try them on .

They show the ten years when Elysia was lost .

I’m taking the day off , he said flatly , turning to leave .

“ You ungrateful brall ” Rupen shouted at Torin’s retreating form .

“ If you dare cause trouble for Rowena of Alles over this trivial matter , I’ll strip you of your position in a heartbeat ”

Torin’s steps faltered briefly .

I only want another pair of glasses from Stellan , he thought .

How could I trouble Rowena ? She’s still my sister , after

Back in the livestream , the memory had advanced to a new day .

Two girls sat at weaving frames , working on pieces assigned by Lyra .

Odessa paused her humming to wave a hand before Elysia’s distant gaze .

“ Elysia ! You’re sparing out again ! You need to speed up or well both go hungry when she checks our work .

” Odessa said , her young voice tinged

rkode II with worry .

JUgh .

Elysia’s starking is gonna get Odessa starved .

She’s totally doing it on purpose.

Ä®

[ Right ? And here 1 thought she was Miss Cooly Two – Shoes Sneaky linle thing I

[ Lol hate to change the subject but Celesta’s singing is painful to listen to I

[ Hey , she’s only but Cut her some slack – her voice hasn’t matured yet , that’s totally normall

But while the chat debated Odessi’s singing on the screen Elysia was focused elsewhere – straining to catch the whispered conversation between Lyra and her rarely – present husband , Dorian

“ Did you fi

nd the buyer for Ollessal ” Dorin asked in low tones .

“ Yes , one from Halkan .

I’m thinking we should sell Elysia 100 – she’s got too much spirit .

Any older and she’ll be harder to control , ” Lyra replied .

“ Isn’t she too young for any buyer ? She wouldn’t last .

I was hoping to sell her for enough to buy our son an apartment downtown Dorian said .

“ Hal – you don’t know the market .

Some old men prefer them young ,” Lyra said .

Elyvia bit her lip hard , glancing at Odessa who was still focused inmily on weaving .

Words of warning rose in her throat but died unspok

Meanwhile , the treacherous couple’s conversation shifted to another topic .

“ We need to be careful now .

Those villagers got locked up .

And I need more sedatives we almost ran out when the police came .

Good thing you had that new drug to knock Elysia out ,” Dorian said .

“ What ! The one from Torvania ! That’s not a sedative – it’s experimental livestock medicine ? Lyra replied .

Along silence followed before Dorian spoke again .

“ Well , she survived , that’s what matters .

I need to move today’s cargo – they’ve been in the truck too long already ”

[ Man , when he says “ cargo ,” he can’t mean .

.

people , right ? )

[ There were a lot of missing children in Stoneford around that time .

Could the whole village have been involved !

D2

2/2

Chapter 16

[ Anyone else curious about that experimental livestock drug ? Wonder if it turned Elysia into Miss Piggy LOL ]

[ Bruh , if she survived it obviously didn’t work on humans .

]

The studio door’s sudden opening drew everyone’s attention from the chat .

A collective gasp rippled through the audience as they recognized the figure entering – a fare known from television and livestreams .

[ Holy shit , is that Odessa ! OMG my queen ! ]

[ For real ? Didn’t she retire ! What’s she doing here ! ]

Stellan graciously led her to an empty seat , then picked up the microphone .

“ Please welcome our special guest for today’s Memory Live Stream ”

The now 26 – year – old Odessa had transformed from her energetic teenage self into an elegant , sophisticated woman , though shadows of old pain lingered in her eyes .

“ That’s me in the stream Odessa , said softly , “ but Elysia was the one who appeared on Masked Singer .

”

Her quiet words landed like a thunderbolt .

The viewers were all stunned as the implications sank in – they had been attacking their own idol all this time .

The chat exploded with shocked reactions .

[ Holy crap , so Elysia’s the real singing champion Which means she never plagiarized anything ! )

taste in your mouth ‘ ] Where are all you trolls who were trash – talking about Odessa’s singing ? How’s that foot taste in

[ Wait but why did she enter the competition using Odessa’s name though “ ]

In the studio , all eyes turned to Odessa as she lowered her head at the question .

Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper , heavy with emotion .

“ She was searching for me , wanting to apologize

“ It must have been right after she overheard their conversation about selling her .

During Her voice rose unconsciously as she stood up, hands trembling

our escape attempt , she betrayed me to win their trust

“ We had agreed to split up , but she turned around and told those traffickers exactly which way I’d gone .

I nearly got might , I heard her tell them myself ! ” she said with fury .

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she added quietly .

“ But that’s ancient history .

I’m just here as an ordinary guest , invited to try this new technology like anyone else ”

The comment section exploded , with viewers reassessing their opinions of both wonten

[ So the first incident was a misunderstanding , but this has to be legit .

Odessa heard it with her own cars ! ]

[ Guess appearances really are deceiving , Fenwick was right – Elysia only saved Callan because he reminded her of her brothers .

Bet she’d not only ignore anyone else in danger but kick them while they’re downl

[ Nah , I’m not buying it .

I’ve been watching Elysia closely and nothing about her screams “ backstabber .

” Hell , she even took a bearing to protect Odessa before ! ]

You’re judging her whole character based on a few good deeds ? We’ve barely seen anything of her story .

]

Bet they just haven’t shown us the shady stuff yet .

I’m camping this stream until I catch her slipping ! ]

Across social media platforms and the livestream chat , Odessa’s one – sided statement had worked like a lever , completely flipping public opinion against Elysia once again

But this time Odessa’s own fans were dead silent – imagine finding out the person you’ve been stanning for years is the same one you’ve been traching online .

The irony was painful .

END GIFT