Chapter 85
In the end , Torin sat back down in his chair .
It wasnât for Fenwick or Rowena .
+5
It was because he wanted to see what Elysia would endure next .
He had made up his mind : every single person who had ever wronged Elysia would pay dearly for their actions .
Even himself .
If Elysia were willing , he would transfer all his shares in the Drayton Group to her .
No , even that wouldnât be enough .
He would kneel before her , just as he had once forced her to kneel outside the family mansion , and he wouldnât rise until she forgave him .
*****
Meanwhile , at Ridgewood Middle School , the senior classâs morning academic lessons had finally ended .
The last session was gym class .
â Caellan , youâre bringing the ball today , right ? I left mine at home , â one student called out .
Yesterdayâs scuffle seemed to have been entirely forgotten , as the same group that had caused trouble now surrounded Caellan like nothing had happened .
â Come on , man , we have to play a real game today .
We only get one gym class a week â whatâs with this schoolâs schedule , anyway ? â
As Caellan hesitated , the girl from yesterday suddenly appeared again .
She tugged on his sleeve and said , â Caellan , you didnât do your homework yesterday .
Emma wants you to go to her office to make it up .
â
The other students immediately protested .
â Make it up ? Since when does Emma care about homework ? â
â Yeah , Big Cat , whatâs your deal ? You were all over Caellan yesterday , and now this ? What , you got a crush on him or something â ow ! Caellan , whyâd you punch me again ? â
Before the boy could finish , Caellanâs fist landed squarely on his shoulder .
Without missing a beat , Caellan declared , â Iâm going to make up the homework .
The ballâs over there â you guys can play without me .
â
The group exchanged glances but eventually gave in .
â Fine , but youâd better come join us once youâre done , â one muttered , pretending to be disappointed as they grabbed his Tavello limited â edition basketball and dashed off .
Caellan rolled his eyes , then turned back to the girl , scowling .
â Your nameâs Big Cat ? What kind of name is that ? â
â Weâve been in the same class for three years , and my nameâs Ruby , okay ? â she retorted with an exaggerated eye roll .
â Whatever .
Stop talking and letâs go .
Weâve got a livestream to watch .
â
She grabbed his hand , trying to pull him along , but he didnât budge an inch , standing as solid as a tree trunk .
Caellan yanked his hand free , wiped it on his uniform , and asked , â Why should I watch a livestream with you ? You lied to me .
Thereâs no way Emma asked me to make up homework .
â
Ruby thought to herself , Of course itâs for money and justice .
Out loud , she said , â Itâs about our bet ! If Elysia hasnât done a single bad thing , you owe her a public apology in front of the whole world .
â .
She paused , her eyes gleaming with mock concern .
â Oh , wait .
You already know Rowenaâs fake coma was exposed , right ? So you wouldnât back out now , would you ? â
Caellan wasnât stupid .
He snatched her phone with a quick movement , saying , â Why do you even care about Elysia ? Sheâs not related to you .
â
Before Ruby could react , he used her face to unlock the phone .
â Hey ! You sneaky little â give it back ! Thatâs my phone ! â
Ruby jumped and grabbed at him , but at his towering six â foot frame , Caellan simply held the phone out of her reach , ignoring her flailing efforts .
* Stop it , Caellan ! Give it back ! Thatâs my private property ! My privacy ! I swear , if you donât give it back , Iâll call the cops ! â Ruby said .
Her heart raced as she saw him opening her messages .
That was where the mysterious figureâs texts and their deal were stored â he absolutely
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Chapter 85
couldnât see them .
In a panic , Ruby did the only thing she could think of : she grabbed Caellanâs pants and yanked .
The message app opened , revealing ⦠nothing .
No incriminating texts , just a few spam messages and short exchanges with family members .
Ruby blinked in disbelief .
She was sure she hadnât deleted anything .
Where had it all gone ?
Meanwhile , her hand still tugged on Caellanâs waistband , pulling it down just enough to reveal the edge of his underwear .
Realizing this too late , Caellan grabbed his pants with his free hand and glared down at her .
â Ruby , do you have a death wish ? If thereâs nothing on your phone , why act so suspicious ? â
Ruby huffed .
â Itâs my phone ! Of course Iâm worried about whatâs on it â photos , private stuff .
How am I supposed to know youâre not some creep who secretly likes me and wants to see my selfies ? â
Caellan let out a dry laugh before retorting , â Oh , yeah .
Iâll just call Emma to lock your precious phone in her office , too .
â
In the end , they both ended up on the rooftop , sitting side by side .
When Caellan put on the VR glasses , a faint ache and dizziness set in .
As his vision adjusted to the screen , he was greeted with the image of his eleven â year â old self staring at him â or more accurately , at Elysia .
No , to be precise , he was staring at a just â awake Elysia , who had been shaken out of her sleep .
â Youâre so lazy .
Itâs only nine oâclock , and youâre already sleeping .
â
â Here .
Fenwick made hot milk .
Iâm only bringing it to you because youâve got your placement test tomorrow .
â
Elysia , her mind still hazy , slowly pieced her thoughts together .
She remembered that afternoon vividly .
It had poured rain as she walked the 6 miles home , drenched because no one had lent her an umbrella .
When she got back , her wounds had worsened , and the feverish dizziness had knocked her out .
A flicker of joy surged through her exhaustion .
For the first time in so long , someone had thought of her .
And heâd brought her milk .
â Thank you , â she whispered , mustering all her strength to lift her head and offer him a trembling smile .
She reached out to take the cup , but the livestream audience exploded .
[ No ! Donât drink it ! The milk is definitely poisoned ! ]
[ Fenwick wouldnât be that cruel .
I bet Rowena told Caellan to lie and say it was from Torin .
]
[ That canât be right , can it ? Sure , Fenwickâs a bit blind when it comes to things , but heâs not a bad guy .
Feels like Rowena mightâve orchestrated this -maybe told Caellan to lie and say Torin sent the milk to make Elysia believe it .
]
[ Can you stop with the conspiracy theories ? Itâs just a glass of milk ! You all have persecution complexes .
Fenwick probably cares about her but was too shy to bring it himself , so he asked Caellan to do it .
]
[ Youâre all focused on the milk , but am I the only one noticing the blood â stained gauze in the corner of Elysiaâs room ? Looks fresh â no way her self â healing powers can make new skin grow that fast ]
[ And then thereâs Caellan , that blind fool , coming in and calling her lazy .
But Fenwick , just tell us already â did you tamper with the milk or not ? Iâm dying to know , especially since she already took it ! ]
It was , after all , a memory from seven years ago .
Fenwick struggled to recall the details , but one thing became clear â he couldnât remember ever giving Elysia anything .
The only exception was the hairclip he gave her when she was four .
The thought stung .
How ironic that he had lavished Rowena with gifts enough to build a mountain , while his own sisterâs only possession from him was a single , decades â old clip â the very gift that had indirectly led to her kidnapping .
Tears glistened in Fenwickâs eyes as guilt and regret surged within him .
He fought back the urge to cry , straightening his back as he addressed the viewers with an air of determination .
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Chapter 85
â It doesnât matter if it was me who sent the milk or not .
All I know is this â I donât want Elysia to drink it , â Fenwick said .
The weight of his statement immediately hit the audience .
Even Fenwick , stubborn as a mule , was suspicious of the milk .
Torinâs expression confirmed it further â his pleading gaze toward the screen spoke volumes about his own fears .
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