Chapter 14 Elaine Loses Herself to Despair and Stabs Herself in the Neck

Thea did not come inside the ward. Meanwhile, Elliott pinned Elaine onto the bed and then snatched her phone away. The phone's recorder was still ongoing, the timer on the screen ticking up one by one. Elliott deleted the recording and tossed the phone aside before pressing down on Elaine's shoulders. He started to grope her. He whispered, "Say, if something were to happen between us now, would Skylar believe you even if you told him about me and Thea?" Elaine was still wrapped in bandages. She couldn't move her arms as she was being held down by Elliott. Her stomach churned violently. She was in utter despair as she desperately turned her head to bite down hard on his arm. Elliott hissed out in pain and loosened his grip, allowing Elaine to break free immediately. She scrambled to get out of the bed and screamed for help as she reached for the call button at the head of the bed. He grabbed her by her hair and forcefully slammed her back onto the bed. "Do you think you can run? Not a chance. I've actually never done this in a hospital before. Guess I'll have some fun with you today." Elaine could not stop retching, so Elliot clamped her mouth shut with his hand as she continued to struggle. Just then, the door swung open with a bang. Elliott didn't expect Skylar to arrive so quickly. He didn't even have the time to react before he was yanked up violently. Skylar then threw a punch straight into Elliot's face. Elliott was caught completely off guard and staggered several steps back before slamming into the wall. Elaine's shirt was torn open at her right shoulder. Her face was pale as she pulled over the blanket beside her, wrapped it around herself tightly, and then shrank into a corner of the bed. Elliott would have really assaulted her had Skylar not shown up in time. The overwhelming feeling of disgust and terror still lingered in Elaine's heart. Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared at Elliott knocked down on the floor. Elliott watched as Skylar grabbed a fruit knife from the coffee table and then strode toward him without a word. He began to panic as he backed away while trying to explain himself. "Listen to me, Skylar! It was Elaine who seduced me! I thought you were with Ms. Lancelot, and I was going to look for you. But then, I just so happened to see Elaine falling down in the hallway. "She said that she couldn't move, so I helped bring her back inside her ward. But the moment we got in the room, she started to beg me to help her leave, saying that she'd do anything to pay me back. And then—" Before Elliott could finish, however, Skylar's expression darkened as he grabbed Elliott by the collar and dragged him out of the ward. Thea chased after them and tried to stop Skylar. "Skylar, calm down. Maybe it's all just a misunderstanding. Or maybe Mr. Nagel just had too much to drink." As he left, Skylar looked at Thea and replied, "Don't come with me." Thea's legs came to a halt as cold sweat formed on her palms. It was the first time Skylar had spoken to her so coldly. She had thought that she could call Skylar over and fabricate a false story to push all the blame onto Elaine, allowing Elliott to get away scot-free just like back then. Skylar dragged Elliott all the way down the hallway and into the dimly lit fire escape. It was a blind spot with no cameras, and hardly anyone ever passed through. He did not say a word as he loosened his tie and tossed it aside. He then started throwing punches at Elliott one after another. Elliott couldn't dodge in time and almost tumbled down the pitch-black stairwell. His forehead was already drenched in sweat when he managed to latch onto the railing. Skylar's fists were painted red at that point. He looked at Elliott's bloodied face and finally spoke up. "What, too scared to fight back?" Elliott truly was too scared to fight back as he knew that he could not possibly win. But he was unwilling to accept his loss so easily. He sneered and replied, "I'm your uncle. Of course, I'm letting my own nephew win in a fight." Skylar's expression darkened even further as he kicked Elliott hard in the chest. Elliott had only started to catch his breath again before the attack caused him to cough up even more blood. Skylar sneered, "Go ahead and try hitting me back. I'll make sure that both you and that sister of yours who seduced my father get kicked out of the Frey family. If my dad has a problem with that, I'll kick him out too." Elliott was half-dead from all the beating. He wanted to say, "She's your stepmother," but he never managed to utter a word. He knew that Skylar could and would actually walk the talk. He also knew that Joshua, despite being the so-called chairman of Frey Holdings, was merely a figurehead in name only. Sixty percent of Frey Holding's shares belonged to Skylar. With the additional 20% he had gotten from Elaine, Skylar had become the undisputed owner of the company. He could actually kick Joshua out of the position of chairman if he did not care about maintaining a relationship with his own father. Skylar finally stopped beating him and asked coldly, "Did you make a move on Elaine? Or did she seduce you?" Elliott immediately raised a hand and swore, "I swear! This is a hospital, after all. I wouldn't be here to do something like that no matter how desperate I am. It's not like I can't get myself a woman or anything, so why would I go out of my way to force myself on your woman? She was the one who seduced me, saying that the relationship between you and her wasn't working out. She begged me to help her leave." Skylar remained silent, so Elliott continued, "I swear that if I've spoken even just a single lie—" Before he could finish, however, Skylar just turned around and walked away with a grim expression. The moment he left, Elliott muttered under his breath, "If I've spoken even just a single lie, then just pretend as though I've never said anything." Elaine was still trembling on the bed when the door suddenly swung open and Skylar walked inside. His hands were still bloodied as he walked over to grab Elaine off the bed. He threw her onto the couch. He leaned over her, his eyes bloodshot. "Are you that desperate to run away from me? To the point that you're seducing other men for help? Just how shameless are you willing to go?" Elaine trembled even more violently when she was pinned down by Skylar. It was exactly like how Elliott had held her down just moments ago. The same feeling of fear returned, gripping her heart. Her eyes widened from terror as she frantically shoved Skylar away. Skylar frowned and continued, "What the hell is your problem? What, pretending to be crazy after I walked in on you cheating on me?" Elaine's vision blurred. The face in front of her kept switching between that of Skylar's and Elliott's. But no matter whose face it was, all she could feel at that moment was nothing but terror. They were both demons that would never let her go. She struggled and freed herself before staring at Skylar with bloodshot eyes. "Just what will it take for you to let me go already?! What will it take for you to, just once, choose to believe me over Thea?!" Skylar's expression turned grim. "You want me to believe you after I just caught you on the bed with another man? There's a call button right at the head of the bed, and this is your own hospital ward. If you were really being assaulted, you could've just pressed the button the moment Elliott came in, but you waited until he had pinned you down. And now, you're pretending to be the victim?" He slowly walked up to Elaine and continued, "I've warned you again and again that I don't want my belongings dirtied. Can't you just stop doing all these disgusting—" Before he could finish, however, Elaine suddenly backed away and grabbed the fruit knife Skylar had thrown to the floor earlier and then pressed it hard against her neck. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she was smiling. "It's been ten years, Skylar. I'm tired. I'll just end it all. Let's just put an end to all of this, alright?"