Chapter 63

“Don’t tell that I’m still being held captive by Aidan,” Eliana said to Eddie, “Just tell him that I’m waiting for you at grandma’s old house. You must stay there for a while - go by yourself when you go out to buy things. Make sure to avoid surveillance cameras to avoid being detected and caught. Try to buy food that is sustainable and long-lasting. You’ll be able to leave for good when things settle down after a while.” Eddie nodded, “Alright - how do we send you messages to tell you our whereabouts?” Eliana smiled - “When you put the keys back before you leave,” she said softly, “Write down your destination and put it in the safe before you close it...I’ll be able to find you, don’t worry.” “Eddie...you must take good care of dad and yourself, alright?” Eliana smiled weakly, “You’re all grown up now - you’re capable and resilient. I have faith in you - you’ll be able to do all of these for me, right?” Momentarily overwhelmed by emotions, Eddie surged forward to hug his sister - Eliana did not hug him back for the fear that someone may be watching them from the outside. “I love you,” she whispered into her brother’s ear, “And I love dad...you must always keep this in mind, yeah?” Eddie couldn’t help but sob slightly - “Sister,” he whimpered, “We love you too...we really don’t want to leave you behind. You’ll...you’ll get out, right?” “Yes, I will,” Eliana promised determinedly. … Meanwhile, Travis and Aidan were resting in the former’s office - Aidan couldn’t help but feel unsettled and conflicted by what had happened. Even though Eliana had suffered many times under him in the past, never had she reacted so strongly and intensely. Why was she so adamant about making him believe her this time around? As Aidan pondered about this, he called Robert - “I want you to come to Travis’ office,” he ordered. Robert arrived less than a minute later - “What did you see today?” Aidan asked as soon as the former walked into the office. Robert reported respectfully and honestly, “Miss Harvey was going back into the house when Miss Collins approached her - the former tried to avoid her, only for the latter to stand in her way and block her. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about as I was quite far away from them - however, I did see Miss Collins raise her hand and slap Miss Harvey quite badly. Miss Harvey didn’t even try to fight back.” Travis couldn’t help but feel shocked at this, “What? Laura hit her?” Aidan scoffed, “She didn’t do it without reason - it was Eliana who’d said something to provoke her.” Travis frowned, “What could she have possibly said to incite such a strong reaction from her?” Aidan snorted and did not say anything in reply - instead, he let Robert narrate what had happened to Travis. After Robert was done. Travis furrowed his brows as he turned to Aidan, “Don’t you think that Laura went too far this time?” Aidan frowned, “How could you side with Eliana when you hadn’t heard what Laura had to say?” Travis chuckled, “I could say the same for you, my dear friend - how could you side with Laura when you hadn’t even heard what Eliana had to say?” Just then, Aidan couldn’t help but think about how tightly Eliana had held onto Travis’ wrist - he narrowed his eyes at his friend as he cocked a brow suspiciously, “Travis...is there something going on between you and Eliana?” Travis scoffed, “Woah, there, calm your imagination, Aidan. That’s nothing going on between us - I was just being objective when I said that Laura went too far.” Aidan sulked for a moment before he sighed, “Fine, then - tell me, what’s wrong with Laura?” “It’s reasonable for Eliana to dislike Laura,” Travis explained in a serious voice, “After all, she’d drafted her skin for and given a part of her liver to her - Laura knows this well and clear. Yet, she still approached Eliana nonetheless - even though it may have looked like she was trying to be amicable with Eliana, there was probably something more sinister going on.” Robert, who was listening to Travis, couldn’t help but feel the urge to pat the latter on his back - after all, he was right. It was true. Travis continued, “It’s natural to spout a few harsh words here and there when you quarrel - don’t you see how Laura is always crawling to you to complain about Eliana even though she’s well aware of what you would do to her? She wants you to think that Eliana is guilty and at fault - there’s no concrete proof as to who’s right and wrong. After all, no one but them heard their conversation - don’t you see it, Aidan? Laura was merely using you as a weapon that she could attack Eliana with.” “Do you think that I was in the wrong?” Aidan asked his friend.