âAny recollection?â Leoâs expression remained unchanged, but Elyse could sense his hostility. The frostiness sent chills deep into her bones.She finally looked up shakily with darting eyes. âLeoâ¦ââYou canât hide what you did forever. Calista from Kirkford Village is the daughter of the family who got Bria buried under the pillar. The other three are related to their family.âShe did not need further explanation to understand what he was getting at. Not only had he gotten to the bottom of the incident, but he also hurt everyone she worked with to take revenge on her, and he didnât even bother to hide the truth. It was a clear attempt at taunting and humiliating her.How ruthless!Elyse sat tensely on the bed and realized belatedly that, before this, Leo had only shown her a tenth of the ruthlessness he was capable of.âGet her the best medicine, doctor, and nurse,â Leo gave some instructions and left.Eugene, who had been following Leo around, stole a glance at Elyse and looked at Leo with pursed lips. Leo took revenge on Elyse because of her wrongdoing, but he asked Eugene to take care of Elyse out of courtesy. It was Leoâs way of telling Elyse that Ellenâs kindness could only go so far as to spare Elyseâs life, and served as a warning that Elyse might end up in a worse situation if she dared to misbehave.â¦
Bria suffered from some fractures but was not in serious condition. When Amelie was released from the hospital, she brought Bria home with her and hired a doctor to look after Bria.Meanwhile, Samuel and Julia did not slow down on their investigations. One day, he and Julia visited Amelie with the results of their investigation. âSomeone purposely shoved Bria under the pillar.âAmelie had expected the answer, but the truth still crushed her.âHow could they hurt a kid? Thatâs pure evil!â As one of the victims, Julia took the investigation personally. She could not hold back her anger and resentment. âHave we found the criminals behind this? Theyâd better not get caught because I will skin them alive!âSamuel gave her a look. He could not deal with her temper, but he also understood that she suffered from guilt for failing to protect Bria in the accident. He reached out to squeeze her hand.Amelie was slightly better at keeping her emotions in check, but as Briaâs mother, she was anxious to know the outcome of the investigation. Samuel read their expression and stared at Amelie with a knowing look. âI found the people behind the accident, but something odd happened to them. They were all hurt to different extents over the past two days.âHe pursed his lips tensely before continuing. âThe guy who caused Juliaâs wrist dislocation got into an accident two days ago and lost both arms. The couple who shoved Bria under the pillar was now buried in a collapsed mine. They are alive but are likely to be paralyzed from the incident.ââThe others got into different troubles as well, to the point that the Kirkford villagers thought there must be some paranormal activities around. They have been holding ceremonies for days to drive away the spirits.âAmelie and Julia took deep breaths, for they knew that ghosts were merely superstitions. Someone was behind the rogue justice, leaving them wondering about the identity of this merciless and ruthless person.Their eyes fell on Samuel. Amelie whispered her guess, âCould that person be⦠Leoâ¦â Leoâs figure popped up in her mind.âLeo Alston?â Julia finished her sentence.
âIs that possible?ââBased on our analysis, we could confirm that he was behind the revenge,â Samuel added. Amelieâs expression crumbled as she struggled to comprehend. She knew that the perpetrators were seemingly after Bria, but they were really after her. Is Leo avenging me? Amelie wondered.âThere must be a mastermind behind the collapse. Whatâs the motive of the villagers in hurting Bria when they had nothing to do with us?â Julia asked a pointed question. Samuelâs expression changed when he heard that. After a pause, he explained, âThis has been the focus of our investigation. But someone clearly destroyed the evidence by erasing the key information. Thatâs why nothing showed up in our investigation.ââErasing information?â Juliaâs heart sank. âWho would do that?ââIâm not sure.â Samuel shook his head. âBut one thing is clearâtwo different groups were behind this accident.ââThat mastermind must be very powerful to get help from two different groups.â Samuelâs remark led to more doubts in Julia.âItâs not hard to guess.â Amelie finally spoke after a long silence. âJust list out the people who hold grudges against me, and weâll get the answer.âAmelie was indeed intelligent. Julia came to a realization and slapped her thighs in excitement. âYes! Why have we not thought of that? My kind Elie, you rarely make enemies. There are only a few who hold grudges against you!âJulia did not name the three people, but they knew the answer. Elyse Clayton, Melissa Richards, and Jodie Alston were prime suspects.The Alstons would never mess with Bria to hurt Amelie, which left Elyse as the only suspect.Samuel marveled at Amelieâs wits. He appeared troubled when he considered Juliaâs point. He finally confessed with much difficulty, âSomething else happened at Kirkford as well. Two days ago, Elyse was abducted by the villagers and thrown to a madman. The madman burned down the house she was kept in, and she almost died in the fire.ââWhy didnât she just die?â Julia cursed spitefully, showing her extreme dislike for Elyse. Samuel went on, âBut Leo Alston arrived on time and saved her life. She suffered from a fractured leg because of the fire and was warded in the hospital.ââWhatâs wrong with Leo Alston? Why is he good to that phony b*tch?â Julia complained grudgingly again.
âAnyway, this shows that the villagers were not coming for Elieâthey were after Leo. Is that right?âIt was unsurprising that Bria and Elyse were tied with Leo because they were close to him. Still, Amelie held a different opinion. âThere might be some misunderstanding. Donât you think that what the villagers did to Elyse was intentional revenge?ââAre you saying that Elyse was responsible for the collapse, and someone who knew the truth got the villagers to take revenge on her?â Juliaâs eyes sparkled excitedly at Amelieâs bold assumption, which cleared some of their lingering doubts.Amelie fell silent and pursed her lips with a thoughtful expression. If Leo could discover the identity of the people who shoved Bria, he must have also found out that Elyse was the perpetrator. Even after Elyse committed a horrific crime, he was unwilling to hurt her. Whatâs that about?She wondered if he was one of the people who helped to erase evidence that implicated Elyse.Heâs still as protective and attentive when it comes to Elyse. Amelie sighed and smiled bitterly. She realized that Leo only took revenge against the villagers for Bria, not her.At the thought of it, she stood up without warning, which startled Julia. âElie?ââI need to get something done. Iâll be out for a while.â Amelie was gone in no time.âWhereâs Elie going?â Julia was flabbergasted.Samuel did not reply, but he appeared more worried than before.