Chapter 155

After seeing Eliana drawing Hodge’s attention, Maurice heaved a sigh of relief.

However, noticing that Hodge had come there alone, he felt that something was suspicious.

How could Gerald have let Hodge come alone?

Such a move did not match up with his personality.

Sensing that something was fishy, Maurice frowned deeply.

At the same time, Eliana did not think as much as he did. She was only keen on finding out the truth

about the past from Hodge.

“Please have a seat,” Eliana said.

Hodge complied and sat down from across her.

Facing each other, they felt awkward and did not know what to say.

Five years ago, Hodge had been one of her father’s most trusted friends, but things had changed

since. Recalling that, mixed feelings rose in Eliana’s heart.

That moment, a waiter walked over with a menu card.

“Sir, miss, may I take your order?”

Hodge glanced at Eliana, and said to the waiter, “Please take the lady’s order first.”

With the menu in her hand, Eliana was lost in thought for a while.

“A cup of Spanish latte and a Schwarzwald cake for the gentleman. And I will take a cappuccino and a

tiramisu, please.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The waiter took the menu from her and left.

Eliana’s words caused a stir in Hodge’s heart.

He had watched her grow up, after all. However, Spanish latte and Schwarzwald cake were his and his

ex-wife’s favorite foods, respectively.

And Eliana remembered it till day.

It was no wonder that she was Lemuel’s daughter. Just like her father, Eliana also seemed to value

personal relationships a lot.

A surprising bitterness rose in Hodge’s heart.

“Where are your son and daughter? Why didn’t I see them?” Eliana asked.

“They are abroad. Like you saw that day, I owe some people a lot of money, and they come after me all

the time. How could I let my kids stay with me in such a situation?” Hodge replied with a wry smile.

“Why haven’t you left yet?”

Hodge couldn’t answer her question. The reason he had not left with his kids was because Gerald had

promised to pay off his debts, and after that, his children could come back and he would be able to

reunite with them.

And that was the main reason he wanted to get the ring…

“Let’s stop with the small talk now. Where is the ring?”

Hodge was clearly quite anxious.

“Tell me why you want the ring first.”

Eliana needed to know the truth.

“You don’t need to know that.”

Flustered, Hodge awkwardly looked out of the window.

“You’re not the one that’s actually after the ring, right?” Eliana continued to question him as she

guessed that there must be someone who was controlling Hodge.

Hodge remained silent.

“How can you expect me to just give you the ring if you won’t even tell me that much?” Eliana tried to

persuade him.

“Yes, well, my creditor… That’s right! My creditor… Well, he wants the ring. He said that it was a part of

a very precious jewelry collection, and he said that he will waive off my debts as long as I get him the

ring.”

Obviously, Eliana was not a fool to believe that.

“If you don’t tell me where the ring is, then I can’t tell you what happened back then!”

Hodge seemed to be agitated, like he was forcing Eliana to tell him where the ring was.

Seeing that, Eliana decided to use her trump card.

“Okay, let me be honest with you. I’ve lost the ring that you are looking for.”

“What? You lost it? How?” Hodge stood up, his eyes wide open in shock.

“It’s because the dog is missing,” Eliana replied calmly.

“The dog?” Hodge was perplexed.

“A dog swallowed the ring, and then it ran away, so now the ring is missing.”

Hearing those words, Hodge was speechless.

“Are you kidding me? I don’t think you knew about the ring’s whereabouts to begin with. You were only

trying to lure me out, weren’t you?”

Furious, Hodge turned around, intending to leave.

However, Eliana could not let him go, so she swiftly grabbed his hand and snapped, “You want to

leave? Unless you tell me the truth, you won’t be able to get out of here!”

Enraged, Hodge was trembling as he roared, “It was Maurice Moran, who wanted to acquire the Pierce

Group back then. He planned the Pierce Group’s bankruptcy. He’s the one that forced your father to kill

himself. He is the real culprit!”

“Maurice… Moran?” Eliana asked in shock.

Pretending to be sad, Hodge said, “Yes. Maurice already knows about your identity, but the funniest

thing of all is that you have slept with your enemy. If your parents know about that, then their souls

won’t be at peace.”

Upon hearing those words, Eliana was startled. She suddenly remembered Maurice’s words.

“If you were the daughter of the Pierce family, then would you believe that I was the one that did it?”

Eliana had not understood the real meaning of his words at that time, but now she did.

She had been tricked…

Thinking of that, she fell into a long daze.

Seizing the opportunity, Hodge shook her hand away and ran towards the cafe entrance.