Chapter 34: Explanation

Elliana Lyle stared at her phone, not knowing how to reply, and the sadness from earlier had dissipated quite a bit.

She nervously bit her fingernails, her eyes fixed on the screen.

What to do! What to do!

After thinking for a long while, Norman Bennett had already sent several more messages. She had no idea how to explain to him.

It seemed she still needed to hide at Phoebe Lyle's place, then head straight to the film crew in two days. As long as she didn't see Norman, everything could be resolved!

Buzz buzz~

Norman Bennett: "You better give me a reasonable explanation."

Luna looked at Elliana's anxious and flustered expression, sighed, and said, "Don't worry, Rupert Zeller will be fine. She still has an uncle who cares for her. I'll send you the results later and won't charge you."

Ring ring~

Immediately, Norman Bennett called via video. Elliana was stunned.

She took a deep breath and then answered the call.

"Hey hey, Norman..." Elliana grinned. It's often said that a smiling person won't be hit; with the dim light, nothing seemed amiss with her.

At first, Norman Bennett's gaze was somber, but when he saw her, his expression softened.

At least this girl was safe for now.

"Where are you now?" Norman looked at the cheerful little girl on the phone screen, and seeing her smile made him less angry.

Elliana moved the phone screen further away, aiming it at Luna, and said, "I'm here playing with my classmate."

Luna glanced at the phone with the corner of her eye, teasingly said, "Your dad is really young."

"No! He's not my dad; he's... he's my not-yet-married husband!" Elliana explained to Luna.

When he heard the word "husband," Norman was stunned for a moment, his heart in chaos as if his heart was bouncing around unpredictably.

However, Elliana sensed something was off and corrected herself, "I misspoke, I meant fiancé."

"You're in the car, where are you going?" Norman regained his usual aloof tone, his voice carrying an unspoken pressure.

Elliana looked at the phone and smiled, "I'm going back to Sister Phoebe's place, I'll take a taxi to the film crew myself in two days."

As soon as she said this, Norman immediately rejected her decision, saying, "I'll come to pick you up."

"No need! I really am going to Sister Phoebe's house. Once I get there, I'll share my location with you, really, I'm not lying." Elliana was flustered, like a child who had done something wrong and had no desire to meet the parent.

Seeing the little girl's pleading expression, Norman's gaze turned even colder.

This look made her panic.

"Norman... if you don't say anything, then shall I hang up?" Without giving the man time to react, Elliana immediately hung up.

She quickly sent another message, "Norman, I'm sorry," and then slumped back into the chair.

After a while, she sent a message to Phoebe Lyle, and luckily, Phoebe hadn't slept yet.

It's 10 o'clock now; she would probably arrive at her destination at midnight. It's much further than directly returning to the Vicars Hotel.

――North City, National Highway 301.

Norman Bennett sat in the car, finding Elliana's actions somewhat amusing; when would this girl stop lying to him?

If Shane Southwell weren't still in the hospital, he would've dragged Elliana back as soon as he found out she went to Whitesun Town.

Now that the little girl is an adult, he would give her some leeway.

"Raymond Wood, head to Taodong New District," Norman said.

Raymond was a bit surprised, then remembered something and asked, "President, there's no need to entertain such a small company, is there?"

After saying this, Raymond suddenly remembered something else, that Phoebe was in the Taodong New District, and he'd just heard Elliana was going there.

"Is the President going to pick up Miss Elliana?" Raymond had already started to turn the steering wheel.

―――Whitesun Town Police Station.

Rupert Zeller had been taken to the hospital, while the Zhao couple was brought back to the police station.

"It was all your sister's idea, selling a child! If it weren't for her, I'd have taken my daughter to the city for an abortion long ago." Chloe Zeller, at this point, didn't want to admit to any crime and began blaming her husband.

Rupert's father was instantly agitated, "What do you mean it was all my sister? She said we'd split the money from selling the child, and you agreed too!"

"What do you mean I agreed? Didn't you agree too? It wasn't your big mouth talking to your sister?"

"Silence! This is not the place for your argument." Officer White eyed the couple.

The couple immediately quieted down, both looking away from each other, unwilling to communicate.

"I'm asking you, who is this sister you mentioned? Is she Rupert's aunt? What's her name, and what does she do?" Officer White directed his question at Chloe.

"I know, his sister is in the city; I don't know what she does; her name is Chloe Zeller." Flora King bluntly replied, then added, "This matter has nothing to do with us; when can we leave?"

Officer White chuckled coldly, "Not anytime soon; once the little girl is checked, the two of you will be prosecuted according to the law."

He found the pair utterly disgusting; Rupert had cried to the officers, revealing all her parents' crimes when she was rescued.

At the time, several police officers were shocked.

"What... what crimes could we have committed?" Rupert's father was immediately flustered, standing up right away.

The officer next to him who was taking notes said, "Please sit down!"

Officer White's demeanor turned cold, "Besides your assaults on your child, Rupert, you're also suspected of rape!"

Rupert's father widened his eyes, pointing at Officer White angrily, "She is my daughter; how I treat her is my right..."

...

―――Taodong New District.

At midnight.

Elliana had already fallen asleep in the car, and it took Luna a while to wake her up.

"Ah, we're here?" Elliana groggily reached to unbuckle her seatbelt, then grabbed her phone and medication before getting out of the car.

Luna didn't linger at all and drove off as soon as Elliana exited the car.

"..."

For a moment, Elliana didn't know what to do, standing there for quite some time before she reacted and hurriedly called Phoebe.

"Hello, Sister Phoebe, I'm here."

"Yeah, I'm right behind you."

Elliana honestly turned around, and sure enough, she saw Phoebe standing at the entrance of the community, wearing a khaki trench coat. Her long hair was pinned up lazily.

A neutral face with a hint of coldness, she beckoned Elliana to come over.

Elliana quickly jogged over, smiling as she called out, Sister Phoebe.

"Hmm, wearing so little, aren't you cold?" Phoebe asked and started removing her coat.

With a flourish, the coat settled on Elliana, though a bit long, as Phoebe's height of 178 cm had the coat reaching her knees, whereas it reached Elliana's ankles.

"I'm not cold, achoo!" Elliana said just before sneezing; she felt a bit dizzy, perhaps from sitting in the car too long.

"Stubborn as a mule, let's go." Phoebe turned and walked into the complex, slowing down a bit as she walked.

At Phoebe's house, the first thing Elliana noticed were the kittens running around the floor and the mama cat lounging on the sofa.

"Wow! So many kittens." Elliana couldn't resist picking one up to pet.

"Sophie White had five kittens; I haven't sent them out yet. If you want one, you can take it." Phoebe said, heading into the kitchen.

Elliana shook her head immediately after hearing this, "No need, I have Little Lotus; if I get another cat, she'd be upset."

At this point, Elliana's eyes fell, a touch of sadness in them. She never wanted to raise a cat again.

"After you bathe, drink the milk from the microwave; the room is ready for you—it's behind you. There's a bathroom in your room."

With everything arranged, Phoebe went into her room.

Elliana entered the room behind her, noticing the cat-themed bedspread; Sister Phoebe really loved cats.

After her shower, she drank some milk and started texting Norman Bennett.

Cat: "Norman, I'm at Sister Phoebe's place."

Then Elliana also shared her location. Shortly after, Norman joined the share.

She opened it and immediately froze.

Norman was at Nanjing International Hotel, just a street away.

Norman: "Go to sleep; I'll pick you up at the community gate in the morning."

No, please!

Elliana was instantly on the verge of tears; Norman undoubtedly still remembered her hanging up on him…