Chapter 6 - 5: She Was Forced

"What’s wrong?" Norman Bennett could immediately sense her unusual demeanor. Just a moment ago, her face was touched by Luna’s glow, but now it was covered by a gloomy expression, her almond-shaped eyes slightly narrowed, reflecting hatred, even the hand she was holding had become stiff. That was the hit-and-run car, and the person getting out of the car... Well now! So it’s you! "Shane Southwell! I won’t let you get away with this..." Elliana Lyle gritted her teeth inwardly, these words naturally remained unspoken. Although the person getting out of the car wasn’t Shane Southwell, that person was Uncle Frederick! He was the one Shane Southwell wanted her to accompany to the airport, also due to it being her who sent him back then, the police naturally couldn’t discover this individual. Shane Southwell said Uncle Frederick was his great benefactor, and Elliana at the time was always grateful to Uncle Frederick. Looking back now, how laughable and foolish it was, no wonder Shane Southwell had smiled at her that day, laughing at her stupidity! How could she not recognize George Lyle, letting this criminal slip away right in front of her eyes? The real mastermind is Shane Southwell. Shane Southwell’s family runs a talent agency, Roland, and Eleanor Llyod is an artist at Roland, who will eventually become a popular actress. Back then, Roland was investigated for tax evasion. The investigation revealed financial embezzlement, and at that time, many of Roland’s artists terminated their contracts, disregarding the high penalty fees. It was evident that the internal situation was not simple. That year, Roland was severely in deficit, influenced by various factors, which happened just last month. However, this directly affected Shane Southwell, the vice president, losing substantial financial sources. At the beginning of the month, Shane Southwell asked her for money, but Elliana couldn’t provide that much at the time. So, was it murder? Norman Bennett followed her gaze, only seeing a middle-aged slightly overweight man. He didn’t quite understand what grudges Elliana had with this man, which made her so furious. "Investigate." With just a gentle word from Norman Bennett, Raymond Wood instantly understood what it meant and quickly nodded. At this moment, Elliana Lyle still couldn’t come to her senses. She hated, she was angry, she wanted to rush forward, but now... What reason did she have to convict George Lyle? Thinking about it, Elliana trembled with hatred, wondering if the sins of the past life didn’t need to be repaid? Should he roam freely? No, Elliana asked herself if she could do it. Even in the past life, she exhausted her efforts to investigate, aiming to give her parents justice. But she never thought the murderer was her pillow partner, she was pleasing the murderer! "Don’t be afraid, I’m here." On the back of Norman Bennett’s hand was a row of nail marks, and he turned around to hold the trembling little hand tightly. Elliana gradually came back to her senses, exhaling lightly, that car had already driven away, and George Lyle had entered the hotel. Raymond Wood, who was behind Norman Bennett, had disappeared at some point. "Um... Norman Bennett, I’ll head back first, I’m feeling a bit unwell." Elliana truly had no mood for anything, she felt so tired, the more she knew, the more uncomfortable she became. Norman Bennett gazed at the dispirited person before him. Previously, Elliana was lively, stubborn, and wilful, never cried just because, at what point did she become so fragile, so careful? Actually, when she was baring her teeth and claws at him, she was quite adorable too. At least back then, Elliana knew how to vent, rather than suppress like she does now. "Alright, I’ll take you home." ... The Lyle Family. Upon Elliana’s return, the butler said Mrs. Lyle had already driven out. However, she didn’t mind, only thinking of going upstairs to sleep, her thoughts were too chaotic, tangled like a bunch of knotted strings. It was night. The bright moon hung high outside, and Elliana barely woke up, just when she was about to grab her phone from the bedside, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Following that, the butler’s voice echoed: "Miss, Miss, something’s wrong, Mr. just called, Madam had a car accident, she’s currently at the city hospital, asking Miss to hurry over." This news was like a thunderbolt from the sky, making one’s heart skip a beat. Elliana hurriedly turned on her phone, noticing several missed calls, besides her father’s, there was also one from Norman Bennett. She had set her phone to silent before sleeping! In a flurry, Elliana slipped on her shoes, stumbling to the door, disregarding the anxious-looking butler, she ran straight downstairs. How could there have been a car accident, how did this happen... Was it Shane Southwell? Is he still unwilling to give up, failing once and trying again! "Miss, I’ll go ahead and start the car to take you there." The butler chased after her, yet Elliana had already run out the gate. At this moment, she heard the sound of a car braking urgently, a car parked outside at the iron gate, Elliana stopped at the gate, only to see the car window roll down, revealing Norman Bennett’s cold and handsome side profile. "Get in the car." "Oh, okay!" Elliana hurried outside, the passenger door had already been opened from the inside, she quickly got in, and Norman Bennett’s slender hand thoughtfully fastened her seatbelt. The car started, Norman Bennett spoke swiftly: "I went to the hospital to see your aunt. She’s still being rescued. I called you but couldn’t reach you, so I came to pick you up." "I fell asleep in the afternoon, then... do you know what happened? How my mom..." Elliana couldn’t even bring herself to finish, she thought she stopped the tragedy, she thought it was over. If... if only she went to find her mom in the afternoon, then nothing would have happened, but in this world there is no if. "Currently, the police are still investigating. Two cars driving in the opposite direction hit your aunt. The drivers were intoxicated, and it’s currently deemed accidental." Norman Bennett’s tone was serious, he had seen the surveillance, it didn’t seem accidental, clearly, Aunt’s car had evaded, yet those two cars relentlessly crashed into her. Elliana trembled, shaking her head, her gaze darkened, unusually firm: "No, it’s not an accident, definitely not! It’s murder!" "What?" Norman Bennett looked at Elliana with some surprise, filled with doubt, but in an instant, Norman Bennett returned to normal, asking: "Do you know something?" Right then, Elliana’s phone lit up, it was a message on WeChat. On the screen, it jumped, Southwell brother: Elliana, heard Aunt had a car accident, how is she? If she recalled correctly, Shane Southwell should be in North City, that’s the national capital, far away from South City, how could he be checking in at this moment? Opening WeChat, besides this new message, there was a message she sent to Shane ten days ago, for ten days, Shane Southwell hadn’t replied to her, yet at this moment, he checked in. The purpose was already clear to Elliana. Elliana adjusted her mood, now the most critical thing was not to alert the snake, in the previous life, Shane Southwell hadn’t been linked to the car accident, it seemed Shane Southwell was well-prepared, those individuals were likely loyal to him, no matter what did not say a word against Shane Southwell, all firm about drunk driving. Cat, was Elliana’s online moniker, Cat: Not sure yet, I’m also in the car, heading to the hospital. Southwell brother: Don’t be afraid, is Uncle alright? I’m in North City, I’ve bought a ticket and will return soon, though I’m busy here, Roland lacks severe funding, but I still want to be by your side, so you won’t be so scared. The way he called Elliana made her feel sick, it turned out it was for money, if it were the previous life, she might’ve already found ways to send money over. Since Elliana didn’t hide from Norman Bennett, naturally he saw quite a lot, Norman Bennett knew Shane Southwell, he also understood Elliana often argued with Mr. Lyle and Mrs. Lyle about Shane Southwell, perhaps she was pressured by her parents, to say she liked him. Elliana took a deep breath, suppressing the hatred, quickly removing Shane Southwell’s contact note, turning it back to the old Roland. Norman Bennett stopped talking, holding the steering wheel, lips tightly pursed, his whole demeanor akin to newly thawed snow on the snowy mountain.