Lana's heart raced as she recalled Seth's recently chilling gaze. She mulled over every word he had said. "Don't provoke me," the three words now seemed more ominous in hindsight. Cicely had never considered how severe the consequences of Seth's warning could be.

She didn't know where the confidence came from, but she'd known all along that Seth wouldn't choose to have her killed if she insisted on leaving, as she'd just said.

She thought there was nothing more desperate and painful than death in this world, but again, she was wrong.

Lana had just spoken with the doctor, and they'd managed to secure an extra visiting slot. Perhaps it was the presence of someone to lean on that made Cicely feel considerably lighter.

Though the visiting time was half an hour, Lana did not stay in the room for the full duration. Even for her big brother, she couldn't bear standing there and making small talk for thirty minutes. She never liked wasting her time on meaningless activities.d2

After about fifteen minutes, Lana glanced at the girl sitting by the hospital bed, her hands tenderly holding her father's, her plea for comfort both calm and heartbreakingly sad. Lana pursed her lips. She raised her hand to gently touch the girl's hair, "You stay here with your dad for now. I'll go check on your grandpa."

Cicely nodded lightly, "Then I'll visit grandpa later."

"Alright, don't worry too much. Your grandpa's spirit is much stronger than your dad's." After all, what hadn't he lived through in his lifetime?

Cicely looked up at Lana, opened her mouth to speak, but in the end, only managed a soft "Mhm."

Lana took a deep breath, her hands sliding into the pockets of her dress, "Never mind, I'll wait for you, and we'll go back together."

Cicely's expression finally relaxed a little. With her aunt gone, she didn't know what Seth would do next. Especially concerning those two men in black suits always by his side, she felt clueless on how to handle them.

However, as they left the ICU, they were met by two police officers standing right in their path. Their eyes glanced over the documents in their hands before settling firmly on Cicely's face. "Are you Miss Cicely?"

Upon seeing the uniforms, a wave of panic washed over Cicely, and she involuntarily stepped back. The officers noticed her reaction and shared a glance.

"Ms. Cicely, there's been an allegation against you for intentional assault with a knife. We need you to come with us to the station to assist with our investigation," one of them said.

Cicely's eyes flickered, immediately thinking of Patty. Under those circumstances, it seemed anyone would suspect her of injuring Patty.

"I didn't do it; she went crazy on her own." she protested.

"We're just asking for your cooperation at this stage. Please discuss these matters at the station," the leading officer interrupted firmly, intent on taking her away.

Again, an investigation. First, it was the Department of Justice, and now the police station. Cicely suddenly felt an eerie sense of inevitability, as if she hadn't done anything wrong yet was still trapped by fate. Lana stepped in, placing herself between Cicely and the officers. "Hold on, make things clear right here first. Are you taking her for questioning or using that as a pretext to lock her up?"

The officers' expressions grew stern. "Ma'am, please watch your language and respect our work," one cautioned.

Lana scoffed, "Have I insulted you? Is that how bold and sensitive public servants are these days? Can't I even ask a question?"

The lead officer's face grew serious, "We'll take her statement, investigate, and gather evidence. If she's not involved, she'll be free to go."

Lana nodded, her smile dripping with sarcasm, "So you'll keep her locked up until the investigation is clear?"

The officer's frown deepened, "She's a suspect in a crime."

"What if I don't let you take her?"

"Obstruction of justice is punishable by up to three years in prison, detention, control, or a fine."

Lana narrowed her eyes.

Cicely blinked, pulling Lana aside, then stepped forward to face the officers with a different question. "Who reported the incident?"

Without hesitation, they answered, "Mr. Diaz."

Cicely's eyes contracted sharply, her whole being feeling like it had been struck by lightning. After a moment of suffocation, numbness set in. So, when he said not to provoke him, was this his way of stabbing her in the back?

Breath hitched in Lana's throat at the realization of the depth of the man's ruthlessness.

After a long pause, Cicely nodded slowly. She stood still, her gaze fixed on nothing in particular, lost in thought. Then, after several seconds, her voice, void of any disturbance, rose gently. "Aunt Lana." Lana responded gravely, "Don't worry, I won't let them take you. I'll go find him right now."

"Do you think..." Cicely seemed not to hear Lana's words, continuing to speak as if to herself.

Lana focused on her niece's profile, noticing the faint, almost imperceptible smile.

"Does he really love me?"

She could confirm that it was Seth who sent Issac away, probably because he didn't want to divorce her.

In Danielle's ward, she asked Patty if Seth loved her. Patty was mad, and she was starting to feel maybe he loved her.

Just now, he didn't want to let her leave with her aunt at any cost. The bluish prints of his fingers on her wrist from gripping tightly seemed to suggest he loved her as well.

But she once asked him plainly, and he never answered, never admitted before. So she wasn't sure.

In Lana's mind, when Cicely asked this question, the last look in Seth's eyes instantly emerged. To this moment, she still couldn't understand that look, like a place where the Grim Reaper had stayed. It's like a twilit night that neither had light nor life before, or a twilit night that just lost light and life and was slowly darkening.

Just lost light and life... For some reason, she inclined more towards this metaphor.

"He does."

Some people's love is abnormal, and that's the norm.

This answer made Cicely smile. "Do you think so too?"

Lana didn't know what the young girl in front of her was thinking. "Cicely, it's pointless to think about this right now."

Cicely slowly tapered off her smile and nodded faintly. "You just got back, you need to arrange for dad to leave, and visit grandpa. In order not to stir up unnecessary trouble anymore, I'll just go with them." Her aunt had just come back; she felt like she just had a little bit of support.

The Ellis family couldn't now bear any more incidents now. So, she could only go with them.

Sᴇarch the FindNovel.net website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report
Do you like this site? Donate here:
Your donations will go towards maintaining / hosting the site!