“I had only been speculating before, but now that you’ve mentioned it, it confirms my suspicions. Do you know what happened to Lukas that night he was taken to the hospital? Hattie seemed to have thought of something funny as a slight smile appeared on her doll-like face, but the words that came out of her mouth sent shivers down one’s spine for no apparent reason.
“He was covered in blood and had his genitals cut off…” Hattie spoke of this with shining almond-shaped eyes, her smile growing deeper at the corners of her mouth. She almost gestured with her hands to depict how gruesome and bloody the scene was.
Elisa interrupted her in time, saying, “Please, don’t go on. I feel nauseous.”
Hattie pursed her lips, and after a few seconds of calming down, the excitement disappeared from her face, returning to the cold indifference she had before.
Elisa immediately guessed that Lukas’ ordeal was the work of Hamish, considering the man’s ruthless methods. Her face instantly grew stiff.
“Why is your face so pale? Are you scared?” Hattie leaned over and nudged Elisa’s shoulder.
Elisa trembled as she touched her own cold face. “Maybe it’s because of a cold.”
“How about you take some medicine first?” Hattie nodded as she got up and fetched a cup of warm water.
Elisa looked at the instructions on the box, opened it, and poured out four pills. Just as she was about to take them, a commotion was heard from outside.
“What’s happening out there?” Elisa paused and asked.
Hattie got up and stood at the doorway, peering outside. Several nurses and doctors were rushing ahead with a bed cart. Hattie squinted her eyes as she watched the group. They were the orthopedic surgeons.
“Someone else has been brought in for emergency treatment. Lately, the patients brought in for treatment either have broken bones here or there. Today’s case seems to involve a severed hand,” Hattie said.
Elisa quickly swallowed the pills and stood up to join Hattie’s side, looking over.
Before long, they saw the patient who had been brought in for emergency treatment. Both hands were dripping with blood, lying motionless on the bed cart, a face covered by an oxygen mask, indicating a critical condition.
Elisa never liked witnessing such bloody scenes. Just as she was about to turn her head, she suddenly froze.
The person lying on the bed cart was none other than Ivan.
“Ivan.”
Hattie turned around and saw Elisa staring at the patient being rushed to the emergency room, her face pale as a sheet.
“How can it be him? What happened to Ivan’s hand?” Elisa stared blankly, her entire body rooted in place, her heart sinking.
Seeing Elisa’s expression freeze, Hattie moved towards her. “Don’t panic, I’ll go ask about the situation for you.”
Hattie took the elevator and came back down after ten minutes. All the way, she contemplated how to break the news of her brother’s disability to Elisa. Such a thing happened right under their noses, and it was impossible to keep it a secret.
During those ten minutes, Elisa remained motionless, just like before, standing at the door with rigid movements. But as Hattie approached, she could clearly feel Elisa’s trembling legs, supporting her body against the wall.
“Your brother…,” Hattie murmured, struggling to form the words.
Elisa replied, “Tell me, I can handle it.”
“His right hand was amputated, and the tendons in his left hand were severed. They managed to reconnect the tendons, but there will be lingering effects. But his right hand is beyond repair.” Hattie glanced at it; it was missing from the wrist, as if it had been cleanly cut off, leaving a very neat wound.
“Can’t they fix his right hand?”
Elisa tried to appear strong, except for her pale complexion and a slightly quieter voice, there was no other peculiarities.
Hattie shook her head. “They couldn’t find his right hand.”
Without finding the severed right hand, there was no way to reattach it. Ivan would be disabled for the rest of his life.
Who would have cut off his hand? If we consider who Ivan has recently offended, the most likely person is Hamish!