“Mrs. Rugger…” Elisa’s tears welled up as soon as she spoke. In order to gain Mrs. Rugger’s help, her first step was to appeal to her sympathy.
Elisa, being both beautiful and ill, appeared especially pitiable when she cried. Mrs. Rugger, feeling both distressed and anxious at the sight, quickly handed Elisa tissues to wipe her tears.
“Why are you crying?” Mrs. Rugger hastily wiped her tears, “Being pregnant should make you happy.”
Elisa shook her head, “Mrs. Rugger, Hamish wants to abort my child.”
Mrs. Rugger froze, her hand stiff as she held the tissues, taking a while to regain her composure.
“Why… why would he want that?”
Elisa explained the whole situation to Mrs. Rugger, including how Hamish had been giving her medication to disrupt her memory, never wanting her to recover her recollection.
He intended to make her forget everything, perhaps even turning her into a simpleton imprisoned here.
Elisa didn’t understand why Hamish wanted to abort her child, but she vaguely sensed it was related to her lost memories.
After hearing everything, Mrs. Rugger was stunned. These were the kind of things that shattered one’s beliefs. In her eyes, the gentle and caring Hamish was, in reality, a person of this sort behind closed doors.
How was this different from imprisonment? Wanting to control someone’s memory, even forcing his own wife to abort a child! Was he even human? It felt worse than treating an animal!
“Mrs. Rugger, you have a daughter. You should understand my feelings right now. I can’t let Hamish abort my child. This child is my hope, my reason for living. I have nothing now, only this child. If Hamish takes my child away, he will continue to keep me here, hypnotizing me, making me forget,” Elisa choked.
Mrs. Rugger was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of justice. She decided to help Elisa, but she was just a servant. What could she do?
“What should we do? Should we call the police?”
Elisa shook her head, “Calling the police won’t help. Hamish has already convinced everyone that I am mentally ill. If you go to the police, I’m afraid it will put you in danger.”
Having followed Hamish in and out for these few months, going to the Burns Group, Elisa had a good understanding of the extent of this man’s power. Someone like Hamish, who disregarded the law, was capable of anything.
Mrs. Rugger’s face turned pale as she stammered, “Then… then is there no other way?”
Elisa shook her head, “Mrs. Rugger, I’ve decided to escape on Monday.”
“Escape?” Mrs. Rugger asked, astonished, “How are you going to escape? There are so many surveillance cameras inside and outside, and Mr. Clegg is watching you. Even if you manage to escape, do you have any money on you? Not to mention it’s not easy to find a job while pregnant, and raising a child requires a lot of expenses.”
As she said this, all the problems came to light. Elisa had indeed considered all of this.
“For the cameras and Mr. Clegg, I need your help. Hamish gave me a card, and I plan to withdraw the money from it.”
It wouldn’t be difficult to damage a few surveillance cameras, but it would be tricky to do it without anyone noticing.
When a person is determined to accomplish something, even the universe conspires to help.
Sunday night brought heavy rain, thunder rolling. Apart from the sound of pouring rain, there was the howling wind. The weather forecast issued a red storm warning, and in less than an hour, the roads were flooded.
Hamish knew Elisa was afraid of the dark and especially scared during the stormy seasons. He stayed in the company’s office, wanting to go back to check on Elisa but worried about upsetting her.
After much thought, he finally called Mr. Clegg to inquire about the situation.
“Mrs. Burns asked Mrs. Rugger to accompany her to sleep tonight.”
Hamish felt bitter. Elisa would rather have a servant stay with her than send him a text.
“Having someone with her should make her less afraid,” Hamish muttered to himself, looking at the thunderous night outside.
Meanwhile, at the villa, Mrs. Rugger surreptitiously turned off the power and then disabled the surveillance cameras outside. Even if Hamish discovered the cameras were broken, he wouldn’t suspect her. She could just say the storm caused the damage.
On Monday morning, Mrs. Rugger found an excuse to have Mrs. Protich accompany her to buy groceries, and then she found another excuse to send Mr. Clegg away.
Elisa found Hamish’s bankcard and remembered that Hamish, in an attempt to please her, had told her the card’s password. She changed into more practical clothes for her escape. Hamish had prepared a lot of jewelry for her, each piece worth at least seven figures. Elisa picked out a few inconspicuous pieces to sell.
It seemed that Mimi, sensing her departure, circled around her legs, trying to get her attention. Elisa squatted down, stroked its furry little head, and offered it some fish treats, then opened a can of food for it. For the last time, she cleaned its litter box. Normally greedy for treats, Mimi didn’t even glance at the fish treats this time, lying on the ground, hoping Elisa would pet it.
Elisa reluctantly picked up Mimi, kissing its head. “I’m sorry, I can’t take you with me,” she said. “This time, I’m escaping for my life, and I can’t protect you. I’m leaving you with Mrs. Rugger, who will take good care of you after I’m gone.”
With no one in the villa and the surveillance cameras disabled, Elisa easily slipped out. She took a few pieces of clothing, the card, and some jewelry, leaving everything else behind.
With a severe flu outbreak recently, almost everyone on the street was wearing masks. Elisa, in a gray sports shirt and a mask, her hair loose, blended into the crowd.
As she walked, she carefully observed her surroundings. She visited several banks, withdrawing $200, 000 and stashing it in her backpack. Then, she managed to evade the cameras and changed into different clothes in an alley. This time, she even wore a wig as a disguise.
Elisa had pre-purchased a train ticket. She decided to start a new life in a remote county. The cost of living was low there, and even with little money, she could manage to survive. Most importantly, it was remote enough that Hamish wouldn’t find her.
Elisa wasn’t worried about Hamish discovering that $200, 000 was missing from his account. Even if he did, it would be too late by the time he came looking for her. By then, she’d be on a train far away.
At the train station, as she felt the reality of leaving Hamish sink in, Elisa didn’t feel particularly sad or happy; she was strangely calm. Holding her ticket, she glanced unconsciously at the surveillance cameras in the waiting area. She wondered if Hamish would check those cameras. She forced a relaxed smile and silently mouthed, “I’m leaving.”
As she boarded the train, Elisa felt her heart collapse. A wave of despair hit her, and she struggled to breathe. She clutched her chest, found her seat, and wearily closed her eyes.
Her mind was filled with Hamish’s images-angry, joyous, begging for her forgiveness, and declaring his love. His every expression vividly played in her mind, haunting her.
The train station was bustling with people. Elisa made a decision. The final stop for the train was Tarsiers. Once there, she would transfer to other routes that didn’t require identification, heading to a county or a township.
Though $200, 000 wasn’t a lot, it would be enough to build a house in a remote area. She didn’t intend to settle in one place. Firstly, it would prevent Hamish from finding her, and secondly…
As she gazed out of the window at the moving crowd, Elisa knew she had to find someone named Autumn in the midst of this bustling crowd. She needed to recover her memories.
The first and most important thing is to find a place to rent temporarily. While her child was still young in her belly, she decided to find a job. However, with her disabled fingers, finding a job was difficult. She could only do cleaning, sweeping, and if it was a little better, she could do bookkeeping. Her mind was sharp, and arithmetic was completely fine for her. She needed to work hard to earn money; pregnancy incurred many expenses, and she didn’t want to be unable to afford even the baby formula after the baby was born.
Burns Group held meetings every Monday, especially now that Burns Group had entered the Chiwood market. This was absolutely not the time to slack off. During the meetings, Hamish would put his phone on silent or hand it over to Tobias. Today, Tobias had Hamish’s phone and felt it vibrate. Tobias opened it and saw a message about a withdrawal of $200, 000. Lately, there had been frequent transactions in Hamish’s account, but Tobias didn’t think much of the $200, 000 and just closed the message. After that, the phone remained silent.
A meeting usually lasted about four hours. Hamish was always patient and responsible in his work. Approaching noon, Hamish’s phone, which was with Tobias, suddenly vibrated. Tobias glanced at it and saw that it was a call from the estate’s butler. Mr. Clegg generally wouldn’t make calls. If he did, it was definitely because something had happened to Elisa. While Hamish was indeed responsible for his work, Elisa always took precedence. There was no need to say who was more important.
Tobias walked over to Hamish, leaned in, and whispered, “Mr. Burns, Mr. Clegg is calling. Would you like to take it?” Hamish’s heart suddenly felt uneasy. He spoke up, halted the meeting, and amidst everyone’s puzzled looks, he took the phone.
“What is it?”
On the phone, Mr. Clegg asked, “Mr. Burns, I’m calling to ask, is Mrs. Burns with you right now?”
“What do you mean?!” Hamish suddenly stood up from his chair, looking tense, and gripped the phone tightly, his knuckles turning white.
“Mr. Burns…” the butler’s voice trembled, “Mrs. Burns is missing.”
Hamish’s expression turned cold, his eyes fierce like a hawk’s. The people in the meeting room were instantly intimidated by his fierce aura, not daring to even breathe heavily. Because they couldn’t hear what was being said on the phone, they could only guess in their hearts. What had happened that made Hamish’s face look so terrible? Was it a contractual issue?
Hamish couldn’t hear any sound. In his mind, one phrase echoed loudly.
-Elisa is missing.