Elisa was so frightened that her mind went blank, and her phone nearly slipped from her hand to the ground. She quickly rationalized that there were so many people with the same name in the world, so this Finn might not be the one she knew. Moreover, she had changed her phone number and her Facebook account.
Elisa dared not agree and tossed her phone aside to continue with her own affairs, hoping to dispel her unease. However, the three letters “Finn” kept circling in her mind, preventing her from focusing on anything. Later that evening, she picked up her phone again and found that the person had added her as a friend three times and sent a verification message.
“How come, don’t you recognize me?”
“Since you left Hamish, should you consider me? I am very interested in you.”
There was no doubt now, this was Finn. How could he have her Facebook? Elisa’s hand trembled nervously, like a Parkinson’s patient, and the intense light above her head made her eyes ache.
In the end, she clicked “agree.” It seemed like the person had been waiting for her message, and after they became friends, Finn sent a message.
“Elisa, have you been doing well these past two months?”
Elisa replied with a voice-to-text message, “How did you find my information?”
“Do I need to search? Following Hamish is enough, right? He’s the one looking for you, not me. He’s been going crazy during these eighty days you’ve been gone.”
Elisa’s heart raced, and the shock made her face turn pale. Finn had found her by following Hamish. Did this mean that Hamish already knew where she was?
Finn kept messaging, but Elisa couldn’t concentrate on her phone anymore. After a while, she stiffly opened her phone and looked at the last message on Facebook.
Finn: “Do you want to beg me? As long as you become my woman, I won’t let Hamish take you away.”
Time passed by, minute by minute. Before Elisa could reply, Finn sent another voice message on his own.
“It’s too late even if you agree now. Hamish has found your door.”
Elisa’s breath caught, her mind went blank with fear. Her hands were shaking so much that her phone fell to the ground, but she didn’t bother to pick it up. She immediately rummaged through her luggage, packing some basic clothes and necessities.
The more nervous she felt, the more disorganized she became. Elisa gritted her teeth, threw away the luggage, and slung her money-filled backpack over her shoulder. Inside were tens of thousands in cash and a card with $950, 000. She could buy clothes and necessities again, but if Hamish caught her, her life would be over.
Elisa had never been so nervous before. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she felt as if she were going mad as she shouldered the backpack, breaking out in a cold sweat. Her breathing became rapid, and her limbs weakened.
Shaking, she opened the door and ran downstairs. At that moment, a black luxury car stopped flashing its lights in front of the rental building.
The car door opened, and the man she feared stepped out, accompanied by several well-dressed bodyguards.
Each of them stood at least 1. 9 meters tall, exuding an overwhelming presence in this small town. The locals had never seen such a scene before, and although they were curious, they dared not look directly, afraid of causing trouble, so they kept their distance.
Hamish was still the same Hamish. Although he looked much more haggard after these eighty-plus days, his fierce aura hadn’t diminished one bit.
Even though it was summer, Elisa felt as if it were the depths of winter at that moment, especially with Hamish’s expression and gaze, as sharp as ice. His eyes swept over Elisa, sharp as countless knives.
His gaze made Elisa recoil. He had completely blocked the way in front of her, and as Elisa’s heels reached the stairs, she reacted instantly, turning around and running back upstairs.
“Elisa, stop!”
Not only did she not stop, but she ran even faster. Hamish stared at her fleeing figure, as if he could see right through her.
Since she was already here, he wasn’t worried that she would escape.
… The canary kept by the Burns family accidentally flew away, and Hamish’s men had searched for a full eighty-five days, finally finding a trace of Elisa in Rhino Town.
Hamish had always been proud and self-assured. Although he had been anxious and fearful when Elisa ran away, he had thought that he would quickly find her.
However, he never expected that Elisa would disappear as if she had grown wings.
If this had been the Hamish from two years ago, insuch a situation, he would have harbored only violent thoughts, wanting to capture the person who had escaped from him and break their legs.
But now, his fear and anxiety had long since submerged that anger.
Would Elisa be in trouble after leaving him for eighty-five days? Her memory loss had made her rather dull, and would she be deceived or taken advantage of outside? Moreover, was she running out of the medication she needed? What if her stomach pains recurred? Could she take care of herself? Would she end up at a hospital, only to discover that she had stomach cancer and then, upon regaining her memory, hate him bitterly?
And what about the child in her womb? It would be better to terminate the pregnancy sooner rather than later, as it would be more difficult as time went on.
Thus, he had to find Elisa as soon as possible.
Hamish released several pieces of information, including details about the two pieces of jewelry Elisa had taken with her.
Elisa wouldn’t have taken those two things for no reason. Most likely, she took them to exchange for money. The $200, 000 she withdrew from the bank wouldn’t be enough to cover her living expenses, including accommodation and daily necessities like food.
Considering her situation, she surely wouldn’t dare to go out to find work, especially with her disabled hands. She would only spend money and not earn any. Therefore, she would definitely have to sell the jewelry. The value of those two pieces was apparent, and regardless of whether people were knowledgeable about jewelry, they would search online. Hamish just needed to gather this information.
As expected, he received information from several sources, ultimately pinpointing a seemingly inconspicuous town. Later, he found a landlady named Constance, who knew that Elisa was renting a house in this small town.
Hamish had never expected that Elisa would hide in such an out-of-the-way place. She had suffered a lot, but even amidst her suffering, she managed to live in comfort.
It seemed that she had put a lot of thought into evading him.
It was indeed a difficult place to find people, with vague terrain and no need for identification. Elisa could easily fabricate an identity that people would believe in here.
Hamish opened his phone’s gallery and carefully looked through Elisa’s photos. He had taken many, some of which were candid shots-her reading, sleeping, daydreaming, and cuddling a cat.
One by one, he looked through the photos until he reached the last few, which were pictures of them together. In these, his expression seemed somewhat stiff, while Elisa’s smile was sweet, as if her dimples were filled with honey.