At this moment, Hamish’s gaze was akin to looking at a pile of garbage. Lila’s back broke out in a cold sweat, and a chill wind swept over her, causing her to tremble uncontrollably. Her eyes were red, whether from fear or the cold wind, it was hard to tell.
Now, she felt like a person about to hang herself, the noose already at her neck, the chair beneath her ready to be kicked away.
Yet the video wasn’t over. It played her conversation with Hugo.
-“Hugo, if you truly want to be good to me, help me get rid of Elisa. I hate her. As long as she’s dead, Hamish will marry me…”
-“Why do you think Hamish will marry you once Elisa is dead?”
Upon hearing this, Lila panicked completely. Fear spread through her veins, making her scalp tingle, even her toes curling in tremors.
She shouted in panic to the backstage, “Turn off the power.”
But it was too late. The next words on the video came through clearly and reached Hamish’s ears.
-“Six years ago, Hamish almost died from falling into the water. He thought I saved him… you can rest assured, it’s been six years, he won’t find out…”
Hamish clenched his fingers until they turned white, his cold, hard face growing even colder, exuding an icy aura. His pupils contracted, staring at the screen in disbelief. But at this moment, he could hardly see anything clearly. Lila’s words echoed in his mind.
“Six years ago, Hamish almost died from falling into the water. He thought I saved him…”
These words struck his heart like a heavy hammer, leaving him stunned, as if his soul had shed its shell. He stood in place for a long time without any reaction.
The person who saved him back then wasn’t Lila? Then who was it?
Lila looked as if she had been struck by lightning, collapsing on the ground. Her delicate makeup couldn’t hide her guilt, and she stumbled to her feet, backing away in fear.
Hamish was hit hard by this revelation, gripping Lila’s arm so tightly it seemed as though he wanted to crush her bones. Lila winced in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks onto Hamish’s hand.
“Hamish, it hurts…” She still maintained that innocent and pitiable appearance.
Hamish moved his lips, his cold face showing no trace of mercy, only disgust. His chilling gaze made people shudder.
“Who saved me on that Christmas Eve nine years ago?”
“I… I don’t know…” Lila shook her head.
She truly didn’t know who had saved Hamish. When she arrived, Hamish had looked at the pearl earring on her ear and concluded that it was she who had saved him.
As there were no surveillance cameras at the scene and no evidence could be found, Lila simply admitted to it. For nine years, Hamish hadn’t noticed anything strange. However, she had never expected that her impulsive words to Hugo would be edited into a video and shown today.
Hamish suddenly looked up at the direction of the second floor, where Finn was.
The rhythm of today’s events undoubtedly stemmed from Finn. Their eyes met in mid-air, and the people present seemed to feel the tension permeating the room.
Finn strolled downstairs leisurely. “Hamish, are you satisfied with this ‘gift’ I’m presenting on behalf of Elisa?”
Elisa… He suddenly remembered the night he had decided to hand Elisa over to the kidnappers in order to save Lila. That night, he had told Elisa about Lila saving him from the water.
What had Elisa said back then?
Hamish’s breathing suddenly became rapid.
Elisa had said, “Hamish, have you ever considered that many people have such pearl earrings? Have you ever considered that Lila lied to you?”
No, at that time, he had been so confident, believing that he wouldn’t be foolish enough to mistake the person who had saved him, just like Elisa.
But now, the truth in front of him revealed that it wasn’t Lila who had saved him that cold night nine years ago. His momentary astonishment had misplaced the beautiful image he had held in his heart all along.
He had, for a chronic liar, allowed Elisa to suffer repeatedly-four years of neglect had led to her late-stage stomach cancer, the loss of their child, and he had used her to exchange for Lila, leaving her with disabled fingers and over a hundred scars.
Hamish was struck as if by lightning, trembling all over, his face ashen, the nine years of peaceful illusion collapsing, revealing a bloody and cruel truth. It was as though a hedgehog had torn off its protective spines with its own mouth. Hamish trembled, anda rush of blood surged up his throat.
Seeing the contents on the big screen, the reporters, although some of the dialogue was unclear, were already in an uproar simply from the appearance of his fiancée in the limited edition video at the engagement banquet.
The reporters quickly gathered around, bombarding him with one cutting question after another, their aggressive manner akin to how they had treated Elisa when his father had been sentenced to prison and she had just come out of court.
“Mr. Burns, is the person in the video Miss Morris?”
“Can you tell us the relationship between your fiancée and the man in the video?”
“Do you know if your fiancée has had inappropriate relationships with other men?”
…
Thankfully, the security team arrived in time, creating a barrier between the reporters and Hamish, ensuring a safe distance.
His phone, nestled in his pocket, suddenly vibrated, sending a shiver across his skin. Hamish retrieved the phone and, upon seeing the displayed number, stiffly turned his gaze in Finn’s direction.
Finn raised his hand and gestured for him to answer the call.
As Hamish picked up the phone, Finn inquired, “Are you satisfied with today’s ‘gift,’ Hamish?”
Hamish’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the phone, emitting a creaking sound.
“Do you know why I had you bring Elisa to exchange for Lila back then?” Finn calmly observed Hamish’s pallor.
“Because Lila personally told me that you cared more about Elisa. If something happened to Elisa, you would be devastated. I never thought it would be true… and you, blinded not just in your eyes but also in your heart, actually went as far as to exchange her for Lila, a woman like that.”
“Your fiancée was willing to disable her own legs just to garner your sympathy and hand Elisa over to me. Ridiculously, you actually believed her,” Finn finished, erupting into laughter.
“I never thought you would also have a day when you’d be fooled by a woman.”
Hamish’s entire mind thundered, his ears ringing as if suddenly deafened.
Elisa’s appearance when she had been rescued emerged once again in his mind, not a single inch of her body left unharmed, covered in blood, her eyes hollow as if she were already dead.
Back then, for Lila’s sake, he had nearly killed Elisa, nearly prevented her from waking up…