“Did you say she…” Hamish licked his dry lips.
“What?” Tobias stopped halfway through his words, looking at Hamish inexplicably, trying to find some clue on his face.
Hamish’s expression remained as stoic as ever, seemingly calm between the brows, but upon closer examination, something seemed to float in his eyes. There were red streaks in the whites of his eyes, and the erratic lights in his dark pupils seemed like delicate threads.
Hamish lowered his gaze and ultimately said nothing.
“It’s nothing,” simply the worst-case scenario, and he had to prepare for the worst.
If it truly was Elisa, he must hold onto her firmly, even if it meant sacrificing himself. For him, Elisa was a lifesaving straw, a buoy on the unpredictable sea. Selfish thoughts still lingered in his mind. He could quietly watch Elisa from a distance without disturbing her, but he couldn’t bear to see her with another man. It would be more unbearable than if she killed him. If he could choose death…
He hoped it would be Elisa who ended his life. Otherwise, he would remain resentful, living a life worse than death.
Hamish had firmly confirmed in his mind that the “Elisa” appearing in the video was indeed Elisa. Now that Elisa had returned, it meant that fate had given him a chance, and he didn’t want to give up. If people could be resurrected from death, then perhaps a broken mirror could also be mended.
…
Hamish had already anticipated the worst, but he hadn’t expected that upon reaching Bankshire, the worst would be right before his eyes.
It was already three-thirty when he arrived in Bankshire. The rain in Bankshire wasn’t as heavy as in Chiwood, but the temperature was colder, the continuous drizzle seeping into the bones.
When he rushed to the recording site of the show, all he saw was chaos, and Elisa was nowhere to be found.
Hamish was terrified, feeling a kind of fear akin to walking on a non-Newtonian fluid, afraid that if he relaxed even slightly, he would sink into it, feeling insecure and constantly vacillating between hope and fear.
Hamish looked down at the lines on the palm of his left hand. There was a conspicuous scar on his lifeline, a line that had been cut in half from the middle.
Looking at his palm, he felt as if the kite string had returned to his hand, his fingers curling in the air. Because the kite string had been broken, he didn’t even have the courage to pull it back once it returned to his hand.
If a living person like Elisa disappeared here, it would be very difficult to find her, let alone the fact that this person had once been presumed dead.
Hamish was afraid that if he was a step too late and saw her again, she wouldn’t be the same person anymore.
Pale with fear, amidst the distant clamor, he felt as if he were standing in a dimension of nothingness. His figure swayed, and the person next to him, Tobias, quickly reached out to support him.
“What’s going on?” Hamish asked hoarsely.
“I’m having someone check on it,” Tobias said, unable to divert his attention, so he delegated the task of finding Elisa to someone else, staying by Hamish’s side.
Tobias hadn’t expected Bankshire’s summer to be so cold, the chilly wind was piercing. Just getting out of the car, the cold wind dissipated his weariness in an instant.
Tobias shivered, not so much for himself, but more concerned that Hamish might succumb to the cold.
Hamish’s body was not as strong as before, and after several consecutive nights of work, not to mention missing several meals. He had only eaten half a bowl of congee for lunch today, and judging by his pale complexion, Tobias was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hold on.
“Mr. Burns, why don’t you go back to the car and sit for a while? It’s cold outside.”
The temperature of Hamish’s hands wasn’t much better than the outside temperature, he held onto Tobias tightly, but didn’t try to warm his hands.
“No need, I’ll stay here.” Hamish was stubborn, once he had made up his mind, he wouldn’t easily change it. He was afraid that if he went back to the car, and missed Elisa’s figure, what would he do then?
Tobias knew Hamish’s temperament. After advising him once to no avail, he found a thick jacket from the trunk for Hamish to wear. He held an umbrella in one hand and checked his phone for information with the other, finally sorting out the whole process.
“Elisa has run into some trouble.”
Upon hearing this, Hamish’s face immediately tensed. “What kind of trouble?”
“Workissues, she’s been set up by a colleague.”
“Have you found out where she is now?”
Tobias shook his head honestly, “Not yet. We’ve checked the monitors in the vicinity, but we haven’t seen her. It might take some more time…”
Hamish couldn’t wait any longer, yet now he had to.
Leaning against the car, he opened his phone and clicked on Elisa’s trending topic on Twitter. It was filled with insults towards her.
After skimming through several posts from marketing accounts with millions of followers, he took screenshots and had those accounts suspended. Unfortunately, he didn’t currently have the appropriate authority, otherwise, he would have sent court summonses to these people as well.
Although Hamish didn’t pay much attention to the entertainment industry, it didn’t mean he didn’t understand anything. A PR team was indispensable. However, despite Elisa being in such a huge mess, her company remained silent, which clearly seemed suspicious.
Investigating a small company’s executives and their affairs was not a difficult task for him. He could uncover the entire company’s history within three days, without missing a single detail.
Glancing at the time on his phone, two hours had passed in the blink of an eye. It was already half past five. Elisa’s whereabouts still hadn’t been found; it was as if she had vanished into thin air.
Hamish tightened his lips, his complexion not looking good. He looked like the dark clouds overhead, harboring the lurking storm, a sight that made people tremble, especially Tobias, who had been at his side the entire time, could keenly sense it.
“Forget about looking for Elisa. Look into Louis’s property in Bankshire, anyone connected to him, search house by house.”
People couldn’t vanish into thin air. Hamish realized that the only person who could help Elisa out of this predicament was Louis.
He had thought of this a long time ago, but he had never dared to admit this worst-case scenario.
Even now, he didn’t know why he was still hesitating, trying to rely on himself to find Elisa.
After finding properties under Louis’s name and intercepting surveillance one by one, he spotted Louis and a slender man getting out of a car in an inconspicuous surveillance video. At first glance, Hamish could confirm that the man was a disguised Elisa.
At that moment, his boiling heart suddenly felt half-cold, Elisa was truly with Louis.
It’s okay… Hamish comforted himself. They were just getting closer as colleagues; Elisa wouldn’t like Louis, she wouldn’t recognize him.
However, as the car drew closer and the navigation route shortened, the relaxed expression on Hamish’s face gradually disappeared.
He didn’t dare to think too much, and even less so to have someone investigate what had happened between Louis and Elisa over the past few days. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to bear it and might go mad on the spot.
Although his heart longed to return, when he arrived, he hesitated to move forward, his gaze fixed on the distant familiar surroundings.
The sky over Bankshire was just like Hamish’s mood, overcast, without a single ray of light. He opened the car window and took a breath of cold air, feeling as if he had inhaled not air, but residual ice, freezing his internal organs.
Stepping out of the car, Tobias walked on his right side. The quiet road was only filled with the sound of their shoes on the ground and their breathing.
The dim streetlights illuminated a light yellow path, casting long shadows.
…
Elisa followed Louis back to his house. It was clear that he often stayed there. It was a small villa, not large but very warm, decorated in warm tones.
Entering from the outside, she felt instantly warmed. Louis crouched down and found a clean pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet for Elisa.
“No one usually comes here, so I didn’t prepare extra slippers. These are ones I’ve worn, but I’ve cleaned them.”
Seeing Louis’ ears turn slightly red and his anxious explanation, Elisa lowered her head and changed her shoes.
Louis’s feet were much larger, Elisa’s small, fair feet slipped into them, feeling empty.
“Okay.”
Looking up, Elisa noticed that Louis was staring at her feet. When he heard her speak, he suddenly snapped back to reality.
“Come… come inside and sit.” Although he was the one who brought her in, he seemed to be the one who was disoriented.
Elisa’s gaze lingered meaningfully on his back.
Louis quickly adjusted his emotions and smoothly brought Elisa a cup of hot water. Raindrops adorned her hair, glistening like sugar under the light.
“Would you like to take a bath first?”