Finn, unable to move his legs, sat in a wheelchair, leaning forward, and grabbed Elisa’s hair, pulling her towards his knees.
Forced to lift her head, Elisa endured the prickling pain on her scalp, tilting her chin to look closely at the syringe in Finn’s hand.
Finn, with a sickly smile, leaned close to Elisa’s ear, his voice hoarse and low, resembling a demon, “Aoife is mine. Even in death, her body belongs to me. I will never allow her body to be with another man.”
Feeling nauseated after listening, Elisa struggled to maintain her calm and said, “Finn, you are not worthy. Do you truly love Aoife from your heart? She left you for over five hundred days. You had ample time to find her, but you didn’t. It was only when I became hers that you actively sought her out. Have you ever considered why?”
Elisa’s eyes welled up with tears, the curve of her mouth resembling a raised blade, leaving Finn breathless. He stared into her eyes, as though trying to silence her.
Before he could act, Elisa, with clear determination, revealed his most deeply hidden secret word by word, “On one hand, you want Aoife to live boldly, like me, and on the other, you want her to serve you at home, obedient and without dignity, like a servant. But Aoife is not me, nor entirely the latter. She wanted to be good to you because she liked you. However, you grew tired of her gentle nature, deeming it weak, and felt her character did not match Mr. Snearl of Chiwood. There is no having it both ways. You and Hamish are the same-stubborn and self-absorbed, always wanting to mold people to fit your ideal, and when you can’t, you destroy them. Did you really tie me up here today to bring Aoife back? No, you are satisfying your own desires. Once she returns, you will revert to being the superior man who likes to control others’ lives. A person like you, who enjoys manipulating others, is destined to a lonely and unhappy life.”
Finn’s eyes reddened, “You’re talking nonsense!”
“Then answer me, why did you not look for Aoife all this time, only to come after I appeared? Surely you haven’t fallen in love with me, have you?” Elisa stared at his gloomy face, not giving him a chance to catch his breath. She continued, “If you think injecting that drug into this body will keep it with you, you are gravely mistaken. I can make this body impure. Don’t believe me? You can try!”
Elisa’s eyes showed she was not playing games. She said what she meant, just as she had told Hamish she would make him regret, and she had followed through.
“Do you really think you can control me?”
“Of course, you can control me, but this body is mine now. I have control. You can either kill me directly, but are you willing to, Finn?”
Are you willing, Finn?
In Finn’s eyes, this was always Aoife’s body. Even if Elisa had taken over, it was still Aoife’s body.
He had seen her eyes, felt her hands massaging his head when he had a headache, and she always prepared what he liked to eat when he got off work. Her lips had called his name.
He couldn’t bear to harm Aoife’s body. He wasn’t like Hamish, who could freeze his lover’s body in an ice house at minus 20 degrees. He knew Aoife’s body couldn’t endure such cold.
But he couldn’t accept Aoife’s body being with someone else, seeing her in a wedding dress and veil marrying someone else, and he especially couldn’t accept her carrying someone else’s child one day.
Finn’s face was icy. He had not noticed until a tear fell from the corner of Elisa’s eye. He then realized that he was the one crying.
But the tear that fell on Elisa’s cheek made it seem as though she was crying.
The two were locked in a standoff. Elisa dared not move. Her only goal now was to buy time for someone to come and save her. She believed Louis would surely find her.
Suddenly, someone rushed in from outside, looking somewhat frantic, “Mr. Snearl, someone has broken in, right outside.”
With a strong grip, Finn’s hand, which held Elisa’s jaw, was like a hunter’s pincers, “Who do you think it might be?”
Elisa remained silent.
One of Finn’s men nearby answered, “Mr. Snearl, there are quite a few people who have come. I saw some police officers.”
“So many people, everyone has come, including Louis,”Finn said slowly, contemplating as he spoke.
Seeing how quickly he regained his composure, Elisa’s heart tightened.
Finn smiled, releasing Elisa’s hand, “Louis has come to save you. After all these years, he’s still like a fool. As long as he hears anything about you, he will follow. He’ll do anything to find you, even if it means crawling to you with two broken legs.”
Elisa’s eyes darkened, her dark eyes resembling a venomous snake.
Finn, unperturbed, continued, “Will your fate with him be the same as before, Elisa? I’ve come up with a great idea. Do you love Louis? What if I inject this drug into his body?”
“How dare you!” Elisa became agitated, her calm face cracking like shattered glass, completely losing control, “Finn, if you dare to touch him, I won’t let you get away with it!”
“Not get away with it?” Finn chuckled mockingly, “From the moment I learned of Aoife’s death, I haven’t been ‘getting away with it.’ I don’t care.”
Elisa’s pupils dilated, and Finn saw the fear he sought in her eyes.
Releasing his grip, Finn maneuvered the wheelchair backward, leaving Elisa unsupported, causing her to collapse like a boneless snake.
“Finn!” Elisa’s eyes seemed to turn red from the blood, she cried out his name hoarsely, attempting to stop his mad thoughts, but her legs were weak and numb.
Finn had his men tie Elisa to the wall, blindfolding her and gagging her. She leaned against the wall, deprived of sight, her hearing exceptionally acute. She was muted.
She heard movements around her, Finn had people waiting here, ready to inject Louis with the substance as soon as he appeared.
The blindfold seemed to press into her eye sockets, and the iron chains, torn in her struggles, scraped her flesh.
The iron chains made a rustling sound. After the surroundings fell silent, the sound of the shaking chains seemed especially grating.
Bitterness spread in Elisa’s mouth. She banged her head repeatedly against the wall behind her, like a bird with clipped wings.
In the pitch-black world, her fear expanded infinitely, and she recalled the gunfire from that year, Louis lying on the ground, his chest soaked in blood.
Her world suddenly turned into a lonely tomb, devoid of life.
She hit the wall, tears dampening the blindfold. She didn’t want Louis to come and save her. Elisa’s upper body trembled, her mouth gagged, relying solely on breathing through her nose, which became increasingly difficult.
Then, footsteps approached. Elisa ceased her actions until a familiar voice reached her.
“Elisa.”
In her dark and noisy world, only Louis’ voice was present.
Louis squatted down, gently and swiftly removing her blindfold, soothing her swollen, tear-stained eyes.
“You’ve grown up, but why are you still crying, little crybaby?”