After Finn’s death, a video surfaced online, sparking widespread discussion. The woman in the video looked remarkably like Elisa. The woman was disheveled, covered in blood and sweat, with her hair in disarray against her pale face. She hung her head, a silver chain threaded through her collarbone, hoisting her up. The video was muted, but watching the woman tremble, one could sense the excruciating pain she endured.
The video, a full ten minutes in length, was so brutal that few could bear to watch it in its entirety. It was taken down after being online for only two hours due to its extreme content. However, this brief period was enough for it to trend, and many who saw it saved and covertly shared it.
“I watched the original video; it was too bloody and cruel. I have never seen such terrifying torture techniques. According to professional analysis, these methods are undoubtedly real. When I saw the woman in the video pierced by the silver hook through her collarbone, I instinctively touched my own collarbone. It really hurt…”
“Am I the only one who thinks she looks like Elisa?”
“Maybe she’s into S&M, seeking thrills.”
“The video is muted, but I feel like I can hear her agonizing cries for help. Save her, please.”
“The more I look at it, the more it resembles Elisa. Could it really be her? Thinking about her sudden withdrawal from the entertainment industry, even after winning the Best Actress award, it all seems suspicious.”
Many netizens doubted if the woman in the video was Elisa. Indeed, it was Elisa, but from her past life, several years ago. Elisa’s hand shook as she held her phone. Despite believing she had forgotten, her body still couldn’t help but tremble when she saw the video. The ten-minute video represented just a fraction of the over an hour she was tortured, the piercing of her collarbone a mere detail.
Have you seen blisters raised by dry ice, then each popped with a cigarette? Have you witnessed real torture? Have you seen someone draw on your back with sulfuric acid? Twenty-eight steel needles inserted into your fingers, injected with various drugs, the annihilation of humanity, trapped in a living hell, that’s what’s truly worse than death. This mere ten minutes was just the tip of the iceberg.
Elisa never expected Finn to have kept these videos, let alone for them to surface after his death. She put down her phone and contacted her public relations team, asking them to remove the video from the internet. However, by the time they attempted, the video had already been taken down, and several influential marketing accounts had been suspended.
The official White Group account issued a clarification and sent legal letters, demanding an apology from those defaming Elisa. Otherwise, they would receive court summonses. The internet is not beyond the law; people should pay the price for their mistakes.
Elisa’s Twitter following had already exceeded 60 million, and even after her announcement of leaving the entertainment industry, her fans remained loyal. Upon hearing she was being attacked, they swiftly countered, comparing the woman in the video with Elisa’s face. It was similar, but the differences were obvious.
Who was the woman in the video? What happened to her later? She died. How she died, it’s been too long to remember. Moreover, with someone controlling the internet, no one knew the real truth.
However, the person who tortured the woman was revealed, none other than Finn, who had recently been executed by firing squad. Everyone cursed him, saying he deserved to die.
This incident, while not huge, did indeed have some impact on Elisa. Her true identity was questioned, and her current resume seemed rather ordinary. People suddenly realized that her previous scandals were fake. What was the real her like? Her resume now seemed as fabricated as Louis’s had in the past. Could it be… that Elisa has a hidden identity?
This was all thanks to Finn. Aoife’s information was all fabricated by him. Apart from her age, nothing was real, and no one could find any evidence to the contrary.
…
Although Louis had been discharged from the hospital, his body had not fully recovered. To return to his appearance during the “Starbound” filming, he still needed to gain fat and build muscle. So, he cooked at home, becoming a family chef, visiting Elisa’s company to deliver food and assist with miscellaneous tasks.
When he saw the online news, he immediately headed to the AW Group. Along the way, he spotted a dessert shop Elisa liked, thinking to himself: “Elisa’s not in a good mood. She likes sweets; maybe eating this will cheer her up.” He entered and saw an especially beautiful cake, purchasing it for $99, 000.
Worried about disturbing Elisa at work, he first called Miss Hannah to inquire about the situation. Learning that Elisa wasin a meeting, he sat in the reception area, resting, with the cake placed beside him, and began browsing the internet.
The issue with the video had already been resolved; no search results could be found. He closed his eyes, recalling the video he couldn’t finish watching, the pained expression on Elisa’s face. It felt like a thorn lodged in his heart, ready to pierce through his ribs at any moment. He had witnessed Elisa’s fingers pierced by steel needles until her nails fell off. Just the thought made him involuntarily clench his fists.
Reality was often more cruel. This world had been far too unfair to Elisa. As Louis regained his memory, he often thought back to the past, especially when he was still Autumn. It all seemed like a dream.
He wished it were a dream, so that Elisa wouldn’t have suffered so much. If he hadn’t disappeared all those years ago, if he had found Elisa sooner, would everything have been different?
One thing leading to another, perhaps a slightly better process would have led to a different butterfly effect. Louis harbored a secret; he had regained his memory because he encountered Elisa’s brother, Ivan, on the plane and saw his prosthetic right hand. He had been the one to cut off Ivan’s hand, as Ivan had taken Elisa to the casino, sold her to another man, and caused her to be beaten and nearly assaulted.
A dirty hand, a gambling hand, a hand that betrayed his own sister. It was better off gone. So, he directly severed Ivan’s right hand with a pair of pruning shears.
Autumn, with his damaged brain, had a low IQ, perhaps that of a six or seven-year-old. Like a protective little creature, he detested anyone who had harmed Elisa.
His impulsive actions never took consequences into account. Was what he did illegal? Would Elisa despise him for it? Now, as Louis, no longer naive, but cautious, he feared that one misstep would make Elisa abandon him.
If Elisa found out that he had been the one to sever her brother’s hand in the past, would she be afraid of him? Would she turn away from him?