Chapter 74: Chapter 73: Cat and Mouse
Ding-dong ~
The doorbell rang, interrupting Auntie’s tearful mutterings, and Elliana Lyle snapped back to reality.
"Is it the doctor?" Elliana asked as Hannah Collins was already heading to the door.
"Hannah... Hannah Collins?"
Seeing that the person who opened the door was Hannah Collins, it would be inaccurate to say Claire White was surprised; she was more like at a loss.
Of course, he didn’t recognize her at first glance, but the more he looked, the more she seemed familiar, until he was convinced it was her.
Claire White’s gaze was slightly dazed, and the white coat made him look sanctified and gracious, except for the stunned expression that didn’t match his persona.
Seeing her childhood playmate, Hannah grinned and raised an eyebrow, "What? Can’t the little white mouse recognize me, your big sister?"
Now it was thoroughly confirmed! Claire White’s expression tightened as he clutched his medical kit and bolted, in a panic like a headless white mouse.
"Hey? Why are you running?"
Hannah frowned straight away. Was she that scary? There was a patient in the house; she couldn’t let him run away.
Quickly chasing after him, Claire White couldn’t press the elevator button in time and started running towards the safety exit.
But how could the white mouse outrun the big black cat?
Soon, Elliana saw Hannah dragging Claire White in by the neck, a scene reminiscent of a cat-and-mouse chase, truly an eye-opener.
Usually gentle and elegant, the aloof Doctor White now appeared so disheveled, even his hair was messy, the thin silver-framed glasses askew, continuously pleading with Hannah.
"Sister! Sweet sister! I’m wrong, I’m wrong!"
Seeing this scene, the aunt sitting next to Elliana was also stunned.
In their village, when did they ever see a woman beating a man? Isn’t this a disgrace to women?
The sadness on Aunt’s face faded, and she immediately stood up, reaching out to mediate, speaking in a somewhat tense tone: "Girl! You mustn’t hit him, hitting men is no good, you’ll be punished."
Seeing this, Hannah immediately let go. She didn’t care about Aunt’s words, turned around to close the door, blocking it so that Claire White wouldn’t dare run.
"Doctor White, check on my aunt." Seeing Claire White’s ears turn red from anger, Elliana spoke awkwardly.
"Hmm, alright."
Claire White almost instantly returned to normal, slightly tidied up his ruffled clothes, and placed the medical kit on the coffee table.
Elliana, struggling with limited mobility and a dull ache, reached out to bring Aunt over: "Aunt, come sit here."
Ten minutes later.
After Claire White carefully examined the physical condition, he said, "It’s nothing serious, mainly severe malnutrition; aside from a bit of high blood pressure, there’s no other visible illness for now. I suggest going for a full check-up at the hospital after health recovery."
"Okay, so there’s no fracture in the arm, right?" Elliana asked, holding Aunt’s hand.
"No, just some bruising."
Hearing such a response from Claire White, Elliana felt a lot more at ease, fearing that a sudden blow would cause internal injuries to the elderly Aunt.
Then Claire White prepared some antihypertensive medication, advising: "Avoid overexertion, take plenty of rest, and pay attention to nutritional intake."
While speaking, Claire White glanced at Hannah from the corner of his eye and, noticing her amused expression, shivered in fear, pretending swiftly to pack the medical kit.
Finishing roughly, Elliana planned to arrange a hotel room for Aunt, but Hannah, standing by the door, volunteered to take on the task and warned her: "Don’t wander off."
"I won’t wander off." Elliana meekly complied.
While Hannah was supporting Aunt, Claire White grabbed the medical kit intending to leave quickly, but Hannah called out: "What’s the rush?" Then she pointed at Elliana: "Check on her, she went out for a run, and came back twitching."
At that moment, Claire White, like a bird startled from a perch, shuddered when Hannah called him and quickly responded: "Oh! Okay! Okay!"
It wasn’t until Hannah left that Claire White sighed with relief and returned to his usual demeanor.
Elliana couldn’t help but be curious, but found it inappropriate to ask directly, enduring for a while before cautiously asking: "Doctor White, are you afraid of Hannah?"
"..."
Seeing Claire White pause, Elliana felt like the air had frozen, realizing perhaps she shouldn’t have asked.
"She... she sort of counts as my sister. Your foot is nothing serious, just rest more." Claire White’s gaze became evasive, showing some nervousness.
Elliana: "Why don’t... you just run while there’s still time? There’s nothing much wrong with me."
"Alright," Claire White said without any delay, quickly leaving, as if this place were a demon’s lair to him.
Actually, the White family and Collins family pretty much have close contacts. They were childhood playmates too. As Hannah was always brave from a young age, back then, his introverted nature caused him to be forced into being her little sidekick.
Hannah caught spiders to scare him, caught mice to scare him, and the most outrageous was catching large moths to gift him, not just one but a full 1,000, and when the box was opened, they all flew out.
The reminiscence of a tragic childhood made him feel more sullen, even after leaving the hotel, his pace continued to quicken.
At this time, Elliana had already changed into comfortable pajamas herself, curling up on the sofa, holding her phone to message Luna.
Luna (Master): "Send me her information, would you?"
Luna, already back at the company, received Elliana’s message, feeling inexplicably guilty, not expecting it was Elliana seeking to investigate this person.
Then Elliana sent a long message almost detailing everything she knew.
According to her, there are no records of Nancy’s whereabouts domestically, nor any records of Nancy going abroad, leaving only three possibilities: either hiding, smuggled, or... dead.
A few minutes later, seeing no response from Luna, Elliana sent another message: "Can you investigate?"
Luna (Master): "Yes, but this is an official case, quite a rarity for our joint venture as the first difficult case. I think it should follow our company pricing standards, but since you’re the CEO, let’s round it up to 2 million."
Actually 1.8 million.
Meow Meow: "That expensive?"
million isn’t a small sum to Elliana; although she can afford it, it still felt quite painful to her.
Luna (Master): "That’s the market price, and this matter is rather challenging. I have to assign Andrew Hue to investigate. After all, starting a company, you’re the boss, be generous, high investment, high return."
...
Elliana: "Deal."
...
At 9 PM, Norman Bennett called, saying he wouldn’t be coming back tonight. Unexpectedly, Norman didn’t inquire about her going out, suggesting Hannah hadn’t mentioned it to him, enhancing her fondness for Hannah as she didn’t take the opportunity to snitch.
The next day, at 4 a.m.
The heavy rain flowed down the glass. Awoken by a nightmare, Elliana was drenched in a cold sweat. Her heartbeat thundered through the room as she looked around at the safe surroundings, clutching her blanket and taking deep breaths.
The dream left her gasping as if she’d been underwater for a long time.
She dreamt that Aunt had passed away... cold... pale...
"Tch, tch, tch!" Elliana quickly rapped her head. How could she have such an inauspicious dream?
But even though it was just a dream, she felt frightened and worried.