Chapter 361 Where Is Your Dignity?
"I got this," Elissa said, trying to reassure Madison. "Seriously, it's no big deal. Just don't tell Hope, okay? I'm begging you."
"Alright," Madison replied, backing off since Elissa didn't want any interference. "You go ahead."
Elissa went back to Francis and overheard the manager saying, "Mr. Peterson, my boss needs a bit more time to get here. Let me take you to the lounge upstairs. You can have some food and wait comfortably."
Francis waved his hand dismissively. "Tell him to hurry up."
The manager, not wanting to upset Francis, made another call right in front of him.
Elissa whispered to Francis, "Shouldn't we check the surveillance footage first?"
Francis replied, "Some permissions are only available to the boss."
Elissa got it. There was probably nothing useful in the current footage. They needed to check the backups or hidden permissions.
Efren watched them from a distance, puzzled. He couldn't understand how Francis and Elissa could still work together so seamlessly. They didn't even seem panicked, which made him feel like they weren't normal people. Their calmness and understanding made him second-guess himself.
Just then, Jessa walked over. "Francis..."
Francis glanced at her. "What are you doing out here?"
Jessa twisted her fingers, her long hair covering her pale, delicate face as she lowered her head slightly. She wore a white dress, and her vulnerable appearance could easily evoke a man's protective instincts.
"I wanted to see if there's anything I can help with. I was scared earlier and reacted a bit slowly. Thinking back, something still feels off."
Elissa smirked inwardly. 'Isn't she tired of pretending?'
Francis's face showed no change in emotion, and his voice remained calm. "Something is off."
Francis would never have a sexual relationship with Jessa. When they were young, his grandfather had sent Jessa abroad for several years to separate them, and Francis felt guilty about it. He couldn't allow himself to make such a mistake. Getting involved with Jessa would be too troublesome.
"Mr. Peterson," the hotel owner ran over, sweating profusely. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Francis didn't bother with pleasantries. He glanced at the owner's outstretched hands without shaking them and said directly, "Take me to the surveillance room."
The group arrived at the surveillance room. Francis asked the hotel owner to pull up the footage from around 11 PM last night.
The surveillance room employee said, "It's gone."
The hotel owner panicked. "How can it be gone? Isn't the footage supposed to be kept for thirty days? And it's connected to my computer for automatic backup."
The employee glanced at Francis and the others, leaned in to whisper to the boss. The hotel owner, even more panicked, pushed him away and raised his voice, "Just say it!"
Since the boss didn't want to hide it, the employee spoke directly. "One of our regular customers, who always brings different women, had his wife show up unexpectedly yesterday. To cover it up, he smashed the hard drive and threw it in water. It's completely unusable. Not just yesterday's footage, but the past month's footage is gone."
The hotel owner couldn't stop sweating. He couldn't afford to offend the big shots of Maple Valley.
"It's okay, Mr. Peterson, don't be angry. I have backups," the hotel owner said.
"But for security and to protect guest information, the surveillance is set with an auto-destroy protection program. If the hard drive is damaged, all cloud data is deleted permanently and cannot be recovered," the employee added.
This was too coincidental.
Elissa and Francis exchanged a glance, and Francis asked, "Even a skilled hacker can't recover it?"
The surveillance room employee didn't know Francis's identity but guessed he was more than a big shot based on the owner's deferential treatment.
Not daring to offend, he answered truthfully, "Even the person who designed this surveillance program can't recover it."
"This isn't just deleting a file that a skilled programmer or hacker can restore."
"It's a self-destruct program, actually more like a self-destroy program. Once the data is cleared, it's gone for good."
After hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Francis's eyes. He asked, "Where's the hard drive?"
The employee handed Francis the hard drive retrieved from the water.
Francis took it and looked at the hotel owner, "Your computer, cloud accounts, everything, give them to me."
"Coincidentally, I have a friend who works in surveillance. He'll install a new system for you."
The hotel owner didn't dare to argue, took Francis to the office to get the computer, added Francis's contact information, and sent over all the accounts and data without holding anything back.
Francis arranged for someone to recover the data, then took Elissa to eat.
"Francis..." Jessa followed, "I haven't eaten either. Can I join you?"
"What do you want to eat? I'll have someone get it for you."
Hearing the rejection in Francis's tone, Jessa sniffled, "Francis, you can suspect me and distance yourself from me, but I have to say, I have no reason to do this. If I wanted to, I would have done it years ago. Rainey likes me, but your grandfather thought my background is too modest. Even that, it's not impossible to take a chance."
"Your Peterson family cares about reputation. If I could get pregnant with your child, I could marry you."
"But Francis, I didn't do that. I even thought about not making things difficult for you and went abroad. I didn't complain even when I was bullied overseas. Because of this, I couldn't even stay with my own grandfather."
"Because of this, your grandfather is less wary of me. I can live in the Peterson family, and my career and life are taken care of. Why would I risk crossing your family's bottom line?"
"If I did that, all I'd get is your disgust and being sent away by the Peterson family again. What else could I gain?"
"I don't think I'm that stupid."
Jessa's words moved even Elissa as an outsider.
But Elissa had seen another side of Jessa and didn't believe even one word she said.
Elissa was already feeling terrible from hunger and had just gone through such a frustrating ordeal.
She really had no patience to watch Jessa's performance.
"No one suspected you, but you're rushing to explain. Are you kid of admitting it?"
Jessa bit her lip, suppressing her hatred for Elissa.
Originally, Jessa could slowly advance step by step, relying on Francis's guilt.
But because of Elissa's presence, Jessa had to take this risky step.
If she succeeded, Jessa would spare Elissa. If not, she would never let Elissa and Francis be together. With the same background, if she couldn't have it, neither could Elissa.
"Fine, since there's no surveillance and no clues, if you suspect me, I'll take it."
"I can even prove my innocence with my life."
Saying this, Jessa somehow pulled out a knife and slashed at her own wrist. Publicly attempting suicide was a rare sight.
Elissa couldn't help but roll her eyes at the scene.
At this moment, a lazy, deep male voice sounded.
"Quite a show, is it prepared for us knowing we were coming back?" Jerry said.
Elissa saw Hope and was quite surprised, "Why are you back?"
Hope poked her forehead, "Such a big thing, and you still want to hide it from me."
Elissa thought Madison wasn't someone who would break a promise, "How did you find out?"
Hope pointed at Jerry.
Elissa understood and held Hope's hand, "We're not kids. Francis and I can handle it. You guys go have fun."
Hope replied, "A day or two won't make a difference."
"Francis!"
Elissa was about to say something when she heard a heart-wrenching cry.
Turning around, she saw Jessa throwing herself into Francis's arms.
At that moment, Elissa stood still, instinctively knowing that someone like Jessa wouldn't really hurt herself.
Moreover, not just Elissa, Jerry had also seen through it the moment he appeared.
But Francis couldn't just stand by and watch, so he reached out to stop her.
With that move, Jessa ended up in his arms, and it was too late to pull her away.
Francis looked at Elissa.
Elissa raised her hand slightly, her expression indifferent, and then said to Hope, "I'm starving. Let's talk while we eat."
"Settle it and come over," Jerry said, following Elissa and Hope.
Once seated in the restaurant, Jerry leisurely ordered dishes, all of Hope's favorites.
Elissa watched Jerry and Hope's sweet interaction from across the table and suddenly realized, "Mr. Hammer, you didn't come back to help; you came to laugh at us."
Jerry's expression didn't change, "Ms. Wilson, you're thinking too small."
Elissa complained to Hope, who gave Jerry a light slap.
Jerry, fearless of anyone but Hope, said, "You guys talk, I'll stay quiet."
Just then, someone sat down beside them.
The person carried the same faint scent of hotel body wash as Elissa, with a hint of fresh tobacco.
Without saying anything, Elissa handed over the menu.
Francis pushed it back, "You order."
Jerry couldn't keep silent for long, especially with Francis around, "Where's your vigilance?"
A big family like Francis's, with political and business ties, was always watched by rivals, enemies, and opportunists. It may look quite safe on the surface, but all those above would take any tiny chance to harm the family.
As the only son, Francis's situation was particularly dangerous. From a young age, his family taught him to recognize various personalities, see through facades, and stay alert.
Growing up, Francis also underwent professional training in the wild.
But last night, he had thrown all that out the window. Even when he smelled the sweet scent, he didn't check it out.
It wasn't until he woke up at noon today that he realized the person sleeping next to him had changed.
This delay meant the investigation would indeed take more time.
Francis took a sip of water, staying silent.
Jerry wanted to tease him more, but Hope poked his waist.
He instantly became serious, "Efren and Jessa need thorough investigation. The bigger the fuss, the guiltier they are."
Jerry glanced at Elissa, "Efren used to cling to you, but now, after supposedly having sex, he's avoiding you. That's not normal."
Elissa hadn't paid much attention to Efren and was too tired to watch the drama, so she pulled Hope away.
Jerry's reminder made her realize Efren's behavior had been odd since she woke up.
"After we eat, I'll go ask him and see if I can get anything out of him."
"No need," Francis said, "Once we have evidence, he won't be able to deny it."
Elissa propped her chin and asked, "How long it takes until you get this evidence?"
Francis couldn't give a specific time, knowing it was complicated, "As soon as possible."
The waiter brought the food, and Elissa started eating.
Francis said not to go, but Elissa wasn't one to listen. She needed a quick resolution to feel at ease.
Efren, on the other hand, was restless.
He didn't want to deceive Elissa or use such despicable means to win her over.
Even though Elissa was done with him, he still believed sincerity could move her.
Even if it couldn't, as long as she was happy with Francis, Efren would step back and protect her quietly.
He couldn't let Elissa despise him, making him worse than a stranger.
But earlier, Francis had clearly wavered towards Jessa.
Jessa's obsession with Francis meant she would inevitably hurt Elissa, so Efren needed to see Francis's unconditional favor towards Elissa before revealing the truth.
Thus, Efren was in great torment.
He hoped Elissa wouldn't come to question him, as he wasn't sure he could hold up under her beautiful, lively gaze.
Jessa was equally uneasy.
She knew Jerry's methods well.
And unlike Francis, Jerry had no emotional ties with her.
With Jerry involved, even if the surveillance was thoroughly deleted, they might still find some clues.
"Damn it! Weren't they supposed to be on a honeymoon cruise and not back for a few days!"
Jessa cursed, feeling extremely anxious. Even with her life at stake, she couldn't get Francis to stay and give her more time to explain.
"It's all Elissa's fault!"
Jessa's eyes were filled with hatred and malice.
Originally, she hadn't planned to kill Elissa, as long as she gave up on Francis and stayed with Efren.
But now, she had to find a way to get rid of Elissa.
After eating, Elissa told Hope and Jerry to continue their honeymoon.
She could handle her own matters.
However, Hope said they had planned to rest for a day before continuing their fun.
Elissa hadn't rested as well, so they all returned to the hotel together.
"Get some sleep first," Francis stopped Elissa from going to find Efren, "It's not urgent to question him now. He can't run away."
"My luggage is still in his room. I don't have any sleepwear."
Last night, she had planned to make do, but it turned out she didn't need one. Today, she couldn't go without it.
Francis said, "I'll get it."
Elissa worried they might fight if they met, not wanting more trouble.
"You wait at the door, and I'll go in to get it."
Francis's lips pressed into a thin line, "In this situation, you're still protecting him."
Elissa was taken aback, not knowing why Francis was angry, "Do you really want to fight him? Mr. Peterson, where's your dignity?"
Seeing they were about to argue, Hope said to Jerry, "Jerry, why don't you go get it?"
Then, realizing it might not be right, Hope added, "Or maybe I should go."
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