Chapter 427 Do You Not Like It?
Aiden pulled his hand back, his eyes scanning her stomach.
Clearly, he didn't buy it.
Aiden spoke up, "You're so naive. Being pregnant doesn't mean you can't..."
"Don't you want to outdo the Peterson family?" Elissa cut him off quickly. "You know how much they value kids. When Jessa was pregnant, even though they didn't let her in, they still cared deeply for her child, ensuring she was well-fed and taken care of."
"If this kid calls you 'Dad,' don't you think it would be the ultimate revenge against the Peterson family? You could use the kid to control them," she added.
Aiden's expression remained unchanged, but Elissa noticed a flicker in his eyes, showing he was tempted.
She pushed further, "For the sake of the child, I'd do anything. This is also your leverage over me. No matter what, you won't lose out, right?"
Aiden wasn't going to trust Elissa just like that. He knew how sharp Francis was.
He said casually, "Alright, you've had a long day. You must be feeling unwell. I'll call a doctor to check on you."
Elissa felt a wave of panic. Her period had just ended a few days ago; there was no way she could be pregnant. But she had no other excuse at the moment.
If a doctor came, her lie would be exposed. But if she didn't call a doctor, Aiden would definitely see through her.
Francis had warned her that Aiden was very suspicious.
"That's for the best," she said, trying to stay calm. "I've been feeling a dull pain in my lower abdomen. I hope the baby is okay."
Aiden's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately went to find a doctor.
Jessa blocked his way. "You're not falling for her, are you? She's been with so many men—don't you think she's... cheap?"
Aiden sneered. "Why didn't you say that earlier? You even suggested I go first because we're partners, so you made an exception for me?"
Jessa was just angry. She didn't want to see anyone treating Elissa well.
Why should someone with a background worse than hers get any sympathy?
Her father's scandal was all over the internet, and Francis was under investigation.
Yet he still loved her so much.
"She's definitely lying. She's been with Francis for so long, and now she's suddenly pregnant?"
Aiden knew Jessa had a lot of animosity towards Elissa. But he wouldn't let her words cloud his judgment.
He trusted himself.
A sinister look crossed his eyes. "If she's pregnant, she could be a milk cow. And what could be more painful for her than being separated from her own child?"
Elissa tried to climb out of the bathtub but failed. Aiden and Jessa weren't speaking English, so she couldn't understand them. She could only tell they were arguing.
She wanted to seize this opportunity, but she was too weak from not eating all day.
She regretted not having that sandwich in the morning.
"What if she's not pregnant?" Jessa patted Aiden's shoulder arrogantly. "Then you won't even get to touch her."
Aiden wasn't fixated on Elissa, but if she really had Francis's child...
Such a valuable bargaining chip had to be confirmed.
Jessa went to find a doctor, but Aiden didn't trust her and found one himself.
He secretly arranged for a doctor, knowing he didn't have as much influence here as Jessa.
After Jessa's doctor examined Elissa, Aiden planned to have his own doctor do the same. Just to be sure.
The medical facilities here weren't as good as back home.
Jessa's doctor suggested going to the hospital for a detailed blood test.
Aiden asked his doctor and got the same advice.
"Can't you just draw blood and test it here?" he asked.
The doctor glanced at Elissa and said, "If she's really pregnant, in her current state, she needs hospital care. And if it's early pregnancy, the baby might not survive."
Aiden immediately picked Elissa up and headed to the hospital.
Jessa wanted to stop him but then thought it wouldn't be so bad if Elissa was pregnant. She could show her what real hell was like.
Meanwhile, Francis and his team were closing in on Elissa's location.
Jerry received a location from Ryan, along with a photo. He showed it to Hope, hesitating whether to tell Francis.
In that state, any more stress might really drive him mad.
"This is good news," Hope suddenly said. Francis looked over, and she turned to show him. "Going to the hospital means Elissa is temporarily safe."
How could going to the hospital mean she was safe?
Jerry thought it was better left unsaid but didn't dare argue.
"The hospital is better. Even with Jessa's influence, there are more people around, making it easier to rescue her."
Francis noticed Elissa's pale face in the photo. It seemed she knew someone was taking her picture and looked directly at the camera.
But...
He narrowed his eyes. "Aiden's hands are an eyesore."
Jerry turned off his phone. "When we rescue her, there will be a fight. Bullets don't have eyes."
Longtime friends didn't need many words.
Jerry wanted to explain to Hope, but she pushed him away. "I understand."
Elissa was carried by Aiden into a special ward. He placed her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her but didn't untie her hands and feet. Nor did he change her into clean clothes.
If she was really in early pregnancy, the baby would have been lost by now. But Aiden's hatred for Francis and his obsession with defeating the Peterson family gave her a chance.
When the nurse drew blood, her hands were finally freed. While Jessa and Aiden were talking, she wrote "SOS" on the nurse's hand.
But the nurse didn't understand and tried to comfort her. "It won't hurt. We'll treat your wrist wounds soon. Just hold the cotton ball."
"I'll do it," Aiden said, pressing the cotton ball to stop the bleeding.
The nurse took the blood sample to the lab and brought back some ointment.
"Is it safe for pregnant women?" Aiden asked.
'Acting like he is the baby's father!' Elissa thought, but her face remained unchanged.
The nurse paused. "I'll ask the doctor."
"No rush," Aiden said, glancing at Elissa's wrist. "It's just rope burns. Let's wait for the test results."
Elissa realized the nurse was with them. Luckily, the nurse didn't understand her distress signal, or it would have been harder to buy time.
Hayden couldn't find her, so he would definitely notify Francis or Hope to rescue her.
Elissa retorted, "It's not you who's hurt, so it's easy for you to say it's not a big deal."
Aiden removed the cotton ball, saw her arm had stopped bleeding, and tossed it aside. "For the child, you can endure this pain."
Elissa found his smile particularly unsettling. It felt like being licked by a snake's tongue, making her very afraid. She quickly pulled the blanket over herself, feeling much warmer and her mind starting to clear.
This was the top floor, with guards outside, and it seemed the hospital had some connection with them. They weren't worried about her escaping, so they hadn't tied her up again.
She began to think about how to continue stalling.
Jessa sat on the couch, waiting for the test results. Aiden sat by the bed.
Elissa felt like a bird in a cage, unable to escape no matter how hard she tried. These two ruthless people wouldn't soften just because she hurt herself.
Slowly and discreetly, she untied the ropes around her feet.
"I need to use the bathroom," she said.
Aiden stood up to carry her, but she refused. "I can walk by myself."
But he still picked her up.
When he set her down on the toilet, he stayed right beside her.
Elissa frowned. "Aren't you going to leave?"
"No."
Elissa held back her frustration. "There's only one door, no windows. If you stand at the door, I can't escape. I have diarrhea. Are you going to watch?"
She felt disgusted just saying it, but he remained unfazed.
He said, "Go ahead."
Elissa didn't actually need to use the bathroom. She slowly stood up, pretending to pull down her pants, while scanning the bathroom.
Just then, a nurse entered the room. "The test results are back."
Elissa didn't understand the words, but she saw Aiden's expression change and him immediately turning to leave.
She quickly moved, grabbing the report before Aiden could, and slammed the bathroom door shut, locking it.
Aiden kicked the door.
Elissa hurriedly threw the test report into the toilet.
When Aiden kicked the door open, he saw the completely soaked test report.
His eyes turned venomous. "The hospital has records. Destroying the report is useless."
He stepped closer. "So, you were lying to me."
Elissa backed into the shower area, grabbed the showerhead, and turned it on, spraying his face with water.
Aiden was momentarily blinded, and she used the showerhead to hit him hard on the back of the head.
Elissa didn't know where her strength came from—maybe it was hatred. She pushed his head into the toilet.
Aiden was furious, but the blow to his head and the brief suffocation made him dizzy.
When he tried to get up, he blacked out and collapsed.
Jessa thought Aiden was trying to assault Elissa after seeing the test results. But after listening for a moment, she sensed something was wrong and walked into the bathroom, only to be hit by a foul smell.
She screamed and jumped back.
Elissa stood there, holding a toilet plunger, taunting her.
Jessa immediately reached for her gun.
At that moment, she didn't care about sending Elissa to hell; she just wanted to kill her.
Elissa took the chance to run out.
The guards outside tried to stop her, but she waved the plunger at them, making them hesitate.
It was disgusting, but it was her only chance to escape.
"Why aren't you stopping her?" Jessa yelled.
Human nature—blood might not faze them, but feces made them hesitate.
"Catch her!" Jessa shouted.
Elissa didn't know the layout of the place and was running out of energy. She ended up in a dead end.
Was this God's will for her to die?
"Keep running," Jessa taunted, standing about three feet away. Seeing the plunger in Elissa's hand, her face twisted in disgust. "Why did you stop? Huh?"
Elissa tried to catch her breath, staring at the gun pointed at her. "Is it just because Francis loves me that you want me dead?"
Jessa's eyes flashed with malice. "If it weren't for you, I would have married him already!"
Elissa found this logic flawed. "You've known each other since childhood, longer and better than I have. If you wanted to get married, you could have done it long ago. Why wait until I showed up?"
In the past, Jessa was too young to challenge the Peterson family. So she went abroad, expanding her influence and power, sacrificing everything to be on equal footing with them. But when she returned, Elissa had already disrupted her plans. And worse, this lowly woman had won Francis's heart, something she couldn't do.
"Because you deserve to die."
Elissa was speechless. "I never stopped you. After you came back, I even broke up with Francis. If you're not together, it's not my fault."
In truth, she didn't think this way. Jessa had been with so many men abroad. Just that fact alone meant Francis would never be with her. But Jessa blamed everything on her instead of looking at herself.
"I can let you marry Francis. I only have one request: I don't want to die."
"And besides," Elissa saw Jessa's thumb moving and sped up her speech. "The living can never compete with the dead. The dead forever hold a sacred place in someone's heart. The living fade from memory, but death etches itself forever. If I die by your hand, Francis will never be able to forgive you. How could he ever bring himself to marry you after that?"
"But I have a way."
Jessa wasn't a fool, but Elissa's desperate plea made her laugh. "Your love for him is so shallow."
Elissa played along. "It's nothing compared to yours. I value my life more. If you could die for him, he'd remember you forever."
Jessa almost fell for it. "Elissa!"
Elissa desperately tried to buy time. "I'm not lying. Doesn't Aiden have a deceased lover? He visits her grave whenever he can and even found a replacement. You must know this since you're friends."
Jessa sneered. "You're right, but he got rid of the replacement, proving that no matter how much you love someone, once they're dead, they don't matter. So, you can't live."
Just as Jessa was about to pull the trigger, a hand grabbed her gun. Seeing Aiden, she smirked mockingly. "Perfect timing. Speaking of your deceased lover. Do you really still miss her? Then why do you desire Elissa?"
Aiden clenched his teeth, his jaw muscles twitching with effort. "You'd better not mention her again."
"What, feeling guilty?" Jessa continued, "How do you think she'd feel knowing you're interested in another woman?"
Elissa stayed silent, watching their argument. Unexpectedly, Aiden suddenly grabbed the gun from Jessa and pointed it at Elissa.
Elissa was stunned.
Aiden took a step forward, his face cold. "Who gave you the right to use her?"
Two lunatics. If it weren't for stalling, she wouldn't waste a single word on them.
"Did I say something wrong?" As Elissa finished speaking, a loud noise echoed.
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