Chapter 455 Strange
Hope found it hard to turn Elissa down, but the decision wasn't hers to make. After all, Francis cared deeply about Elissa, and if anything were to happen to her or the baby, Hope couldn't take the responsibility.
Hope: [I'll ask myself. You stay home and wait for news.]
Elissa was about to send another message when her phone was suddenly snatched away.
Her expression gave her away.
Francis looked at her startled face, raising an eyebrow slightly. "What are you up to? Why do you look so scared?"
Elissa knew Francis wouldn't check her phone, so she put on an act. "You don't love me anymore."
Francis stared at her, baffled. "Huh?"
Elissa pretended to wipe away tears. "I was so scared, and you didn't comfort me right away."
Francis laughed in exasperation.
He was certain she was hiding something from him.
Otherwise, she wouldn't react this way.
"You're feeling guilty and blaming me?"
Elissa took back her phone. "I'm hungry. Let's eat."
"Playing the victim, huh?" Francis raised his hand and poked the back of her head.
He leaned in slightly.
"Trust me, the divorce certificate is real. Don't waste your time checking and end up hurting yourself."
Elissa didn't believe him but said nothing.
She stuffed a sandwich into his mouth.
"Eat up. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
Fine.
He'd wait and see.
Elissa avoided making eye contact with Francis and turned to talk to Anne instead.
At the dinner table, it was mostly Anne and Elissa talking.
Elissa even patted Anne's leg under the table.
After dinner, she told Francis, "I'm going to stay at a hotel with Anne."
Francis didn't call her out, just made a suggestion. "It seems Anne will be visiting often. Why not buy a property?"
Elissa had considered it, but with Francis bringing it up now, she couldn't help but be suspicious.
His mind was sharp.
She couldn't fool him.
"The hotel is yours too. What's wrong with giving Anne a guest room?"
Francis replied calmly, "I didn't say no. Why are you so worked up?"
Elissa's mind raced.
"Anne's studio is in Seaside City. It's not convenient for her to stay here long-term. I think the hotel is fine for now. We'll see about other arrangements later."
Anne chimed in, "Francis, I'll stay at the hotel for now. No rush to buy a property."
"Alright." Francis didn't say much and drove them to the hotel.
Elissa and Anne shared a car.
Anne asked, "Do you think Francis suspects something?"
"Doesn't matter," Elissa said. "We stick to the plan."
Anne had seen Elissa's chat with Hope.
She had the same concerns.
After all, Elissa was pregnant.
"Anne, I have a bad feeling. Maybe we should drop it. I don't want you getting into trouble because of me."
Elissa patted her head. "Nonsense. I'm fine. We're just going to ask some questions. What could happen?"
Anne still secretly messaged Hope.
Hope was at the entrance when she ran into Jerry coming in.
She panicked for a moment but then composed herself. "Anne's here. I'm going to meet them for some shopping."
Jerry nodded. "Go ahead. I'm tired, so I won't drive you, honey. Steven hasn't left yet. Let him take you."
Hope frowned slightly.
Jerry's reaction was unusual.
He rarely said he was tired; he was acting off.
Though she quickly masked her expression, his sharp senses couldn't have missed it.
With her mind preoccupied, she didn't dwell on it and quickly changed her shoes to leave.
Steven opened the back door for her and helped her in.
She gave him the hotel address.
Meanwhile, Jerry stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his long fingers typing a message on his phone.
Francis had sent a message: [Did your wife choose you?]
Jerry replied: [Do you have the right to talk?]
Hope arrived at the hotel and told Steven he could go home.
"I won't need a ride. I'll probably stay at the hotel with them."
Steven had been briefed in advance.
He agreed and drove off.
Hope watched the car leave, deep in thought.
But she couldn't dwell on it. She quickly hailed a cab to the subway station.
Elissa had already taken Anne to the black market, and Hope was anxious.
She needed to find Elissa quickly.
An hour earlier.
Francis dropped Elissa at the hotel, offering a few kind words before pretending to leave with Willard.
Once Elissa and Anne left the hotel, he quietly followed.
Elissa knew Francis well. His unusual behavior tonight meant he suspected something.
So, she and Anne first went to the busiest shopping street, using the crowd to slip into an underground passage, then crossed to the other side of the road, took a cab to the black market area, and found a contact who took them in on a motorcycle.
Elissa could ride, but Anne didn't trust her, so she rode with Elissa following the guide.
They couldn't go too fast because of Elissa, and she urged Anne several times, almost losing the guide.
"Anne, if you're not confident, let me ride."
Anne could ride. Both she and Elissa enjoyed thrills.
She had even participated in small off-road races while filming animals abroad.
City roads were a piece of cake.
But with Elissa pregnant, she couldn't take risks.
She just sped up enough to keep up with the guide.
Drones buzzed around them.
The motorcycle was loud, and both wore helmets, so they didn't notice.
The footage was transmitted to two men.
Francis clenched his fists, his expression cold, lips pressed into a thin line.
Willard was more composed, knowing Anne's skills.
He was just worried about the black market.
"You're furious but not stopping her? Letting Elissa ride a motorcycle to the black market?"
With the helicopter right there, Francis could take off immediately to intercept Elissa.
But he thought about how he had been caring for Elissa meticulously, yet it wasn't what she wanted.
They had agreed to be honest with each other, never to lie or hide anything.
Elissa had broken that tonight.
He understood why.
So he let her go.
But he hadn't expected her plan to be so dangerous.
"You have the nerve to talk? If you weren't so untrustworthy, my wife wouldn't avoid me to verify your divorce certificate."
Willard retorted, "How is this my fault?"
"Who else?"
Elissa was pregnant, and Francis was anxious. Willard didn't argue.
At that moment, Anne's motorcycle followed the guide and stopped.
A dark, unlit alley stretched before them, as if it were a black hole swallowing all light.
Elissa paid the guide, and she and Anne put on masks, ready to enter.
Just as they took a step, someone grabbed Elissa's arm. She thought it was Francis and was startled.
But when Elissa saw the face of the person who grabbed her, she sighed in relief and her eyes curved into a smile. "What a coincidence."
Anne was ready to apologize, instinctively thinking Francis had found them.
But then she caught a familiar scent.
"Hope!"
Hope nodded at Anne and looked at Elissa. "You're being a bit reckless."
Elissa linked arms with her. "It's just so boring at home."
Hope knew Elissa couldn't stand being cooped up.
She used to say she didn't want kids because she didn't want to be tied down.
Getting pregnant was an accident, and being stuck at home for so long, she was bound to seek some excitement.
But this was too much.
"Hope, I'm really happy today."
Elissa had found her long-lost sister, and Hope was happy for her too.
If Elsa hadn't insisted on a bedtime story, she would have joined them for dinner and celebration.
But after putting the child to sleep and checking her phone, she saw Elissa was planning to go to the black market.
"You've had your fun outside. Let me handle this from here. Or are you saying you don't trust me?"
Elissa shook her head. "You're the person I trust the most. But I also want to see inside. I've never been."
Hope's tone turned serious. "You don't really think you can fool Francis, do you?"
"Of course not," Elissa said. "I just want to get in and see before he shows up."
Anne joined in the persuasion. "Elissa, let's just wait here. I'm scared. I don't want to go in. Stay with me."
Elissa laughed, teasingly. "You dared to venture into uninhabited areas to film endangered wildlife, and now you're telling me you're scared?"
Anne had shared many stories of her past with Elissa to help them bond.
Now, she couldn't even come up with an excuse.
"That was an uninhabited area..." She forced herself to say, "This black market is full of all kinds of people. It feels more dangerous than the wilderness."
Elissa grabbed both Anne and Hope, pulling them along. "Come on, if we dawdle any longer, we won't get in."
Anne and Hope didn't dare to struggle too much, afraid of causing any mishap.
The alleyway was shrouded in darkness, the wind howling like ghosts—it was downright eerie.
Anne was genuinely scared.
But she still stayed close to Elissa, ready to protect her from any sudden danger.
Elissa squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It's okay."
Hope led the way, using her phone to light the path.
They hadn't expected the alley to be so long.
It seemed endless.
Looking back, it seemed even darker and colder—a black vortex threatening to swallow them whole.
Unbeknownst to them, someone was following.
Three professionally trained men, moving silently.
Willard couldn't help but speak. "Francis, you usually protect your wife so closely. Why aren't you stopping her now? Aren't you afraid she'll get scared and something will happen?"
At that moment, Anne's trembling voice came from ahead.
"Elissa, I think I hear voices behind us."
The three men weren't close, but with their keen hearing, they could hear her.
Francis and Jerry were both surprised that Anne could hear them.
Willard whispered, "She developed that skill while filming animals."
Francis and Jerry gave him a sharp look.
Willard raised his hands, indicating he would stay quiet.
Up ahead, Elissa and Hope hadn't heard anything and reassured Anne together. "We're not the only ones coming to the black market. Don't worry, we're almost there."
As they spoke, they saw some light ahead.
They quickened their pace and finally emerged from the alley.
Inside was a whole different world.
But it wasn't as terrifying as the rumors.
There were strange and unusual items that piqued the curiosity of the three women.
Passing by a clothing store, Elissa said to Hope, "These designs are so shocking."
Hope nodded. "Yeah, they really are."
All of them were dark motifs you'd never see elsewhere.
The embroidery on the clothes was different from what they had encountered in Seaside City.
The flowers were entirely black, with a touch of red in the center, and the special embroidery made them look alive, almost flowing.
"Hope!" Elissa exclaimed, pulling Hope inside. "These flowers form a woman!"
Hope's eyes widened as she saw that beneath the flowers, there was indeed a beautiful woman, outlined not in black like the flowers, but in white thread—pure and holy.
Hope couldn't resist reaching out, but a skeletal hand, looking like pure bone, stopped her.
"You can't touch."
Hope looked up. The person wore a red cloak with no patterns, wrapped tightly around them. The voice indicated it was a woman.
"Sorry."
It was indeed rude to touch without permission.
Elissa leaned in, curious about the woman's appearance, but saw she wore a black lace mask, making it hard to see even with the light.
But the woman didn't shy away, letting Elissa look.
Elissa's vision blurred, and she rubbed her eyes, still unable to see clearly.
Hope quickly pulled her back.
Elissa looked around and saw Hope and Anne's faces were clear.
"Don't get too close."
Hope smelled a strange scent and worried it might harm Elissa and the baby.
Seeing the concern in Hope's eyes, Elissa obediently stepped back.
But curiosity got the better of her. "Miss, are you afraid the clothes will get damaged if touched?"
They hadn't meant to touch, just felt drawn by a mysterious force.
"Only those destined can touch these clothes."
Elissa was even more curious. "How do you know who is destined?"
The woman shook her head. "I don't know."
Elissa was puzzled. "Aren't these your clothes? How can you not know?"
The woman clasped her hands together. "It's unspeakable."
Hope noticed the inside of her skeletal fingers had red veins, like blood vessels, extending inward.
Before coming to the black market, Jerry had told Hope about the strange and mysterious people there, some seemingly from another dimension.
Hope thought for a moment and asked, "What kind of embroidery is this?"
The store owner seemed to look at her deeply, but the large hat brim obscured her face. Hope stepped back a bit for Elissa's sake, making it hard to see clearly.
Suddenly, the woman's voice became ethereal, as if coming from a great distance.
"It's the kind you stitch one thread at a time."
Anne was brave and resilient.
For her filming, she feared nothing, crossing mountains and valleys.
When Francis saved her, she was prepared to die in the fight.
But she was terrified of ghosts and superstitions.
She hid behind Elissa, forgetting she was supposed to protect her.
Elissa was a staunch materialist, interested in the supernatural but not a believer.
"Miss, it can't be such a coincidence that the destined person is my friend, right?"
Hope didn't believe in such things either.
But for some reason, after the woman spoke, the figure on the clothes looked a lot like her.
"Hope!" Suddenly, Jerry's voice rang out.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
