Chapter 599 Are You Hiding Something from Me?
Arthur glanced away, telling himself that Harper was sharp. From the get-go, he knew she was sharp.
Whatever she said or did, he couldn't trust it. She had to be setting a trap.
Arthur stared at Elodie for a bit, not saying a word. Then, out of nowhere, he squatted down, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her hard. "Elodie, are you hiding something from me?"
Elodie's eyes were unfocused, not reacting to his words.
Arthur tightened his grip, gritting his teeth. "Speak up!"
Still, no reaction from Elodie, just some unconscious sounds. She'd been like this ever since she saw Elara.
Arthur had overestimated Elodie's resilience. First, he told her Jasper had been shot, then he showed her Elara's gruesome corpse.
Years locked away in the basement had eroded Elodie's spirit and strength. She was fragile, brittle. This whole mess between them completely undid her.
Elodie believed that everything was her fault; if Jasper hadn't saved her, he wouldn't have been shot, and Elara was brutally killed by Arthur because she was helping her.
Elodie collapsed, her mind snapping like a broken string, unable to react to anything.
The unconscious sounds, the occasional drool from her mouth, turned Elodie from a former beauty into a beautiful but demented woman.
A beauty was still a beauty, even if she was demented.
Elodie's unfocused eyes stared blankly at the surveillance footage on the TV. Suddenly, a faint voice shouting "Mom" came from the monitor's speaker.
Elodie's eyes slowly focused, and she fell out of her wheelchair.
Arthur reached out to help, but she pushed him away.
Elodie crawled frantically towards the monitor. On the screen, Harper had shifted from a curled-up position to lying on her back.
Harper's body was trembling, but her eyes were locked on the camera. Using all her strength, she called out, "Mom."
Elodie screamed and pounded the TV with her hands.
Arthur watched Elodie's abnormal behavior and, instead of being alarmed, he smiled. Finally, she was no longer a doll.
He looked at Harper on the monitor, his eyes momentarily cold.
The next second, Arthur pressed the green button next to the monitor and ordered, "Bring her out."
Watching Harper being carried out by security, given emergency treatment, and then falling asleep, Arthur felt a slow sense of relief.
Arthur convinced himself that if it weren't for Harper's potential to cure Elodie, he wouldn't have given her a second chance.
After confirming Harper was fine, he turned and left the room.
The door closed.
Lying in bed, Harper suddenly opened her eyes. Looking at the clean, warm room in the dark, she knew she had won the gamble.
Before she froze completely, those few cries of "Mom" had indeed caught Arthur's attention.
However, Arthur probably hadn't realized yet why he had compromised.
What Harper needed to do was let this doubt in Arthur's heart continue to spread until it consumed him entirely.
Harper shut her eyes again, trying to convince herself to get some sleep and save her energy.
Before Jasper showed up, she had to keep fighting to stay alive.
Even though she tried to comfort herself, Harper had a rough night, full of chaotic nightmares.
Knowing Elodie was here and Arthur was lurking around, she couldn't sleep peacefully.
Finally, dawn broke.
As soon as Harper opened her eyes, she saw a man sitting in a chair by the bed. It was Arthur.
Her face changed instantly, worried she might have said something in her sleep that she shouldn't have, revealing her true thoughts.
Arthur looked at her and said calmly, "You're awake?"
Harper was freaking out inside but kept a calm facade.
"I noticed you didn't sleep well," Arthur said, his voice calm, but his cold eyes held unfathomable depths.
Harper was a bit nervous, unsure if she had given anything away.
After quickly thinking it over, she clenched her hands and said, "Yeah, I didn't sleep well. Yesterday's events scared me. After all, I almost died."
Her honest demeanor made the dark currents in Arthur's eyes momentarily clear.
"Are you afraid of me?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, you've tried to kill me three times. How could I not be afraid?" Harper didn't hide her fear at all, even slightly retreating while talking to Arthur, full of caution.
Arthur frowned. "How do you usually interact with Clayton?"
Harper was stunned, not understanding what he meant.
Arthur clarified, "Do you interact with him the same way?"
This time, Harper got it. Arthur was comparing himself to her father, Clayton.
Thinking of Clayton, Harper's face softened. "Dad treats me very well. I'm not afraid of him. When I was little, he often carried me on his back."
This was true; Clayton had always doted on Harper. Clayton carried her when she was little, and when she grew up, he carried her child.
Seeing Harper's obvious smile when mentioning Clayton, Arthur suddenly felt a pang of jealousy.
Arthur's tone shifted slightly, as if displeased with the term. "Dad?"
Looking into Arthur's cold eyes, Harper said word by word, "Sean and Clayton will always be my dads."
Harper managed her emotions very skillfully. If she showed submission and obedience to Arthur at this moment, it would only arouse his suspicion.
The fact was, Arthur had killed Sean and tried to kill Harper three times. How could she still be obedient to Arthur? She should be filled with hatred. This, in turn, could provoke Arthur's competitive spirit.
After all, Harper's blood had been drawn. If the genetic test results showed she was indeed his daughter, Arthur would be shocked.
Arthur had tried to kill his own daughter three times!
So, before knowing the results, Arthur was very conflicted.
On one hand, he didn't want Harper's claim to be true; on the other hand, he hoped it was.
After all, the sudden appearance of a child at Arthur's age was a temptation hard to resist.
People who grew up alone, starved for love, often felt a deep, almost mystical connection to the bond between parent and child.
Arthur watched Harper for hours, and the more he observed, the more he saw himself in her.
In unfamiliar places, they both lacked a sense of security, always staying on high alert.
"Get up and have something to eat. I'll have the servant bring it in," Arthur said as he stood up, his tone calm and gentle.
If Harper hadn't been through what she had, she might have thought he was a good person.
At least at this moment, Arthur was playing the part well, showing no signs of being the cruel and insane person he was.
Harper kept her head down, not speaking.
She was afraid that if she looked up, she wouldn't be able to control herself. Overplaying the emotional cards, even slightly, risked tipping Arthur off.
Arthur, however, found Harper more and more endearing the more he looked at her.
"Harper, did your mom give you that name?" he asked.
Harper nodded. She had a gold piece of jewelry with her name engraved on it. When Sean found her, he asked around and even went to the police, but no child named Harper had been reported missing.
The reason no one knew was that Arthur had abandoned Harper thousands of miles away.
Back then, technology wasn't advanced, and the methods for finding missing persons weren't very good.
Sean, a kind and decent man, felt a paternal connection with Harper but harbored no selfish desire to erase who she was.
He kept her original name, hoping that one day her biological parents would recognize her.
"It's a beautiful name," Arthur said.
Seeing Harper remain silent, Arthur wanted to say more but didn't know what to say.
"Get some rest." With that, Arthur walked out.
A servant brought in a lavish meal.
Harper looked at the food, knowing Arthur wouldn't poison her now because the results weren't out yet.
Although she didn't know where she was, Arthur must have hidden her in a very secretive place.
This meant the paternity test results wouldn't come out quickly.
Even if Arthur was eager to know, it would take about three days. This was Harper's last chance to escape.
Arthur was being kind to Harper now because he truly believed she was his child. If he found out she wasn't, he would kill her at once.
After eating, Harper walked around the room.
A servant stayed in the room, not leaving. It seemed Arthur still didn't trust her.
Harper wandered to the window, and when the servant wasn't looking, she quickly pulled back the curtain to see where she was.
"It's so stuffy," Harper said, looking out.
But the next second, she was disappointed. There was no window behind the curtain, just a solid wall. The curtain was merely a decoration, so it was no wonder the servant didn't react at all when she walked towards the window.
Harper sat back on the bed, feeling deflated. She closed her eyes, needing to conserve her energy to come up with a good plan.
When she woke up, the servant in the room had been replaced. They were taking turns watching her.
The new servant asked what she wanted for lunch.
Harper named a few complicated dishes, hoping to make the servant find her difficult and become annoyed.
As expected, the servant frowned and left.
Harper sat on the bed and suddenly heard a sound outside, like the creaking of an ancient tree.
Harper thought for a moment and suddenly remembered hearing the same sound when Arthur had someone rescue her.
She ran to the door and banged on it, shouting, "Mom, Mom."
The servant was startled and rushed over to stop her, "Miss, you can't do this!"
The servant held Harper tightly, dragging her back to the bed.
Unable to bang on the door, Harper shouted, "Mom! Mom!"
Her loud cries finally caught the attention of the source of the sound outside.
The door was violently banged on.
It sounded like a wheelchair was ramming the door, and there were anxious voices from the servants outside, "Madam, you can't!"
Harper shouted even louder, "Mom! Mom!"
The servant in the room quickly covered Harper's mouth, but Harper struggled and made noises.
The door was hit again, and the lock broke.
When the door opened, Elodie was holding a large vase and smashed it on the back of the servant covering Harper's mouth.
The servant bled profusely and fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
Elodie struggled to stand up from her wheelchair and hugged Harper tightly.
Tears streamed down Harper's face. After so many years, she was finally holding her mom again.
Harper hugged Elodie tightly. The other servant, seeing the injured and bleeding colleague, didn't dare to approach Elodie, who had just acted like a madwoman.
Arthur had instructed them not to harm Elodie. If they tried to stop her too forcefully, they would be held responsible for any harm that came to Elodie.
At this moment, Arthur rushed in after receiving the news.
As soon as he entered, he saw Elodie and Harper hugging and crying.
Arthur paused for a moment, then stopped.
Elodie was crying and laughing, still looking abnormal, but at least she had more emotions than before.
Harper indeed had the potential to heal Elodie.
The servant beside him timidly said, "Mr. Hernandez, Elodie kept hitting the door with a chair. Taking it away would have hurt her, so we didn't intervene."
The explanation was reasonable enough.
Arthur waved his hand, "Get out."
The servant exhaled in relief, thinking she had narrowly escaped punishment.
Harper, still hugging Elodie, looked at Arthur and said, "You want me to heal Mom, right? Then you need to give me some time with her."
Arthur looked at her, considering the feasibility of Harper's suggestion.
Harper pleaded, "I want Mom to get better just as much as you do. Let me try."
Arthur looked at Harper for a few seconds, seemingly trying to discern if she was sincere.
Then Arthur said, "Alright, you have half an hour."
Arthur stood still, showing no intention of leaving.
Harper thought of a plan to get Arthur to leave. Suddenly, Harper remembered and, while hugging Elodie, secretly pinched her back when Arthur wasn't looking.
Elodie let out a cry, instantly catching Arthur's attention.
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