Chapter 96 Will She Come?
After he sent the
Louis dispatched his message, Louis closedthen shut his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pressed the sharp grinding against each other as he drove the pointed end of his cufflink deeper into his flesh, wincinga slight grimace distorting his face. The pain was his tether to reality, the only thing that held him back from succumbing to the medicated fog that threatened to consume him. His hands, slick with blood, trembled slightly.
The pain was the only thing that kept him somewhat lucid now.
In fact, if not for the pain, he felt he would have succumbed to the medicated haze he was barely fighting off.
Louis's hands were already drenched in blood. Meanwhile, in the In the study of the south garden villa, after thea cell phone on the table rang thrice and was hung up,before falling silent. Paige glanced at the incoming number and furrowed, her brows.
She recognized furrowing in recognition. Louis's number verywas one she knew well. Over, having remained unchanged over the years, Louis. She had never changed his personal number.
Although she was not sureno idea how Louis had gottenhe'd obtained her number—, but she instantly ruled outquickly dismissed the possibilityidea that Xena had given it to him.
Just as As she thought about itpondered this, a message poppednotification lit up on her screen.
Again, it It was from Louis, but Paige onlybarely gave it a fleetingsecond glance before a cold, mocking smile played oncurled her lips.
Across from Paige, there wasPearl sat at a small desk where Pearl was working, ready to attend to any assignmentstasks Paige might have.
assign. Hearing the sound from Paige's side, Pearl inquiredasked, "Xanthe, is something up?"
Nonchalantly placingamiss?" Paige, with a dismissive wave of her hand, placed her phone aside, Paige responded and replied, "Just somea tedious personindividual. Not worth our attention."
time."Before the echo of Paige's words had even settledfaded, another message notification chimed from her phone.
Paige didn't bother to lookignored it; she had work to do.
Perhapsattend to. Had she wouldbothered to check, she might have addedblocked Louis to the blocklist right away should she have decided to check.
Without much thought, then and there. Pearl casually , in an attempt to make casual conversation, mentioned, "The Sackler family lifted their lockdown today. Who knowsI wonder if that restless Sackler daughter will stir up more trouble?"
Pearl didn't mean much by it, but Pearl's words were idle, but they brought to mind key wordsphrases from theLouis's message Louis sent flashed through Paige's mind: your sister, drugged...
Could it be that Xena, the troublemaker Xena really did drug Louis?
If that were the case, whatever, had indeed drugged Louis? If so, Paige felt no obligation to involve herself in their mess those two got into was none of Paige's concern.
But. However, she was still married to Raymond, and the last thing she needed was for Xena, out ofin her mind as usual reckless manner, to start rumors that could entangle her through the complexin a web of family ethics.
drama.Paige had only just takenrecently assumed the role of CEO seat at the Universe Group. She had married under duress, hoping an ordinaryfor a simple trophy husband would suffice, but her spouse instead, she had ended up beingwith Raymond.
Now, she had to deal with found herself embroiled in the scandal of Louis and Xena's scandal becauseXena, all for the sake of her reputation and that of the Carnegie family's reputation.
Withfamily. The more she thought, Paige felt about it, the more her anger simmering.
Grabbingsimmered.Snatching up her phone, Paige unlocked it to check the incoming messages while instructing Pearl,. "Continue reviewing the documents on hand; I have, Pearl," she instructed, "I need to step out."
By the time she She had barely taken a few steps, her attention was captured by when a new photo from Louis showingcaught her attention. It showed his hands, covered in blood. His index finger was still oozing blood, and, a cufflink pin was stuck intoembedded in his bleeding middle finger. Paige immediately sensed trouble.
She turned backspun around, opened the drawer besidenext to her desk, and pulled out a rolled-up leather satchel of medical supplies. In such a hurryher haste, she didn't even bother grabbingto grab a coat before rushing downstairsout and driving away.
, leaving Pearl was leftbehind, puzzled, and wondering, "What's the rush?"
As Paige's car sped down the road, her mind was swamped witha whirlwind of names: Xena, Louis, Raymond – all troublemakers. None, none of themwhom brought her peace of mind.
. If it weren't for her marriage to Raymond, Paige thoughtmused, Xena drugging Louis or anything else that happened toany other incident involving him would be nonone of her concern of hers. She wouldn't have to wade intoimmerse herself in this mess.
Upon reaching the location Louis had sent, Paige recognized it immediately. She and Xena had played a dangerous game of 'knife and finger' here before. It was a familiar haunt for them.
ApproachingAs she approached the entrance, Paige was stoppedhalted at the grand doorway.
A doorman informed her, "I'm sorry, miss, but this is a members-only establishment. If you're here to see a friend, they'll need to give us a heads up."
With a frown, Paige retortedfrowned, retorting, "I'm here to save someone. Membership is what youYou want membership? How much is the entry fee?"
The doorman, helplessflustered, replied, "Miss, membership here isn't just about having money..."
Paige got the pictureunderstood; it was about status.
She thought aboutconsidered calling Louis, but she doubted he'd be in a positionany state to deal with the issuehelp, even if he could answer his phone.
So, Paige called Instead, she dialed Raymond, and after quickly explaining the situation,. Raymond provided her with a membership number.
Upon hearing the account number, the doorman's demeanor shifted completely; hechanged entirely. He bowed respectfully and allowed Paige to enter, guiding her attentively.
"May I ask"Could you please tell me which room your friend is in?" he inquired.
"Topasked."The suite on the top floor suite,, it's Louis's room," Paige responded.
replied.The doorman ledguided her totowards the elevator, personally pressedpressing the button for her, and instructed with a professional air. He then proceeded to give her on howdirections to find the room once she arrived upstairs, as he didn't havehis clearance didn't permit him to go toventure into the top-flooruppermost suites himself.
.Meanwhile, upstairsin the suite above, Louis had been standing under a streamtorrent of coldicy water, rinsing offwashing away the remnants of the day for well over ten minutes.
Xena had tried out countless sultrybeen practicing a myriad of seductive poses on the bed, all in preparationeach one carefully crafted for the moment Louis stepped outwould emerge, ready to instantly captivateensnare him with her allure.
charm.However, despite her patient waiting for quite a while, there was still no sign of him. Could a shower really take this long?
Growing impatientrestless, Xena got uprose from the bed and knockedrapped on the bathroom door, "Elijah, are you donefinished yet?"
Under normal circumstances, Xena wouldn't dare to rush someone, as thatit could come offeasily be perceived as too desperatedesperation. But she had slipped something into Louis' drink, and if he stayedlingered in the bathroom too long, she worriedfeared that something might go wrong.
awry.The knock startled Louis inside, the coldfrigid water rushingcascading over him and the acutesharp pain in his hand barely keeping his senses intact.
him grounded.But he had yet to receive a replyhear from Paige and had no ideawas uncertain if she would even come.
Hearingarrive.Receiving no response from the bathroom, Xena knocked again, "Elijah, are you alright in there?"
The bathroom door didn't havelacked a lock, and Xena was strugglingfinding it increasingly difficult to restrainhold herself back. Whether it was in the bathroom or on the bed, to her, establishingher main goal was to establish an intimate connection with Louis was what mattered.
.With this thought in mind, she steeled herself gathered her courage and pushed the bathroom door open.
It was thenat this moment that Xena saw Louis, sitting neatly on the floor, fully clothed. TakingAs she took two steps forward, she realized the water was met with a splash of cold only when it splashed onto her.
water."Elijah, what are you doing?" she asked.
questioned.The two substances Xena had given administered to Louis were taking their toll, beginning to take effect, and it was a testament to his willpowerresilience that he had lastedmanaged to hold on until she knocked on the door.
Just as Louis seemed on the vergebrink of succumbingsurrender, Xena turned off the shower, and the hotel doorbell rang.
