Chapter 534 Her at That Time
Lydia was in a deep sleep when she suddenly jolted awake. The first thing she saw was a face super close to hers, so close she could only make out some hair and skin, not enough to figure out who it was.
Lydia let out a scream.
The noise nearly made Winona go deaf, and she shot up straight. "Mom!"
Lydia finally realized it was Winona and sighed in relief, looking guilty. "Sorry, I just woke up, and my eyes are still a bit blurry. I didn't see clearly and scared you."
Winona thought she was the one who almost got scared to death but kept that to herself.
Lydia's scream had startled Evander, who was smoking outside. He rushed in. "What happened?"
Lydia had just had a nightmare. She dreamt of a villa in the countryside, surrounded by blooming flowers in a spring garden. The sun shone on the lush green grass, and in the middle of it all was a lounge chair. A person lay on the chair, covered with a white fluffy blanket, a book resting on their face.
The villa was isolated, with no neighbors for miles around. The only sounds were the rustling of flower branches in the wind and the colorful butterflies flitting among the flowers. It was all so serene and beautiful.
But this beauty was soon shattered by a man who came out of the villa. He was dressed casually and walked over to the lounge chair, squatting down slowly. He held the woman's hand on the chair and called out softly, "Lydia."
He looked harmless and gentle on the surface, but there was a flicker of madness and cruelty in his eyes. Lydia, as if watching from the sidelines, saw him switch between madness, gentleness, cruelty, and harmlessness.
Even someone as well-mannered as Lydia couldn't help but curse at the sight, thinking he was a complete lunatic.
The woman on the lounge chair, feeling his touch like a snake bite, almost tumbled off the chair in a panic.
The book slipped from her face, uncovering a glimpse of Lydia's younger self.
Lydia was so startled that she stumbled back and fell to the ground. Even though it was a dream and she was just an observer, the man suddenly turned his head and looked straight at her.
That piercing gaze woke her up.
As Lydia woke up, long-buried memories flooded back. It wasn't just a dream; it was something she had experienced. Back then, Evander had discovered that Alton, Timothy's father, was embezzling company funds and had started a rival company with some core shareholders, stealing many of the Bailey Group's clients.
Alton had been exposed, with irrefutable evidence against him. Desperate, he had taken Lydia to that villa, forcing her to call Evander and say she was on a last-minute business trip.
Even now, thinking about that scene made Lydia's skin crawl.
She had been violently abducted, drugged, and left powerless, lying on a bed, unable to move anything but her eyes.
In the dark room, moonlight streamed in through the window, casting eerie shadows. A madman crouched by Lydia's bed, staring at her with a predatory look.Anyone would be freaked out.
Alton had said, "Lydia, call Evander and tell him you're going out of town for a few days for a meeting and that your phone will be off."
His cold fingers brushed her face. He continued, "They've got the goods on me for embezzlement and betrayal. I'm toast, so stay here with me for a few days and grant me my last wish, okay?"
Lydia replied, "You won't die." Lydia, though in her thirties, had been pampered all her life and had never faced such a situation. She had no clue how to handle a madman. She said, "Economic crimes rarely get the death penalty. You and Evander are friends; he won't push you to the edge. He'll write a letter of leniency."
She knew Alton had mental issues. She had once accidentally seen his psychological evaluation report when she bumped into him and helped pick up his scattered documents.
The company did annual evaluations, and most employees had some issues due to the high pressure. But Alton's report had always been positive and optimistic.
That one must have been a private evaluation.
Alton and Evander had once been friends, though not super close. But a disagreement had caused a rift between them, and they hadn't been in touch for quite some time.
Lydia, being carefree, didn't know the reason or even when they had fallen out. She had chatted with Alton while picking up the documents until she saw the evaluation result, which made her voice catch.
She felt a strong, invasive gaze on her, like Alton wanted to devour her.
Lydia quickly gathered the documents and handed them back to him.
That day, Alton stared at her until she disappeared into Evander's office. Lydia avoided him after that, and since she didn't visit the Bailey Group often, she hadn't had any contact with Alton until the incident.
Alton had smiled and shaken his head. "The amount I embezzled is enough to get me executed a hundred times over."
Lydia's voice trembled. "What do you need so much money for? You can't spend it all in a lifetime. You can't possibly use it to keep warm in winter."
Alton replied, "To build a golden house for you, to hide you away so no one else can see you, so no one can take you from me."
Alton was insane, wasn't he? He was insane.
Right, he was indeed insane, as the evaluation report had shown.
Lydia screamed internally.
Alton asked, "Evander never told you why we fell out?"
No.
Not a word.
He continued, "Next time you see him, tell him to be polite and knock before entering. It avoids awkwardness for both of us."
Lydia instinctively knew Alton had done something terrible. Alton then said with a crazed look, "I made an exact replica of you, same size and everything..."
He leaned in and whispered two words to her: "Inflatable doll."
Lydia was losing it. She had thought Alton kidnapped her to threaten Evander into letting him go, but she hadn't expected him to be such a pervert.
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