Chapter 3 3
Elena walked a little farther, then turned to glance at Jack, who was trailing behind her, completely covered in mud. "So, where's the car?"
Jack gave her a sheepish grin and ran a hand through his muddy hair. "About that... I got lost on the way, then it started pouring, and the car got stuck in a mud pit. I couldn't get it out, so I hitched a ride into the village on some old guy's tractor."
Elena just stared at him. No wonder he looked like this. Honestly, she wasn't much better off herself. If Jack was a mud monster, she was a drenched mess.
"How far did you leave it?" she asked.
Jack hesitated. "Uh... probably... more than ten kilometers? Maybe a bit more..." His voice trailed off and he looked anywhere but at her.
Jack quickly tried to fix things. “Miss, maybe we should wait a bit and see if any cars come by heading to the city?"
But it was late, raining hard, and in a mountain village like this, everyone was probably already home and asleep. Getting a ride was going to be tough. Elena actually had a motorcycle, but it was back at the Walsh.
"Let's just walk," she said.
They walked in silence for about ten minutes, rain soaking through their clothes, until suddenly car headlights appeared behind them.
Jack perked up. "Miss, there's a car!" He started waving his arms, but the black luxury sedan barely slowed down as it sped past, horn blaring. The tires sent up a huge spray of muddy water, soaking both of them from head to toe.
Elena closed her eyes and sighed.
Jack wiped his face with his sleeve and grumbled, “Just because you drive a Rolls- Royce doesn't mean you own the road.” He paused, then frowned. “Wait, a Rolls- Royce?"
He stared after the car, watching the taillights disappear into the darkness. What was a car like that doing in a place like this?
Elena noticed his look. "What's wrong?"
Jack shook his head. "Probably just my imagination. For a second there, I thought I knew that car."
The license plate he'd glimpsed was almost identical to the one owned by Damien Clifford, the eldest son of one of the most powerful families in the Capital. That couldn't be right though. Why would he be out here?
Elena had noticed the car too. She remembered the man she'd run into earlier on the mountain, the one who seemed both unlucky and full of himself. She frowned but pushed the thought away. None of her business.
Meanwhile, in the back of that same Rolls-Royce, a man was sprawled out, drenched and pale. It was Damon. He was holding onto a cheap pendant, the kind you'd find in any street market, with a single character carved on the back: E.
He looked up at the man beside him, his voice tired and rough. "Check everyone who was on Highridge Mountain tonight. I want to find her."
Zeke nodded right away. "Yes, sir.” Tonight had been way too close. If that mysterious girl hadn't shown up, Damon probably wouldn't have made it.
Back on the road, Elena and Jack walked for another ten minutes before finally spotting a small truck. The driver, a young guy who'd been installing air conditioners in the village, was heading back to the city. He took one look at them and waved them into the cab without a second thought.
As they bumped along, Jack asked the guy to stop when they hit the paved road. He dug out a rain-soaked business card and handed it over. "If you ever need help, call me."
The driver grinned, took the card, and tossed it onto the dashboard. “Sure thing.”
Once they got out, Elena spotted a car half-buried in a mud pit by the side of the road, completely covered in muck. She walked over for a closer look, her eyebrows lifting in surprise.
If she was seeing this right, it had to be Ferrari's latest sports car, brand new this year, with only three of them in the whole world.
"Keys," she said, hand outstretched.
Jack looked like he wanted to explain himself but just pressed his lips together and handed over the keys.
Elena opened the door, climbed in, and started the engine. The car gave a fierce growl, then, just like that, pulled itself out of the muddy pit as if it was nothing.
Jack's mouth fell open in shock.
What just happened...
"Get in!" Elena called, lowering the window.
Jack blinked, then hurried around and yanked open the passenger door.
Apparently, their young miss had some serious skills.
"Where to?" Elena asked, glancing over.
Jack answered right away. "The Capital, Mayfield Villas."
Elena paused, surprised.
Mayfield Villas?
That was prime real estate, right in the heart of the Capital, where every inch of land cost a fortune. Only the truly wealthy and powerful could live there. Even if you had money, you probably couldn't buy a house there now. And her biological parents actually lived in that neighborhood?
Her adoptive dad, Jenson, was supposed to be the richest man in Lakeview Town. Last year, he'd managed to buy a small villa at the farthest edge of the Capital, barely two hundred square meters. Her adoptive mom, Rebecca, had spent weeks looking down her nose at everyone over it.
But her real parents lived in Mayfield Villas?
"I thought my parents were in North District," Elena said.
The Capital had eighteen districts, and North District was the most remote and underdeveloped of them all.
Jack nodded. “That's where Mr. Holmes family is originally from."
Elena nodded in understanding.
"Hang on," she said.
Jack barely had time to react before the car shot forward like a rocket.
Ninety minutes later, the Ferrari screeched to a stop in front of the most luxurious villa in all of the Capital. The trip was supposed to take two and a half hours. Elena made it in just an hour and a half half she hadn't had to watch her speed, she probably could have done it even faster.
Jack stumbled out of the car, grabbed onto a tree for support, and started throwing up. The group of people waiting at the villa's entrance all froze, staring in shock.
A man stepped forward, looking both stunned and worried. Elena's biological father, Julian, found his voice first. "What..... what happened?"
Next to him, an elegant lady with gentle eyes hurried forward. That was Elena's mother, Rosie. She sounded anxious as she spoke. “Jack, what's wrong? Did you bring my daughter back?"
Jack kept retching but managed to point shakily toward the driver's seat.
Julian and Rosie rushed over.
Elena stepped out of the car, meeting a pair of red-rimmed, beautiful eyes full of warmth. Rosie looked so dignified and graceful, her delicate features almost a mirror of Elena's own.
"Elena... it's really you," Rosie whispered, her voice trembling. She pulled Elena into a hug, wrapping her arms around her tightly. She smelled of something soft and floral, and her embrace was so warm. Elena had never felt anything like it before. Rebecca had never hugged her, not once. The only person in the Walsh family who had ever shown her real care was her grandmother.
Rosie held her tight, heart aching as she realized Elena was soaked and shivering. "Oh, my poor Elena, look at you, all wet and so thin. Did they really treat you well at the Walsh house?"
Elena offered a faint smile. “I'm fine," she said quietly.
Julian, usually so composed, had tears in his eyes. Seeing Elena's plain, muddy clothes was almost too much to bear. What kind of life had his daughter been living all these years They'd thought the Walsh would take good care of her. How could they have let her suffer like this?