Chapter 543

Chapter 543

This kiss was full of aggression, it was without a trace of tenderness.

Elsie didn't struggle, she allowed Ronald vent his anger.

He loosened his grip when he ran out of breath, she used the back of her hands to wipe her lipst.

That gesture was full of disgust.

She looked at his bloodshot eyes and suddenly let out a light laugh.

"Five years, Ronald."

"You really haven't changed at all."

"Besides using force, what else can you do?"

Ronald's entire body froze, the color drained from his face.

Elsie didn't look at him again. She walked straight to the bedroom on the second floor and closed the door behind her.

She lay on the bed and closed her eyes.

Outside the door, Ronald stood there for a long time before turning to leave.

Late at night, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.

Ronald's footsteps were light. He walked to the bedside and, by the dim moonlight from the window, looked at the curled-up figure on the bed.

She seemed to be sleeping very restlessly, her brows tightly knitted.

Just as he reached out his hand, he wanted to smooth her furrowed brow, the person on the bed suddenly let out a vague murmur.

"Cedric..."

Ronald's hand froze in mid-air.

He stared at her intently, his heart feeling like it was being squeezed hard by an invisible hand, the pain making it impossible to breathe.

He suddenly turned around and walked out of the room, he slammed the door hard.

Hearing the door close, Elsie who was on the bed slowly opened her eyes.

She stared at the ceiling, her eyes completely empty.

The next morning, when Elsie came downstairs after getting ready, Ronald was sitting at the dining table.

"Take me back," she said.

"I had my secretary drive the car away." Ronald didn't even look up as he cut the fried egg on his plate.

Elsie took out her phone, she wanted to call for a car.

But when she unlocked the screen, she found her phone had no signal at all.

She pulled out the SIM card tray—it was completely empty.

Elsie's movements stopped.

She looked up at Ronald, who was eating his meal unhurriedly across from her, and suddenly found it incredibly ridiculous.

"Imprisonment?"

"Ronald, your methods really are as limited as they were five years ago."

Aline paced anxiously back and forth in the room, the phone receiver constantly repeating that cold message: "The number you have dialed is switched off."

She had lost count of how many times she'd called Elsie.

From last night until now, a whole night, and Elsie had been completely unreachable.

On the bed, Larry was already awake. He leaned against the headboard, his face still pale, watching Aline spin in circles with worry.

"Stop calling," his voice was still weak. "She... she's with Ronald."

Aline's movements stopped abruptly. She spun around. "What did you say?"

"Yesterday, he was the one who brought me out," Larry explained with difficulty. "He was also the one who picked up Elsie."

Aline felt a chill shoot up from the soles of her feet to the back of her head, the blood in her entire body nearly freezing.

"That bastard! What does he want to do to Olivia? Where exactly did he take her? He pushed Elsie to that point before, what does he want to do now? Why won't he just leave her alone?" Aline's voice was trembling.

"He probably won't hurt her," Larry tried to comfort her, but even as he said it, he didn't sound very confident.

He looked at Aline's face full of panic, a thought he'd ignored all night now clearly emerged.

Elsie...

Aline called her Elsie.

That girl's cool and stubborn face slowly overlapped with another face in his memory.

Larry's heart skipped a beat. Supporting himself, he spoke with some difficulty.

"Aline, she..."

He paused, as if confirming this absurd guess.

"Is she... Elsie Forbes?"

This time Aline's reaction wasn't as intense as the previous times—after all, this matter had already made the news.

If Larry hadn't been locked up by his family, he probably would have known already.

"Yes."

Larry understood immediately. No wonder Ronald was so crazy about Olivia.

"Aline, if she's Elsie, my cousin won't do anything to her."

Aline gripped her phone tightly, she didn't even look at him.

"You can't control him. Ronald getting close to Elsie is harm in itself!"

Her voice was cold and hard, like it was dipped in ice.

After speaking, she walked straight to the window, her back to him, and dialed that number once again. The repeated busy tone in the receiver seemed to mock her helplessness.

Larry felt his chest tighten from her words, a metallic taste rising in his throat.

He looked at that thin but stubborn figure, the entire room left with nothing but deathly silence.

At the same time, Cecilia's phone rang sharply.

The caller ID showed it was the butler from the Green Manor.

She answered, and the voice on the other end was the butler's, panicked to the point of distortion.

"Ms. Green! Something terrible has happened! Mrs. Green... Mrs. Green has collapsed and is being rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment!"

Cecilia gripped her phone so hard she almost crushed it.

She hung up without a word, grabbed the car keys from the table, and rushed out.

At the hospital, outside the intensive care unit.

When Cecilia arrived, Trent had his back to her, standing at the door of the ICU like an emotionless statue.

"What are you doing here?"

He didn't even turn around, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"Where's my mom?" Cecilia had no time to chat with him and tried to rush past him.

An arm suddenly shot out in front of her, blocking her path completely.

"The doctors are trying to save her. You want to go in and cause trouble?" Trent finally turned his head slightly, his face showing undisguised disgust.

"Cause trouble?"

Cecilia looked like she'd heard the biggest joke.

"Or are you afraid that if I go in, I'll see something I shouldn't?"

She stared at him intently, not backing down an inch.

"She's always been healthy. How could she suddenly be in critical condition?"

"Trent, what exactly did you do to her?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Trent seemed like someone had stepped on his tail, instantly furious. "I think you've lost your mind!"

"Yes, I have lost my mind!"

She stared hard at this so-called father, a wave of nausea rushing to her throat.

"I came here today to see what happens to her."

"And from today on, everything about the Green family has nothing to do with me, Cecilia!"

With that, she didn't look at Trent's twisted face anymore. She turned and walked away, her back straight like a spear that would never bend.

The moment the car door closed, all that fake armor of thorns fell away.

Cecilia collapsed over the steering wheel, her whole body shaking.

She didn't know how long she'd been driving before she finally stopped the car downstairs at an apartment building.

Harold opened the door to see a devastated Cecilia.

He didn't ask much, silently stepped aside to let her in, and handed her a glass of warm water.

"I suspect it was him..." Cecilia held the glass, her teeth chattering. "He wants her dead."

Harold just listened quietly.

After she finished speaking in fragments, he finally spoke, his voice very soft.

"You hate her to the bone, but you don't want her to die, do you?"