Chapter 243

Chapter 243

Elena's voice was calm.

Susan froze mid-kneel. Felix stepped forward and steadied her.

Susan glared at Elena, watching her lips move.

"One thing at a time."

"The Knights helped me before. I remember that. If I get the chance, I'll repay them."

Elena's fingers curled slowly. Her voice turned harder, colder.

"But the fact is, Tatum deliberately hurt someone. Jenny's still in surgery. We don't even know if she'll wake up or if there'll be lasting damage. Money can't fix this."

Jenny's grandfather hadn't returned yet.

He adored his granddaughter. There was no way he'd let this slide.

And Jenny had been dragged into this mess because of Elena. She couldn't let her take the fall.

"A settlement is out of the question. I'm not dropping the charges. Every legal step will be followed. The law will decide what Tatum has to answer for."

Her words were clear. She didn't budge an inch.

"If you really cared about Tatum, you'd make her own up and face the consequences—not throw a tantrum and guilt-trip me."

She turned away without looking at Susan's ashen face or Felix's complicated expression, and walked straight out of the station.

Outside, the evening wind cut through her. Elena shivered.

The scene at the station kept replaying in her mind, pressing down on her chest until it ached.

Back in college, Susan used to bring Felix homemade food.

Every time, there was a portion for Elena too.

The day Susan found out Elena was an orphan, her eyes turned red. She grabbed Elena's hand tightly, her gaze full of heartbreak.

"Sweet girl, you're Felix's only mentee. That makes you our daughter too."

"We're your parents now."

Elena walked down the street corner and laughed bitterly.

She must be one of those people the fortune-telling apps warned about—cursed with weak family ties.

She hailed a cab back to the hospital, her mind on Jenny.

Night had fully fallen. The hospital hallway was lit but oppressively quiet.

Jenny had been moved to the ICU for observation. She was still unconscious, her face deathly pale.

William hadn't left her side once.

The door to the room was slightly ajar.

Elena raised her hand to push it open and offer to take over, but the second her fingers touched the door, she heard William's voice inside. She froze.

He was holding Jenny's cold hand, his forehead pressed against the edge of the bed, murmuring low:

"Jenny, please wake up."

"I've always known you liked me."

"I played dumb before. I avoided you on purpose. It wasn't because I didn't notice—it's because I was scared. I didn't dare accept it."

"I always thought I wasn't good enough. You're the chairman's granddaughter, and I'm just... ordinary. I was afraid I'd let you down, so I kept running away."

"But now I'm really scared." His voice cracked. "If I'd known it would come to this, I would've stopped pretending a long time ago. I would've told you how I felt."

"Just wake up. As long as you're okay, I won't run anymore. I'll give you all the answers you want."

Elena stood frozen outside the door, unable to move.

She lingered in the shadowy hallway, caught between walking in and walking away.

Going in would be too awkward. Leaving felt like abandoning someone she owed.

So she just stood there, not daring to interrupt.

After what felt like forever, her phone rang, shattering the silence.

It was Olivia.

She swallowed the tightness in her throat and answered, exhaustion seeping into her voice.

"Elena, are you done dealing with everything over there?"

"I didn't want to bug you about the trending topic, but—how bad is it? Do you need help?"

Elena's heart sank.

Her social media had been dug up. People who'd seen her Instagram collabs with Olivia started attacking her too, even leaving nasty reviews on Olivia's hotel.

"Olivia, I'm so sorry."

"I dragged you into this. Those people harassing your hotel, tanking your reviews—it's all my fault."

She felt terrible.

Olivia didn't sound mad at all. She brushed it off completely.

"Don't be ridiculous! It's not that serious!"

Olivia laughed. "You know what? This whole thing actually blew up in the best way. I didn't lose anything—I made bank!"

"A bunch of trolls and rubberneckers showed up ready to watch me crash and burn. But then they actually looked at my hotel's design and shut up real fast."

"Everyone's praising your work now. They're saying the banquet hall layout, the lighting, the décor—it's all top-tier. Better than half the so-called pros out there."

"Clients who were on the fence? They're DMing me left and right. My schedule's booked solid for the rest of the year!"

Olivia's tone turned teasing.

"The comment section's done dragging your character. Now it's all about how talented you are and how your work speaks for itself."

"Bad press is still press. You flipped the script with pure skill, and I'm riding that wave straight to the bank. Why would I be mad?"

Olivia's words eased some of the weight on Elena's chest. But Olivia was sharp—she picked up on the exhaustion in Elena's voice right away.

"Wait, why do you sound so down? Did something else happen?"

Elena went quiet for a few seconds. She didn't tell Olivia about Jenny's injury or the confrontation at the station.

Olivia had already done so much for her. She didn't want to drag her into this mess.

Instead, she pushed her own feelings aside and voiced what had been nagging at her, her tone deadly serious.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. But this trending topic—something's off. It's too convenient."

"Lily couldn't have gotten that stuff on her own. Someone with a motive fed it to her."

And whoever it was knew Elena wasn't dead.

Only one person came to mind with that kind of insight.

"I'm almost certain Indigo's behind this. He must've contacted Tatum privately."

"Indigo's been eyeing the resort project for a while now. He's been dying to swoop in and take it over."

The power struggles inside the Lancaster family were always vicious.

Elena's voice turned firm as she warned Olivia:

"The Lancasters are dangerous. It's easy to get pulled in, but getting out? That's the hard part. Don't get too close to Kian from now on. Keep it strictly professional."

"If the resort project keeps stirring up trouble and the fighting gets worse, we cut our losses and walk away. Don't try to tough it out."

Olivia had already done so much for her. Elena didn't want her to worry or get caught in the crossfire.

More than venting her frustration, she wanted to protect the few stable things she had left.

"Don't worry, I've got it."

"That Indigo guy's definitely shady. I've always felt like he's scheming something."

"Olivia, about the money you lent me—I'm paying you back," Elena said. "Now that Kian knows I'm alive, I can use the divorce settlement without hiding it anymore."