Chapter 183 Confrontation
"Don't panic. We'll get to the bottom of this."
Zachary tried to comfort her.
Now Quinley regretted acting sospontaneously and letting Adela go. No matter how deep the hatred, it paled beside family.
Just like with Adela—because they shared the same blood, she could let go of past resentments.
"Okay."
Quinley nodded, trying hard to control her emotions and not overthink it. But her thoughts spiraled anyway, completely beyond her control.
She'd finally found her birth mother and sister. And now one had disappeared, the other gone silent.
Was fate really this cruel to her?
---
By the time dawn broke, Quinley had barely managed to fall asleep.
Zachary's phone rang. They'd found Elise. She'd collapsed in front of the Elikin family's building. Someone had taken her to the hospital.
Not wanting to worry Quinley, he lied and said something had come up at the office, then left early.
At the hospital, Elise was still unconscious.
"What happened?"
Zachary looked confused.
Lucas had already investigated.
"Her head sustained a severe blow. But there's no surveillance footage in that area. We don't know what happened."
"What did the doctor say?"
Lucas sighed heavily. "The doctor said the injury location is... delicate. When she wakes up, her mobility might be severely limited."
Zachary's frown deepened. When it rained, it poured.
"What does that mean?"
"She might be paralyzed."
For a long time, Zachary said nothing. This had happened so suddenly—he didn't know how to tell Quinley.
"Mr. Jennings, should we notify Ms. Elikin? The doctor said she might need brain surgery. Since Ms. Elikin is her daughter, she should know."
Lucas suggested carefully.
After a moment, Zachary nodded. "I'll call her."
---
When Zachary's call came, Quinley was swamped with work.
"Come to the hospital right now."
"What's wrong?"
Quinley was distracted, focused on the task at hand.
"They found your mother."
"I'll be right there."
She hung up and rushed to the hospital immediately. The whole way there, her heart wouldn't settle. All sorts of terrible thoughts flooded her mind.
When she arrived, both Zachary and Lucas were waiting.
"She's injured. Go see her first."
The door opened to reveal Elise lying in an ICU bed. It was the first time Quinley had seen her with her head wrapped in white bandages, looking like a mummy.
"What... what happened to her?"
She tried to keep her composure, but her voice cracked anyway.
"Someone found her collapsed in front of the Elikin family building. She'd been hit hard on the back of the head."
Lucas told her the truth.
Quinley stood by Elise's bed, eyes red. Elise's thin, frail form looked so small curled up on the narrow hospital bed.
"Why was she there?"
Quinley's voice was thick with tears.
Elise had vanished that night and come alone to Rosewood City. Why had she gone to the Elikin building? And who had attacked her?
Questions circled endlessly in Quinley's mind. Instinctively, she thought of Marlee.
"I need to go ask them what happened."
"Quinley, calm down. Before we know the facts, confronting them won't get you the answers you want."
Just as Quinley took her first step, Zachary grabbed her arm.
"So if I can't get answers, I should just stay silent?"
Quinley yanked her arm free and headed for the door. Zachary, worried, followed.
"I'm coming with you."
---
He drove her straight to the Elikin family's place.
When they arrived, Marlee was chatting with Kelly and the other neighborhood ladies. Colin was under a big tree playing chess with some gray-haired old men.
Zachary's car was distinctive. The moment it pulled up to the courtyard, everyone's attention shifted.
"Mr. Jennings, Cindy! You're here?"
Marlee abandoned her gossip circle and hurried over. Colin stopped his game too.
"I need to ask you something."
The moment Quinley opened her mouth, Zachary cut her off, pulling her back.
"What is it? Since you're here, come inside and sit down."
Marlee invited them warmly. In the distance, neighbors craned their necks to watch.
Marlee had her vanity. Every time Zachary showed up in his luxury car, it gave her a small sense of satisfaction despite her children's disappointments.
"No need. Just get in the car. You're coming to the hospital with us."
Zachary gestured for Marlee to get in. His face was dark, and Marlee immediately panicked.
"What? Why the hospital?"
Zachary didn't answer. He guided Quinley toward the Maybach.
Colin, worried, wheeled himself closer.
"Where are you going?"
He looked tense, uneasy.
"Did something happen to Denny?"
Before Zachary could answer, Marlee started crying. "He's the only child I have left now. Nothing can happen to him. If something happens to him, how are we supposed to live?"
"He's fine."
Quinley reassured her.
Marlee immediately stopped crying, wiping her tears with her weathered hands.
"Then why am I going to the hospital?"
"You'll see when we get there."
Zachary wouldn't elaborate.
Marlee followed them into the car suspiciously, and they headed straight for Rosewood City. The whole way, she was nervous, trying to fish for information about Dennis from Zachary. But his expression was so dark and foreboding that she didn't dare speak.
Eventually she turned her hopes to Quinley, but Quinley was leaning back in her seat looking equally troubled. Sensing something was seriously wrong, Marlee swallowed all her questions.
---
When they reached the hospital, Quinley led her directly to Elise's room.
"Do you know her?"
One was her biological mother. The other had raised her. One had given her life, the other had given her a childhood.
Quinley wasn't ungrateful. Despite Marlee's cold behavior, she wouldn't completely erase the good she'd done.
Marlee leaned in close. She and Elise hadn't seen each other in twenty-five years. Now, after brain surgery, Elise's face was so swollen it was unrecognizable.
"I don't know her. Who is this?"
Marlee shook her head, still confused.
"This is Elise. The one you told us about."
Zachary answered her question.
Marlee was stunned. She never imagined they'd actually find someone from twenty-five years ago.
"Impossible. This absolutely isn't Elise."
She denied it flat out.
Seeing her refuse to admit it, Lucas handed over the investigation file.
"Twenty-five years ago, her name was Elise. To escape an arranged marriage, she and her boyfriend fled to Rosewood City while pregnant. They rented the apartment you're living in now."
"Later, they left Rosewood City and returned to Lakeside City. She changed her name. Now she goes by Jane."
"We have proof that Jane and Elise are the same person."
When Lucas finished, Marlee stood there in shock. Her face looked terrible—pale as paper.
"Why did you attack her?"
Quinley asked directly.
Marlee shook her head violently. "It wasn't me! I didn't! I haven't seen her in twenty-five years. How could I have hurt her?"
"But she was injured right outside your building. How do you explain that?"
Zachary's voice was sharp.
Marlee trembled. "I swear, I swear I really haven't seen her."
She raised her right hand and actually started swearing oaths.
"What really happened with those twins twenty-five years ago?"
Zachary pressed harder.
At that, Marlee's face went ashen. Her lips trembled. She wanted to speak but couldn't get the words out.