Chapter 147: His Uncle Stole His Girlfriend

After a while, Boris returned.

Ethan was still sitting on the bed with a distracted look on his face.

He grabbed the Colt M1911 pistol, gave it a firm tug, and the magazine popped out, spilling all seven bullets onto the floor.

That little thing still can’t bring herself to kill him, can she?

Boris stood by the bed with his head bowed and said, "Mr. Edwards, Miss Hayes went to the hotel by the ST River. She then took a taxi to Mond Manor...”

Ethan narrowed his eyes. “She went to Mond Manor?”

"Could Miss Hayes have hidden Rose and her mother at Mond Manor?"

Ethan kept his head down, his fingers running back and forth over the gun and bullets.

Boris picked up the clothes from the floor and placed them back on the bed.

He added, "Mr. Edwards, didn't Dr. Henry say that Miss Hayes was suffering from stress-induced selective amnesia? Is she faking it?”

This luxury apartment complex has 24-hour surveillance with 360-degree coverage and no blind spots, though there are no cameras inside the unit.

Boris had seen everything, including exactly when Lydia had slipped away unnoticed by the maid.

No wonder Mr. Edwards had told him to keep watch tonight. He had long been suspicious.

He wasn't calling her out on it right away because he wanted to see where she'd hidden Rose and her mother.

Ethan reloaded the magazine into his gun and glanced out at the rooftop garden. "Go get Henry."

Boris grabbed him by the collar, hauled him inside, and tossed him down in front of the bed.

Dr. Henry snapped out of his daze. "It's over, isn't it? My God, I’m finally free...”

Ethan was already dressed and sitting on the bed with the dark muzzle of his gun pointed at Henry’s head. "Henry, you really are going to be relieved."

Henry froze.

Why was only Mr. Edwards on the bed?

Where was Miss Hayes?

He instinctively glanced under the bed, but he didn't see a gruesome body hidden there.

He swallowed hard and asked, "Mr. Edwards, did Miss Hayes run away?"

Ethan sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward. "You're just finding that out now, Henry?"

Henry was completely baffled.

Ethan stared at him. “Didn’t you say Lydia had selective amnesia? It seems your medical skills aren't good enough to keep you by my side."

"Oh no!" Henry collapsed to the floor, desperately explaining, "Maybe Miss Hayes has selective amnesia at noon, and her memory returns in the evening.

I promise you, such miracles can happen at any time in the history of medicine!"

Ethan let out a cold laugh. "I think you're just spouting nonsense!"

Desperate and on the verge of tears, Henry tugged at Boris’s pant leg. “Boris, you’ve got to help me! How could I dare make up stories in front of Mr. Edwards?"

Boris took a step forward. “Mr. Edwards, I think Henry has a point. Miss Hayes might have suddenly regained her memory. After all, her father died, which was a huge blow to her. It’s only natural for her emotions to be all over the place.”

Ethan knew Boris was trying to plead Henry’s case.

But he didn’t believe any of that nonsense about a sudden return of memory.

He just wanted to know if Henry was playing along with Lydia to deceive him.

Confirming Henry didn’t have the guts to do it, Ethan said, “I’ll let you keep your head—for now.”

He holstered the gun at his waist, got out of bed, and walked away, his back a picture of resolve. “Off to Mond Manor!”

At the hotel by the ST River.

Lydia quickly changed into her own clothes.

She grabbed only her passport, the unused U.S. dollars Ethan had given her earlier, and a black credit card.

She slipped on her white sneakers and left.

Truthfully, she’d known everything that day when Ethan carried her back from Black Market Valley.

She’d been delirious from a high fever, but her mind was intact. Rather than letting him drive her mad with drugs to erase her memory, she decided to play along, feigning selective amnesia to put an end to his plan.

Only then would she have a chance to break free from this man’s control and escape his world far away.

Lydia got out of the car and paid for the round-trip fare.

She knocked on the door of Mond Manor, and Dr. Mary answered.

She was James's personal physician.

“Miss Hayes, are you here to see James?” Dr. Mary asked, leading Lydia inside to James’s room.

Lydia nodded slightly. “How is James?”

Dr. Mary replied, "He was shot. The bullet nearly hit his heart. He was hanging by a thread, and it took everything to save him.”

Lydia sighed in relief.

Upon hearing the sound, Belle gently rose from her bedside.

She couldn't help but clasp Lydia’s hands. “Lydia, don’t be too upset.

I've heard everything about your father. Thank you for coming to see James.”

"I suppose this is a farewell, Aunt Belle." Lydia forced a faint smile, the tears welling up in her eyes.

Belle looked at her in surprise. “Lydia, where are you going? Are you leaving St. Island?”

Lydia nodded.

Seeing that she didn’t want to say more, Belle understood how she felt.

She had heard some gossip, some of it from James’s alter ego.

While her son was in the psychiatric hospital, he kept rambling about how his uncle had stolen his girlfriend and how his uncle liked to kiss her.