Chapter 35 Alarm
Elodie's POV
My face darkened too.
"I'm not your canary!" I pulled my hand free from his. "Nelson, I don't want to just be the fool hiding behind you, knowing nothing! I want to do something for you too!"
"What can you do for me? Cause more trouble?"
He stopped looking at me and walked straight to the door, instructing those outside. "Rod, Graham, watch her. Don't let her leave this room until the banquet is over."
The two people outside responded in low voices.
I watched his resolute back, my heart sinking bit by bit.
He wouldn't even listen to my full plan.
For the next two days, I was completely confined to the hotel suite.
Nelson left early and returned late every day, busy dealing with the Council of Elders, while Graham and Rod watched me like hawks. Even when I went to the balcony for fresh air, their eyes stuck to me like glue.
In my boredom, my phone rang. It was York.
"Miss Elodie, sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you're free these days? I'd like to buy you coffee to apologize for my rudeness at the mall last time."
I smiled bitterly. "Thanks for the offer, but I probably can't get out."
"Can't get out? Are you in some kind of trouble? Are you being held against your will? Should I call the police for you?"
His reaction made my heart skip a beat.
A normal friend, hearing that someone is stuck in a hotel, and his first reaction is to call the police? That seemed way too concerned.
"No, don't get the wrong idea. It's just... I upset an elder in the family, so I'm grounded."
I said it in a joking tone.
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, then York asked in a probing tone. "Your 'elder,' does he have some important business in Chicago? That elder named Graham seems very concerned about your safety."
My heartbeat skipped.
He continued: "Are you in some kind of trouble? If you don't want to say, just tell me which hotel you're at. Maybe I can help out somehow."
A string of questions that seemed caring but were actually fishing for information.
I remembered Graham's words, and a strange feeling grew inside me.
"No trouble, just a small internal family matter. Sorry you had to hear about it. Thanks for your concern, York. I have something to deal with, so I'll talk to you later."
I hung up quickly, not waiting for more questions.
Soon, he sent a message: [Sorry, I was being too forward. I hope I didn't cause you any trouble.]
I stared at that message for a long time without replying.
The helplessness of being trapped in a cage was about to swallow me whole.
I didn't want to just sit here waiting, watching Nelson face those sharks alone.
I finally couldn't take it anymore. When Graham brought my afternoon tea, I grabbed her hand.
"Graham," I put aside all my pride, looking at her almost pleadingly, "please let me out. Please."
Graham pulled her hand away, her wrinkled face expressionless. "Boss's orders. I can't disobey."
"But I can't just wait around like this!" My eyes were turning red with urgency. "The person behind Vivian is obviously targeting Nelson. They want to use me to distract him. I can't let him fall into danger because of me. Let me out—at least I can draw their attention to myself and buy him time!"
"With what skills? Miss Elodie, you can't even protect yourself, and you want to share boss's burden? Not causing him more trouble would be the biggest help you could give him."
Her words were like a knife, stabbing precisely into my most vulnerable spot.
I let go of her hand in defeat, collapsing onto the sofa, drowning in overwhelming helplessness.
She was right. I couldn't do anything, knew nothing—I could only drag him down.
Just as I was losing all hope, a piercing alarm suddenly blared throughout the entire floor, so sharp it nearly burst my eardrums!
"What's happening?" I jumped up from the sofa in shock.
Rod rushed into the room immediately. "It's the fire alarm! Miss Elodie, we need to go now!"
Graham reacted instantly. She grabbed a coat and threw it over my shoulders, then she and Rod flanked me on both sides, pushing open the door and rushing out.
The hallway was already in chaos. Thick smoke was billowing from the direction of the stairwell, choking and impossible to breathe through.
Screams, cries, and alarms mixed together as everyone ran toward the emergency exits like headless flies.
"Don't panic! Cover your mouth and nose, follow us!" Rod's voice shouted in my ear.
We were swept along by the chaotic crowd, moving forward with difficulty.
A panicked man suddenly crashed into us from the side. Graham stumbled as she tried to protect me.
In that brief moment, the crowd surging from behind separated me from them like a tidal wave.
"Graham! Rod!" I shouted in panic, but my voice was instantly drowned in the deafening noise.
I was pushed and shoved by the crowd, moving forward involuntarily, unable to turn back.
I could only run forward desperately. The thick smoke made my eyes stream with tears, and my lungs burned painfully.
After what felt like forever, a blast of cold air rushed in—I was finally pushed out of the hotel entrance by the crowd.
Leaning against a wall, gasping for breath, I looked back to see the area outside the hotel already packed with evacuees, fire truck sirens approaching from the distance.
But as I looked around, I couldn't find Graham and Rod's tall figures anywhere.
They were gone.
I stood alone in Chicago's cold night wind, watching the chaotic scene before me, an unprecedented fear gripping my heart tightly.