Chapter 281 Substitute
Chapter 281 Substitute
Aurora Ross's POV:
Alan was really pushing his luck.
Feeling Alex stop beneath me, I closed my eyes.
A gunshot echoed.
Followed by Alan's pained grunt.
I touched my belly, hoping the baby wasn't scared.
...
The silence stretched on for what felt like forever.
On the way back, Alex didn't say a word to me.
The doctor was called to the room, and after examining me, his frown deepened.
"Ms. Ross, I told you before you left this afternoon, you shouldn't be talking right now."
"What could be so important that you had to strain your voice? Your throat is severely inflamed."
With every word the doctor said, it felt like another knife was added under my seat, making it impossible to sit still.
God, could we not talk about this?
Sure enough, the cold aura around Alex intensified after hearing the doctor's diagnosis.
I tugged at his sleeve, but he ignored me, only looking at the doctor. "Will her voice recover?"
The doctor replied, "Yes, Ms. Ross wasn't born mute. Her condition is due to medication suppression, and over time, her voice can gradually recover."
"But it's strange. This medication shouldn't cause such severe inflammation and pain, and it's progressing rapidly."
He looked hesitant.
"Currently, it seems to be worsening."
I was a bit stunned.
After the doctor left, I looked at Alex.
He stood there, lost in thought.
"Are you still mad?"
"Stop talking," Alex said.
"But you're not looking at me."
He pressed his lips together, his side glance surprisingly sad, his aura somewhat defeated.
I stiffened.
I was trying to lighten the mood, but it just got weirder.
I picked up a notebook: [My throat really hurts, and you're not comforting me at all.]
I pouted on purpose, looking sad.
Alex knew I was faking it, but he still sighed and pulled me into his arms.
He sat me on his lap, his fingers twirling my hair, round and round: "If you know it hurts, don't talk so much next time."
I knew Alex would hold a grudge, so I wrote on the paper.
[It was a misunderstanding. I just wanted to know what the relationship between Eder and Alan is.]
Mentioning Alan, Alex's expression turned more sarcastic. "Same as with me."
Same as him?
I sat up straight and wrote on the paper.
[You mean, Eder also sees him as a tool?]
"To be precise, a tool to compete with me," Alex said.
I thought for a moment and continued writing.
[Also, a tool to replace you.]
If Alex didn't listen, Eder just created another Alex, even using him as a template to replicate.
But when Alex saw this, his fingers slowed down.
"You understood him so well from the first meeting? What did he tell you?"
What could he say?
I was about to ask when he came over.
I shook my head and wrote.
[It's just a feeling.]
"Feeling?" Alex asked.
I wrote on the paper, [His face, expressions, body type, even his scent.]
Alex's fingers completely stopped, repeating flatly, "Scent."
Yeah.]
I didn't notice the danger under his calm tone and wrote on the paper, [His cologne smells a lot like yours.]
Actually, comparing it now, there were some differences. But at that moment, I did mistake.
Alex: "So, you mistook him for me?"
Even I knew that wasn't a question to answer lightly.
I smiled awkwardly and wrote on the paper, [Of course not.]
Alex chuckled lightly, "You're right."
"He really is Eder's creation to replace me, to take over the organization, run the company, replace my presence in the Phillips family."
"So everything about him is made to be very similar to me."
"Eder has always had this interest in controlling puppets."
"But Aurora."
His hand caressed my cheek, cold to the touch.
"He's not me."
"You'd better understand that."
"I don't want to see you touching his face, getting so close to him, or even a hint of confusion in your eyes."
He saw it.
He saw everything.
Even my hesitation with Alan, he saw it.
I sighed and wrote on the paper, [I just hate how much he looks like you. It's creepy, like a clone.]
Alex laughed coldly, "Hate?"
"Baby, you don't need to have any feelings towards him."
"Stay away from him."
"Eder's clones aren't just similar in appearance."
They also shared the same psychology and personality.
Today, I had already seen it.
Thinking of the way Alan looked at me, I bit my lip.
Alex asked, "What are you thinking about?"
I shook my head, then brought up the matter of the greenhouse today.
...
Alex frowned, "You want to help him find the missing gem?"
I wrote, [Yes.]
Alex continued, "This estate has countless people coming and going every day, delivering wine, making purchases. How can you be sure the gem is still here?"
I wrote on the paper, [The estate's servants are always led by someone when they go out for purchases. No one is allowed to leave their post without permission. If the gem was really taken out and exchanged with the outside world, it means there was an accomplice outside, and this must have been planned for a long time.]
[The servant would have been under surveillance for a longer period, and such a person would stand out more.]
[Checking surveillance and external records would make it easier to catch them.]
[And a gem of this level can't be sold without any trace.]
[So I lean towards the thief still hiding the gem within the estate, and it was a temporary plan. They didn't expect it to be discovered so quickly, or for Eder to be so furious.]
[I guess they don't dare to keep the gem on them, so they hid it somewhere in the estate.]
[Even they wouldn't dare to look at it a second time.]