Chapter 7
That day, Grace had somehow obtained my new number.
As soon as I answered, she launched into heart–wrenching sobs. “Madelyn, please, let Eliana go!”
“Mom, what’s happening?” I asked.
Instead of answering directly, she’d just begged me to come home, claiming Eliana was near death.
I sensed the trap and declined.
Grace, unusually gentle, tried to persuade me.
After several refusals, she hung up.
But before she ended the call, I heard her say to someone else, “It must be that heartless woman who hurt Eliana. Why else wouldn’t she come back out of guilt?”
Hearing the sound of crying, I realized she was livestreaming.
I quickly found her channel, the same one Zoey had used for her viral post, drawing massive viewership.
The stream had shown Grace wiping away tears, with Eliana visible behind her.
The sight had been horrific. Eliana’s limbs had been amputated, and her face was deathly pale. The muffled sounds from her mouth had revealed another atrocity: her tongue had been removed.
Chapter 7
The online attacks against me had resurged immediately.
While some questioned whether this was another of Eliana’s acts, most agreed that no one would hurt themselves just for attention.
I’d been reading the comments when a knock at my door had jolted me back to reality.
Through the peephole, I saw Grace supporting Eliana.
Netizens had apparently tracked down my address and urged Grace to confront me.
The sound of me opening the door had made her jump.
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“You monster! Did you do this to Eliana?” Grace demanded, trying to intimidate me.
I simply spread my hands in innocence. “Mom, be reasonable. I’ve been away for a month and only returned yesterday.”
“Who else could be so cruel to her?” she snapped.
Her irrational anger filled me with sadness and disappointment. Her blind favoritism toward Eliana truly knew no bounds.
“Maybe you should ask Eliana what she did to deserve this,” I suggested.
From Grace’s ranting, I learned that Eliana had disappeared again after the livestream, only to reappear in this mutilated state.
Suddenly, a powerful shove sent Grace sprawling to the ground.
Chapter 7
“I helped you find Eliana,” Caleb had said. “Now Madelyn belongs to me in return.”
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