Chapter 8
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Leon set her in the back seat and started the car.
Eloise was still conscious but burning up-hot one second, cold the next. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
She tried to open her eyes, just to see where she was, but she couldn’t.
Then Leon’s phone rang. She heard his urgent voice. “What? Ellie has a fever? I’m heading back now.”
Something inside her went hollow. A single tear slipped down her cheek and landed on her arm-it burned.
Back at the apartment, Leon jumped out and ran off. No hesitation. No second glance.
Eloise sat there, clutching the photo of her mom. She waited and waited. The sky started to lighten, but Leon never came back down.
Her body kept burning. She was trembling now. With shaking hands, she pulled out her phone and called for an am- bulance.
Every second after that dragged like a lifetime. Her limbs felt weighed down, her skin hot and crawling, like bugs were eating her alive.
Finally, the ambulance arrived. The moment she heard the siren, she let go and closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled her nose.
She struggled to sit up-and then, out of nowhere, pain exploded across her cheek.
She stared in disbelief. Leon was standing there, face dark, eyes full of disgust.
His look stabbed through Eloise like a knife while she gripped the sheets tightly. “What the hell is your problem?”
He looked at her like she was filth. His tone cut deep as he continued, “Real clever. Opening Ellie’s window just to get her sick.”
Eloise froze, then shot back, “I didn’t.”
Leon’s expression darkened even more. “You switched her meds, too. She had a seizure last night—almost died!”
Eloise had no idea why Leon believed it was her. Her throat felt dry, but she still said, “I didn’t do it.”
Seeing her refuse to admit it only fueled Leon’s rage. He let out a cold laugh.
“Oh? Still denying it, huh?” His eyes landed on the photo frame sitting on the table. He smirked and picked it up.
Eloise saw what he was doing, and alarm bells went off in her head. “What are you doing?!”
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Chapter 8
288 Vouchers
“Just showing you what happens when you mess with Ellie.” The moment the words left his mouth, he dropped the
frame.
Smash!
The glass shattered into pieces. Eloise’s heart clenched hard. “No!”
She reached for it, but Leon was faster. He grabbed the photo inside with his big hand.
Then he looked at her, smiled, and began tearing it. In half. Then in quarters. And then into scraps too small to recog-
nize.
In that moment, Eloise swore she heard her heart break.
“No!” The cry tore from her throat, raw and full of anguish.
She watched as Leon flung the pieces out the window. A gust of wind scattered them into nothing.
Eloise stared blankly. Her shoulders sank. Her whole body seemed to collapse in on itself. She dropped onto the bed, lifeless.
Her fingers curled tightly, digging hard into her palms, as if the physical pain could numb the emotional pain inside.
Then she turned her head and saw Aurelie standing in the doorway, wearing a smug, triumphant smile.
A chill ran straight through Eloise; even her fingertips felt cold.
What was there left to doubt?
The sweet, gentle act-that was all it was. An act. But Eloise still couldn’t figure out what she’d done to deserve this kind of revenge.
It had all been a setup. Her own personal hell had been scripted and directed.
She stared coldly as Leon pulled Aurelie into his arms, eyes full of worry. A
urelie, red-eyed, looked at her and said gently, “It must be a mistake. Elle would never hurt me, Leon.”
