Chapter 5 Her Mind Raced
1672 Words
Stephen sat there with his shirt off and let her put the medicine on his back.
Elizabeth asked softly, "Stephen, does it hurt?"
No one had asked him that in a long time. He wasn't sure how it made him feel.
He tried to comfort her. "I'm fine. I'm used to it."
Elizabeth said, "If Lorna saw this, she'd probably feel terrible for you."
That sentence made Stephen think.
Not long ago, he'd gotten badly hurt. The next day, he still dragged himself out of bed to bring Lorna her favorite cake.
Back then, he'd been worried she might be concerned about him. But until the moment he left, she never asked how he was feeling.
The smell of blood had been obvious, yet Lorna acted like she didn't even notice.
Stephen's feelings got even more tangled.
Elizabeth noticed he didn't say anything. She smiled inwardly.
'Showing Stephen the difference between Lorna and me—once or twice won't do much. But what about ten times? Twenty? Eventually, his heart will start drifting my way.'
While she was putting on the cream, Elizabeth mostly talked about Lorna. Her voice was full of admiration. "Lorna is so lucky. She has rich parents who love her. And a boyfriend like you, Stephen. Not like me..."
She let the sentence hang. Then someone grabbed her hand—and a second later, a slap landed on her face.
A woman shouted, "You little slut. You never behaved in prison, and now you broke out just to seduce Stephen? I'll teach you a lesson right now."
Elizabeth took the hit, then stood up quickly. She put on a wronged look and stared at the couple in front of her. "Who are you? I don't know you."
Joanna got even angrier. "Elizabeth, stop pretending."
She raised her hand for another slap.
But this time, Stephen caught her wrist. "You've got the wrong person. This is Eliza. My adopted sister."
Joanna stared at Elizabeth's face. She remembered the phone call from Lorna just a little while ago.
Lorna said, "Mom, Elizabeth really did break out of prison. She's pretending not to know me, and she's trying to take Stephen away. Mom, please—think of something."
Joanna's lips trembled. "There's no way I'm wrong. She's my daughter—the one who should be in prison. I'll prove it to you."
Elizabeth was curious what kind of proof she could find. Joanna just kept scrolling through photos on her phone, muttering nonstop. "Let me show you her old pictures. Then you'll see I'm not lying."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.
Lester—standing nearby—wasn't idle either. He pointed at Elizabeth. "We'll expose you soon enough. Well? Did you find it?"
"No... How is there nothing?" Joanna scrolled through her whole photo album—not a single picture of Elizabeth.
Elizabeth laughed silently to herself.
'How could there be? They never once documented me growing up.'
On the surface, she still looked wronged. "You really have the wrong person. Maybe I just look like your daughter. And I'm Stephen's adopted sister—why would I try to seduce him?"
Stephen was already getting angry. "I'm tolerating this because you're Lorna's mother. But that doesn't mean you can just accuse Eliza of anything."
"No, Stephen, please believe me. She really is my daughter—the one in prison." Joanna grabbed Stephen's arm and wouldn't let go.
Stephen had lost his patience. He pulled his shirt back on, took Elizabeth's hand, and started to leave.
But then Lorna appeared in the doorway. "Stephen, I have proof that Eliza is my sister."
Stephen stopped.
'That's three times now.'
Elizabeth knew Stephen must have doubts by now, and hiding wouldn't help.
"Her birth certificate is at home," Lorna said clearly, her face confident. "I'll call the housekeeper right now and have her bring it over."
Elizabeth was a little surprised and didn't expect her to think of that.
And honestly, her birth certificate probably was still at the James Villa.
The housekeeper picked up quickly. When Lorna told her what to do, she answered, "Yes, there is a birth certificate here..."
Stephen's look toward Elizabeth finally turned suspicious.
Joanna was thrilled. "Quick, bring it to school. Elizabeth, just wait. Your true face is about to be exposed."
But when the housekeeper brought the certificate, the whole James family was shocked.
It said one name: "Lorna James."
That was Lorna's birth certificate.
Joanna panicked. "What about the other one? Where's Elizabeth's birth certificate?"
The housekeeper looked confused. "There's only one. Ma'am, are you mistaken?"
Joanna shook her head. "No. That's impossible. It's—"
Elizabeth knew exactly what had happened—the name "Lorna James" had originally been hers.
Lorna took her name, her family, and her parents and then tried to destroy her.
'This is just karma.'
Elizabeth put on a sad face. "Lorna, if you really hate me that much, I'll just stay out of your sight from now on. You don't have to humiliate me like this."
Lorna's lips trembled. She couldn't say a word.
Stephen already regretted doubting Elizabeth even for a moment. He looked at the James family like they were strangers.
Joanna kept arguing. "No—I'll call the prison. They'll know."
A second later, a busy signal came from her phone.
Elizabeth almost laughed out loud.
'Miranda cleaned up too well. There's no way the James family will find anything.'
"Enough. Lorna, I'm disappointed in you. Let's take some time apart." Stephen then pulled Elizabeth along and left without looking back.
"Stephen—" Lorna had failed again. She stomped her foot in rage.
'That b***h Elizabeth. I'll have to find another way.'
The next day, Elizabeth got an invitation from Lorna.
"Eliza, I was wrong before. I'm setting up a dinner party tonight to apologize. I hope you can forgive me. Will you come?" Lorna's face looked sincere—like she really understood her mistake.
Elizabeth didn't believe it for a second.
'Lorna's probably set another trap somewhere, waiting for me to fall in.'
But she was curious what trick Lorna would try next.
So Elizabeth smiled. "Of course."
But that evening, Lorna took Elizabeth to an abandoned factory.
"Lorna, this isn't a restaurant," Elizabeth said.
Lorna sneered. "Elizabeth, it's just the two of us here. Drop the act. I picked this place on purpose. I'm going to make you regret ever getting out of prison and coming near Stephen."
As she finished speaking, a few thugs walked out from the shadows.
Elizabeth understood instantly. "Don't be silly. You think having these guys kidnap and assault me will make Stephen think less of me? No. He'll just feel even more sorry for me."
But Lorna shook her head and laughed. "You underestimate me. The one getting kidn*pped is me. Not you. In a minute, Stephen will walk in. He'll see me tied up and assaulted. And you—the mastermind—just standing there watching these thugs humiliate me. Tell me, don't you think he'll tear you apart?"
Heavy footsteps came from outside the factory gate. Lorna had arranged for people to lead Stephen here.
Lorna smiled—her eyes wild with triumph. "Elizabeth, get ready. Stephen is going to hate you forever. And you'll die a horrible death. Now tie me up."
The thugs followed orders. They pulled rough ropes from their belts and bound Lorna's hands behind her back in seconds. The rope bit into her soft wrists, leaving red marks.
Lorna hissed from the pain—but gritted her teeth and didn't cry out.
She glanced at her clothes—still perfectly fine. She steeled herself and said to the thug next to her, "Rip it."
The guy hesitated, then got it. He grabbed her collar with his rough hands and yanked it open.
Lorna's shirt tore open, exposing her tank top and a stretch of bare skin. A thin red scratch—barely drawing blood—appeared below her collarbone from the rough fabric.
'Still not enough.'
Lorna turned her head, bit her tongue, and smeared a bit of blood across her shoulder. Then she made the thug slap her across the face.
Lorna looked absolutely pitiful now—but inside, she was thrilled.
'The worse I look, the angrier Stephen will be when he sees me. And Stephen—the heir to the underworld—when he gets angry, he can make that b***h Elizabeth disappear forever.'
The sound of people searching outside grew closer.
Shadows moved through the cracks of the rusty old door.
Lorna started crying out—her voice trembling, broken, perfectly timed. "Eliza, please don't do this to me. I'm begging you... I really know I was wrong. I shouldn't have fought you for Stephen... Stephen. Stephen, help me—"
Elizabeth's fingers curled slightly. Her palms were sweating.
Honestly, she had to admit, this was way smarter than Lorna's old tricks—and brutal.
If Stephen walked in and saw "victim" Lorna—torn clothes, covered in bruises—and Elizabeth standing here perfectly fine, coldly watching, with these thugs all pointing at her as the mastermind, Stephen would think she was some jealous monster who hired criminals to hurt Lorna.
All the good feelings he had for her would shatter in one second.
Elizabeth's breathing quickened. Her mind raced.
'I can't wait until Stephen walks in to explain. By then, anything I say will sound like excuses. I have to turn this around before he opens that door. But how? Lorna already wrecked herself. I'm untouched. How do I make Stephen believe she set this whole thing up?'
Footsteps hurried to the door. Someone pushed the rusted iron door from the outside—it let out a loud, rusty groan.
Lorna screamed even worse—her voice hoarse, tearful. "Don't come near me. Please don't touch me. Stephen! Stephen, where are you?"
The door was kicked open. It slammed to the ground. Stephen stood there—face dark, eyes ice cold—looking into the room.
- Writer
