Chapter 17 A Surprise Phone Call
Chapter 17 A Surprise Phone Call
Chapter 17 A Surprise Phone Call
Elianna whispered, "Why are you calling at this time? Wasn't it discovered by someone from the retreat?"
"..."
"What did you say?"
Elianna's brain hadn't reacted yet, but her heart was racing ahead.
"He woke up?!!"
"I'm coming over now!"
Elianna was too excited, her hands were trembling, and she couldn't hold onto the car keys. It took several attempts before she managed to insert them.
She instinctively drove out of the residential area.
Two years ago, something happened in her family.
Her father jumped off a building, and her only brother, who knew the truth, got into a car accident and fell into a coma. He was diagnosed as being in a vegetative state.
If it wasn't for her face being liked by Erica, who helped them fake their deaths and escape to Oakpool, her family would never have been able to leave Elfold alive.
After saving a life by magic, she was convinced they would just wander aimlessly through life like that. But she never expected her brother to wake up.
Elianna wished she could grow wings and fly there.
Encountering slow traffic, Elianna impatiently honked her horn.
Every second at a red light was torture for her.
The retreat was in the suburbs, less bustling than the city center, mainly consisting of sanatoriums and resorts.
The retreat looked similar to an ordinary sanatorium from the outside, but this place was owned by the Gentry family and wasn't open to the public.
Elianna waited outside the gate for a long time, but the barrier gate didn't move.
She had been here more than once, and the gatekeeper knew her. Why wouldn't they let her in? Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
Without overthinking, Elianna exited the car and walked towards the gate but was stopped by a security guard.
"Ms. Gentry."
Elianna nodded perfunctorily, "Could you please open the gate for me?"
"We received a notice that we can't let you in, I'm sorry."
"Whose notice?"
"Mrs. Gentry's."
Elianna paused, realizing that people from the Gentry family were inside and outside the retreat. Erica must have received the news earlier than her.
When Erica punished her last time, she said she couldn't come to the retreat to visit her family for the whole month.
Evidently, she had violated the rule by coming here without notifying anyone.
Sure enough, the security guard's following sentence was:
"Mrs. Gentry instructed us that if you come, I should tell you to go home and receive your punishment."
On the way back, it was the security guard who drove.
Elianna sat in the back seat, feeling no different from being escorted as a fugitive.
Looking back at the receding retreat, her eyes stung, and she had to pinch her arm hard to resist the impulse to jump out of the car.
She repeatedly told herself it didn't matter as long as her brother woke up.
When they arrived at the Gentry family, Erica was drinking coffee on the sofa.
She sat in her usual position, with even the posture unchanged.
Elianna approached, bowing her head and bending her waist, "Mother."
Erica glanced at her, "Go to the punishment room."
Elianna clenched her teeth, "Yes, mother."
Two hours later, Elianna was brought back.
She knelt on the ground the moment she was released, trembling with her arms resting on the floor.
She was drenched in sweat, and her face was as pale as paper.
"Have you learned your lesson?"
The voice above her body was indifferent.
Elianna nodded, "Thank you for the lesson, mother."
In the Gentry family, expressing gratitude for any punishment or beating given by the elders was customary.
"You may stand up."
Elianna propped herself up on the couch and even sitting made her break out in a cold sweat.
Seeing Elianna hunching over, Erica coughed disapprovingly. It wasn't until Elianna straightened her back that she was slightly satisfied.
"Tomorrow is the banquet at the Gibson family."
Elianna hoarsely replied, "Rest assured, mother. Alicia has never seen me before, and besides, everyone in Oakpool knows that I am Ms. Gentry of the Gentry family. No one will suspect anything."