Chapter 197:
While Louis maintained a casual demeanor, he positioned himself protectively in front of Elena, acting as her shield.
Malcolm’s eyes moved between Elena and Louis. So, Elena was the daughter the Harper family had found back. No wonder Louis was eager to join after spotting the message. He must have recognized Elena’s number.
Malcolm only gave them a brief look before diverting his attention elsewhere. When he saw Kiera lying motionless on the floor, his eyes, hidden behind the lenses, grew cold. He bent down gently and carefully lifted her into his arms.
Ethel was startled to see Malcolm. Why was he here? Both Marlon and Malcolm were typically buried with work, reserving only a few fixed days each month to visit Kiera. Today was not one of those days! Ethel had made sure to check. Marlon was overseas on business, and Malcolm was tied up with his film. Malcolm shouldn’t be here.
Malcolm gently tapped Kiera several times, yet she didn’t respond. He lifted his gaze, his eyes burning with anger. His stare intensified, and his voice was heavy with fury. “Ethel, is this your idea of looking after her?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Ethel spotted Elena, and suddenly, an idea struck. She quickly pointed at Elena and exclaimed, “This isn’t my fault! It’s all this woman’s!”
“Enough!” Ethel snapped. “Just now, Kiera was having an asthma attack, so I went upstairs to get her medication. But this woman went ahead and inserted needles into Kiera without any permission. Now look what happened! I’ve looked after Kiera since she was a child and loved her as if she were my own, even more than Rory. This vicious woman said she came to see Marlon, so I let her in. How could I have known…”
Ethel forced out a few tears, her face reflecting both mock distress and regret. “It’s all my fault. I should have watched Kiera more closely—I let a stranger harm her.” Her words sounded as if she genuinely cared for Kiera.
The bodyguards frowned, taken aback by her audacity. Previously, when asked to retrieve the medicine for Kiera, she had refused. Without Elena’s intervention, Kiera might never have recovered.
The bodyguards had long been fed up with Ethel but had no choice but to follow her orders for the sake of their paycheck. With Malcolm present, someone could finally see through Ethel’s disgusting facade. If Elena hadn’t seen Ethel’s treatment of Kiera with her own eyes, she might have fallen for Ethel’s deceit.
Malcolm cast a glance at Elena, causing Louis to step forward immediately in a protective stance.
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Louis then said, “Elena is beautiful inside and out. She would never hurt anyone.” Malcolm stayed quiet.
Elena softly tugged at Louis before staring boldly into Malcolm’s eyes. She said calmly, “If I had wanted to hurt Kiera, I wouldn’t have messaged you.”
Malcolm chose to keep his thoughts to himself and instead decided to ask, “What exactly happened earlier?”
Elena responded, “Out of all that Ethel claimed, only one detail is accurate—I did indeed come here to see your dad. As for what transpired earlier, go upstairs and verify for yourself. The doctor should still be there. Kiera shared with me that someone was attempting to steal her kidney for a transplant into a boy.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Ethel hastily said as Elena mentioned the kidney transplant, her eyes widening and pupils trembling as she attempted to silence Elena. “Malcolm, pay no mind to her lies. How could I ever engage in such an act? You…”
“We’ll see about that soon. Go and check,” Malcolm cut her off, gesturing for the bodyguards to head upstairs.
