He Is Here.
"Evelyn Ross, wake up!"
The female officer shook her shoulder.
Evelyn forced her eyes open.
Her face was deathly pale.
Her breathing was shallow.
"Help me to the bed."
The officer immediately helped her lie down.
"Are you okay?"
Evelyn's voice was weak.
"Anemic. Need a blood test."
The officer frowned.
"Grace Lorenz won't be coming."
"Then draw blood and send it for testing."
The officer hesitated.
"I'll go find someone from the forensics department."
She turned and left the cell.
Linda Lowell suddenly called out.
"Officer."
The officer looked back.
Linda pointed at Evelyn's cell.
"That's my daughter. Let me take care of her."
The officer was stunned.
"You're mother and daughter?"
Linda nodded urgently.
"You can check the records."
The officer checked the system and nodded.
"Alright."
…
Evelyn lay on the bed with her eyes closed.
The cell door opened again.
She thought it was the forensic examiner.
But she saw Linda's sinister figure.
"Evelyn, Mommy is here…"
Evelyn's body instantly stiffened.
Memories flooded back.
That winter when she was five.
Every time she got sick, she was locked away.
After Sophia Ashcroft fed her medicine, Linda would force her to vomit it.
The woman would hit her while cursing.
"Why won't the fever kill you?"
"You little bitch. How dare you lay hands on Isabella? How dare you send me to jail…"
Memory and reality overlapped.
Evelyn instinctively curled into a ball.
It was like returning to that basement at age five.
The dim light made her dizzy.
She couldn't tell reality from nightmare.
Her five-year-old self whispered pleas.
"Mommy, I was wrong…"
But the pain still came.
Linda pinched her arms and thighs viciously.
Evelyn bit her lip.
By age seven, she knew begging was useless.
She could only endure silently.
The curses continued.
"Die! Pay for my brother's life!"
At nine, she tried to fight back.
It only brought more vicious beatings.
Ten, eleven, twelve…
Until she was thirteen.
She was taller than Linda now.
She finally pushed the woman away with force.
"Since you never wanted me, I'm leaving."
She packed a few ragged clothes and left the Ashcroft home.
The world was vast. Anywhere could be home.
She was grown now!
Evelyn's eyes snapped open.
She glared sharply at Linda.
Linda's hand, gripping her neck, paused.
Evelyn pushed her away with all her strength.
Linda stumbled and fell.
Just as she was about to lunge, a voice came from the door.
"What are you doing?"
Grace Lorenz stood at the door, shocked.
She opened the iron door and entered.
Her eyes moved between the two.
Evelyn lay weakly on the bed.
She couldn't even move a finger.
"I'm anemic… need an IV…"
Linda sat on the floor, crying.
"She pushed me! It hurts! She's lying!"
Grace remembered Isabella's words.
She clenched her fists.
"Evelyn Ross, I won't be fooled again!"
She called the guards.
"They were fighting. Put them in solitary!"
…
Outside the police station.
The lawyer shook his head helplessly.
"Mr. Vance, bail will have to wait until tomorrow."
Alexander Vance frowned at James Klein.
James calculated the time.
"The day after tomorrow is the limit…"
A sense of unease grew in Alexander.
The female officer approached Captain Durant.
"Evelyn Ross looks terrible. Her period makes her anemic. Should we check again?"
James panicked instantly.
"Boss is on her period! This is bad!"
Alexander's face changed.
"What's wrong?"
James paced anxiously.
"Boss needs iron infusions. She must be severely anemic now!"
Alexander turned without hesitation.
He strode quickly toward the detention center.