Chapter 3 003

The elevator chimes and their voices echoed in her mind repeatedly. Two images of her fiance and gazes that was enough to bury her name as it slipped out of their tongue. 'why? Twin? The Lucas I craves every night isn't the one that saved me? He approached me... how did they know Vanessa?' her thoughts was ruined as she couldn't get to solve one at a time.

Got to the front desk, returning the access card with trembling fingers.

"Ma'am..." the receptionist began, but stopped when she saw Eleanor's broken stare.

"Please... don't tell anyone I was here." She mumbled between breaths.

Outside, thunder cracked violently. Rain poured in heavy sheets, drenching her instantly. She didn't care.

"It seems even heaven is crying for me," she whispered as tears streamed freely down her cheeks, mixing with the rain.

Remembering the familiar name from earlier again made her trembled. She thought she was free from torture but her freedom wasn't a survival but a trap for a bigger trauma.

"Revenge?" She muttered. 'Since when did they start? The day we met?'

Another thunder striked, jogging her memory to the day they met. 'The car hitting me wasn't an accident?' She thought as the memories of their first meeting flashed through her head.

"I'm so sorry, Miss." Lucas bowed to her as she lay on the hospital bed that year. "I promise to take care of you until you fully recover." And that's when he started, taking care of her at hospital led to different things which made them more close to each other.

'He didn't deliberately run over me, right? To seduce me? Vanessa....'

Her thoughts spiraled.... pain, humiliation, heartbreak.... until her phone rang.

"Hello, Miss Monroe," a nurse said gently.

"Yes... speaking." Her voice trembled.

"Your grandfather's condition has worsened. Please come immediately to sign some documents."

"What?" Eleanor gasped, breath shattering.

'Lord please keep my grandfather safe!' She rushed into the nearest taxi, soaked, shaking, mascara streaking down her face. Her heart throbbed with agonizing fear. Her grandfather was all she had left.

She arrived at the hospital, it felt like it was closing in. The air was too sharp, too bright, too loud. Every monitor seemed to scream at once... rapid beeping, alarms chirping, metal clattering as nurses rushed past. Footsteps thundered against the floor, echoing like a heartbeat that was racing out of control, but Eleanor didn't care, as long as he was fine {her grandfather}.

"Doctor, what happened to my Grandpa?" she cried as she burst into the ward.

"He's not responding to treatment anymore... we can only wait."

Nothing felt steady. Not the walls, not the floor, not the air. Just chaos, urgency, and a growing sense that something terrible was happening right now.

"Don't say that! He was fine yesterday!" she screamed.

"Mr. Monroe wants to see you," a nurse said softly.

Eleanor ran to his room. Her whole body was trembling from fear.

"Grandpa?" she breathed, voice trembling. "What's wrong?"

"Eleanor... you're here," he whispered weakly.

"Yes, Grandpa. I'm here. Please get well. Please..."

"Happy birthday, my princess." He forced a fragile smile. "I'm proud of you. Be happy... marry that man. He promised he'd care for you when I'm gone."

Her heart twisted painfully. 'How do I tell him the truth?'

Tears streamed down her face as she watched him struggle to breathe.

"Can I... see him one last time?" he whispered.

Eleanor swallowed her pride and dialed Lucas, wanting to grant her grandfather's last wish.

"Please pick up!" she cried, slamming her palm against the wall. He refused her calls again and again.

She returned to the room, forcing a shaky smile. "Grandpa... I think he's busy. I'll call him tomorrow."

He didn't respond.

"Grandpa?" she whispered. Nothing. "Grandpa!" she screamed. "Doctor!"

Voices overlapped...doctors calling out instructions, Eleanor crying down the hall, a frantic shuffle of wheels as a stretcher flew by. The harsh smell of antiseptic burned the nose, making it harder to breathe, harder to think. Lights flickered overhead, glaring white and unforgiving, turning everything into a blur of motion and fear.

After several attempts, the doctor lowered his gaze.

"Time of death... 12:01 AM. January 1st, 2026."

Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor world around her shattering completely.

***** Eleanor spent the New Year drowning in loneliness. window sparkled with fireworks, but inside her grandfather's house... now cold without him...there was only silence. She clutched the edge of his old chair, the same one he always sat in while telling her stories about strength, patience, and family.

Now it was empty. And so was she.

She cried until her vision blurred, until the sound of her own sobs echoed back at her like a stranger's voice. She cried for her grandfather, the only person who had ever truly loved her. She cried for Lucas... the man she thought she knew... who hadn't reached out to her since the funeral. Not a call. Not a message. Not even a simple "Are you okay?" Nothing.

His silence felt like a blade twisting deeper every second. Mourning and betrayal blended until she couldn't tell which one hurt more. When her tears dried, when her heart felt scraped hollow, a strange numbness settled over her.

Enough. She needed answers.

She picked up her coat and left the house, determined to face Lucas once and for all.

"Who do they think they are?"