Upon hearing the news, Eleanor Hollis felt a bit stifled, but she soon ca to terms with it.
This was Sienna Jenkins’ own doing. If she hadn’t cooperated with the kidnappers, none of this would have happened.
A period of calm followed, but soon so familiar faces arrived in Serenford.
It was Xavier Crawford and Martha; surprisingly, the two of them were together.
Martha was quite excited, glancing around as soon as she got off the car. She hadn’t been to Serenford in years; the last ti was when she was a child.
"Eleanor."
After getting off the car, Xavier Crawford imdiately saw Eleanor Hollis and waved his hand.
Eleanor’s eyes brightened, and seeing an old friend, her mood lifted.
"You guys..."
However, upon noticing Martha tightly clinging to Xavier, Eleanor felt a bit disoriented. If she rembered correctly, Xavier used to dislike Martha, so how could he allow her to accompany him to Serenford?
"It’s my parents’ demand; they hope we get married."
Upon hearing this, Martha instantly beca displeased, letting out a cold snort.
"You said you’d consider gradually accepting . How co it’s now your parents’ demand, Xavier? Have you seen your old fla and regretted it?"
Xavier’s face flushed as he scratched his head.
"Just say a little less!"
Martha glared at Eleanor before awkwardly closing her mouth.
Eleanor found it amusing; the way the two interacted didn’t seem too bad.
Martha was pampered by her family since childhood, fearless and bold, yet she listened to Xavier, indicating that she truly liked him enough to temper her own temperant.
Previously, Xavier had already moved the Crawford family’s company to Serenford, and this ti he brought Martha to manage the business together as a young couple.
The rest of the Crawford Family did not accompany them, as Cole Crawford was still abroad assisting Hugo Quinn in finding Dylan Dawson.
But Dylan Dawson was cunning, having arranged many body doubles; each one found turned out to be a double, while his whereabouts remained unknown.
Martha didn’t have many friends in Serenford, but after settling in, she invited Eleanor to the mall to shop.
Having no choice, Eleanor agreed to accompany her.
This ti, Martha finally bore no animosity towards her; upon eting, she warmly locked arms with Eleanor.
"Thank you for what you did last ti. After that, Xavier truly doesn’t hate anymore."
She was referring to the incident at the Wexler Family estate, where she led the disruption of Grace Wexler and Xavier’s engagent, buying ti for Hugo Quinn—a big help to them.
Eleanor’s lips curled up; it was only after interacting with Princess Martha that she realized the girl was quite genuine—she expressed hate and love very straightforwardly.
Despite any unpleasantness between them, it didn’t stop them from becoming good friends.
"Eleanor, I’m going to the fitting room to change clothes; wait here for ."
Originally, they intended to buy skincare products, but while shopping, they ended up in the clothing section.
Eleanor nodded and quietly waited on the side, sending a few ssages to Hugo Quinn.
After a full thirty minutes, Martha still hadn’t co out of the fitting room.
Eleanor stood up and knocked on the fitting room door.
The door wasn’t locked and opened directly, with blood slowly seeping out from inside; Martha had already fainted in a pool of blood.
Eleanor was startled and quickly called for an ambulance to take Martha to the hospital.
A knife was left at the scene, indicating soone had been waiting in the fitting room, biding their ti for them to enter.
Eleanor notified Xavier and Hugo, anxiously waiting alone outside.
Martha had just returned to the country a few days ago, and previously didn’t know anyone locally, so she shouldn’t have any enemies.
Eleanor lowered her head, suddenly feeling guilty, guessing that it was because of her that Martha was attacked.
The police were already investigating at the fitting room, but unfortunately, there were no fingerprints on the knife, and even the surrounding surveillance hadn’t captured it, as it was a blind spot.
It seed like a planned cri. Eleanor furrowed her brow, as she had many enemies, so hidden in the shadows without her knowing their nas. Narrowing them down would probably not help catch the assailant.
"Did you retrieve the videos at the mall entrance? Didn’t capture anything suspicious?"
How could such a large mall have not captured even the suspect’s shadow?
"Miss Hollis, so surveillance in the mall was tampered with. We suspect the perpetrator went in and out from that place, avoiding all caras along the way, so we can’t find them."
Eleanor nodded, rubbing her temples, pacing the hallway in frustration.
Hugo and Xavier arrived quickly, and fortunately, the doctor said Martha just had excessive blood loss and no other major issues, leaving the three relatively relieved.
Martha was wheeled out but remained unconscious for the ti being.
Sitting by the bedside, Xavier saw Eleanor’s face full of guilt, his lips pursing as he grasped Martha’s hand, holding it within his own.
"Eleanor, don’t worry, it’s alright. Martha told before that when she almost cost you your life, if she could do sothing for you, she would be happy. This ti, she took this knife for you; believe that she’s also at peace with it, as if repaying the debt she owed you. Be more cautious when you go out, as the person behind this is certainly targeting you."
Eleanor nodded, her eyes turning red with emotion.
She really hoped that the person was targeting her and wouldn’t harm Martha.
An hour later, Martha woke up, her lips moving as she looked at the people before her.
"Martha, what do you want to say?"
Xavier lowered his head, finally hearing Martha’s voice.
"It was... a woman..."
Xavier looked up at Eleanor.
"Martha must have seen the assailant’s appearance. Once she’s recovered, gather all the photos of the won you know; she should be able to identify which one attacked her."
Eleanor nodded, approached the bedside, and held Martha’s other hand.
"I’m sorry; this incident is all because of ."
Martha shook her head, her eyes full of smiles, as she tilted her head and drifted off to sleep again.
anwhile, far from the hospital on another street, Sienna Jenkins removed her gloves and tossed them in a nearby trash bin.
After all, she was not even twenty years old, and this was her first ti stabbing soone; in her panic, she didn’t know what to do, failing to see the face of the person she stabbed. Once she realized she had stabbed the wrong person, it was too late; the woman had already fallen.
Frightened and panicked, she had slipped away quietly, even forgetting to take the knife.
Fortunately, Ashley Dawson had helped her cover it up; the caras there were destroyed, and no one would know she had done it.
That woman surely hadn’t seen her face; she passed out quickly and might even be dead.
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