Chapter 445
The needle tip quivered at her fingertip, casting a faint glimmer on the floor.
Aria looked up at Rachel, her pupils contracting slightly. ‘She’s actually Pearl!‘
Orlando couldn’t spare a thought for anything else then. He was terrified Rachel might meet the same fate as Sara.
‘Pearl?‘ Rachel wondered. ‘That’s my real name?‘
Rachel curled her fingers tightly, as if a sharp pain stabbed at her constricted heart. Tears soaked through her surgical mask. I do have a name,’ she thought, the realization cutting deep.
Orlando watched, his heart aching with guilt and self–reproach.
After Sara’s death, they sought revenge against Aria by concealing Rachel’s identity.
As Rachel stood in despair on the platform, wasn’t this a scathing indictment of their actions?
They couldn’t avenge the dead, nor could they protect the living.
Orlando pressed his lips together, his gaze–full of complicated emotions–sweeping over Aria before settling on Rachel. He asked, “Do you know why I told you to wear a mask when you go out?”
Rachel froze for a moment.
Her face was permanently scarred by burns. The doctors said it could never be fixed, and that was how she’d look for life.
She always wore a mask in public without being told.
But after she came to Mayen Garden, Orlando deliberately brought it up. Rachel thought they just took her as embarrassment.
Orlando said, “Someone created an age–progressed forensic sketch based on how you looked as a child. That’s how we found your parents.
“They’ve been looking for you.”
Rachel blinked in disbelief. “Really?”
‘Am I really this lucky? Why would anyone look for me?‘ she wondered.
Rachel retorted sharply, “Then why did you keep this from me, Orlando? You’re lying. You’re just afraid I might die in Huthailia!”
She thought bitterly, ‘All their kindness was just lip service. They knew how ruthless Olivia was, yet they stood by and let her torment me.‘
Without hesitation, Rachel spun around, arms spread wide.
Orlando and Valerie shouted in alarm, “Rachel, no!”
Liam and Diego, who had just arrived, froze in horror at the sight.
At that moment, a silver needle shot from Aria’s fingertips.
Liam saw it, and his eyes widened in shock.
Suddenly, he remembered a wooden board in the Cole Manor training room, riddled with countless needle holes.
‘So that was the board Aria used for her needle practice?‘ he thought. ‘Why would she even practice something like that?‘
1/2
Chapter 445
‘It’s finally over, Rachel thought, closing her eyes.
Just as she leaned forward, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.
The forceful pull sent her stumbling forward, and she crashed into a pair of warm, waiting arms.
As Lily was falling, a steadying hand caught her. A brief pricking sensation shot through her shoulder, fading instantly.
That fleeting pain snapped her back to awareness–just in time for her to grab Rachel.
Lily hugged Rachel tightly, her heart pounding with relief from their near–death experience. She gave Rachel a light smack and, her voice trembling with tears, said, “Thought you wanted to take me down with you? Changed your mind, huh?”
“I’m so sorry…” Rachel’s voice was thick with remorse.
Orlando’s gaze swept over Aria, his expression unreadable.
Too far–even if he’d sprinted at full speed, he couldn’t have made it in time.
He caught the glint of her needle, then saw Lily jolt awake and saved Rachel.
Irony twisted in his gut: the person he hated most had just saved Rachel.
Orlando forced down the turmoil in his heart and looked at Rachel. “Rachel, what did Olivia do to you? Please, tell me. Whatever it is, we’ll find a way out
-together.”
Aria sneered, “You hate me so much that you wouldn’t even let Rachel show her face–afraid I’d recognize her? What’s your real motive for hiding her? Trying to use her to threaten me?”
Hearing this, Rachel lifted her head from Lily’s embrace. “What… do you mean?”
‘Use me to threaten Aria? What does that have to do with Aria?‘ she thought, gripping her clothes tightly, not daring to think any further.
AD
