Chapter 14

Evonne did not finish that sentence.

She could sense that Elijah behind them was emanating an ominous aura.

Evonne bit her lip, softly said goodbye to Sally, and left the scene.

Elijah did not say anything on the journey back from the university to the mansion.

Sally tried to say something several times but did not know what to say. She kept quiet.

Once they were back at the mansion, Sally went to her desk and tried to combine the tattered pieces of her certificates.

That was not a difficult task to perform.

However, the album that contained the photographs and birthday cards from her grandmother had been thrown in the fiery brazier. It would be impossible to restore everything.

Sally sat at her desk. Her heart ached as she looked at the half-charred album. She cursed Wendell Moses to hell countless times.

After she had cursed enough, she prepared to keep the album away when a card fell out.

She bent down to pick it up and discovered that the card held something between the fold. There was a tattered photograph of a boy inside.

Half of the photograph was ruined.

Sally looked at the photograph for a very long time. She could not recall ever meeting that boy. She carefully kept the photograph in the album.

She would have to ask her grandmother about the boy when she had the chance. Perhaps her grandmother could explain why she placed someone else's photograph in the birthday card.

The sky was already dark.

Aunt Leigh knocked on the door outside. "Madam, the Sire called to request that you and Sir Elijah return to the Moses house. Please get ready."

Sally turned around to glance at the clock and saw that it was already eight o'clock. Why would Grandpa Moses ask them to go over at that late hour?

She felt a hint of unease.

Elijah was already waiting in the car when Sally was done changing.

"Grandpa is asking us to go over so late at night… do you think that it has something to do with Wendell?" She asked cautiously as soon as she got in the car.

"Naturally."

Elijah's low voice sounded forlorn. "I've told you. Many people will blame you for injuring Wendell."

He turned to look at her through the black silk ribbon. "Are you afraid?"

"I'm not." Sally shook her head. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Sometimes, it's not a matter of right or wrong."

Elijah shook his head, seemingly perplexed by Sally's response. "Is your world so black-and-white, Sally Summers?"

Sally nodded. "If it's not right, then it's wrong. If it's not wrong, then it's right. Isn't that how the world works?

"My teacher says that no one cares about the effort you put into studying; only the results in the end counts. Something right can't be wrong, and something wrong can't be right."

She sounded like an innocent child who had never set foot in the real world.

Perhaps she was really an innocent child who had never set foot in the real world.

Elijah sighed softly. He reached out a hand to pat her soft hair. "It's rare to meet someone who thinks like you."

Sally did not know if he was praising her. She did not say anything.

The car arrived at the Moses house very soon.

It was already nine o'clock. Usually, the lights in the Moses house would have been turned off by now. However, all the lights were on today.

Sally pushed Elijah's wheelchair and entered through the front door. Wendell was slumped on the couch while Lucille fed him cut fruit. One of his hands was covering his bandaged chest.

Wendell started whimpering when he saw Sally come in. "You'll have to stand up for me, Grandpa…"

Lucille also started crying. "Father, that jinx is here. Please stand up for Wendell…"

The two people wailed and complained as though they were characters in a period courtroom drama.

At that time, Grandpa Moses was playing chess with Daniel. In a lapse of concentration, Grandpa Moses made the wrong move, which led to a total annihilation of his forces.

"I win again," Daniel said with a gentle smile on his face. He helped Grandpa Moses stand up. "Elijah and Sally are here, Father. I'll leave the matter to you."

Grandpa Moses lifted his head and saw Sally pushing Elijah's wheelchair. He furrowed his brows imperceptibly.

"Follow me." His voice was as booming as a temple bell.

Grandpa Moses brought them upstairs and into a room at the end of the corridor.

The butler opened the door. Sally saw that it was a cavernous ancestral hall. Rows upon rows of memorial tablets belonging to the Moses family ancestors were placed on altars.

"Sally Summers."

"Here," Sally replied. She let go of the hands holding the wheelchair.

"Kneel over here!"

Grandpa Moses commanded as he pointed at a cushion next to him.

Sally did not know what he wanted to do, though she obediently did what she was told as a sign of respect to her elders.

The moment her knees touched the cushion, she saw with the corner of her eye that a wide grin was blooming on Lucille's face.

Thwack!

In the next second, the butler took out a whip and lashed Sally's back.

She felt as though her back was split open. She nearly collapsed on the floor.

She bit her lip. "Grandpa, I don't know what I did to deserve such punishment," she said defiantly.

"Don't you know what you did wrong?" Lucille shrieked, "You flirted with our Wendell. When Wendell resisted, you tried to injure him!"

Lucille gritted her teeth. "You've only just been married to Elijah for a few days, yet you're already flirting with his cousin. You still don't admit fault? Aren't you a shameless woman?"

Sally laughed amid the intense pain. "You say that I've flirted with Wendell, Aunt Lucille. Do you have any proof?"

"Do I need any proof?" Lucille grunted. "Everyone here can vouch for Wendell's character!"

She glared at the butler who was holding the whip. "What are you waiting for? Continue!"

The butler landed another stroke on Sally's back.

Sally's white T-shirt was torn after two lashes of the whip. Bloody gashes were drawn across her back. The butler did not hold back.

Sally remained kneeling on the floor. She did not flinch or dodge.

She grunted again. "I did not flirt with Wendell, and I did not deliberately injure him."

"You're still talking back!"

Lucille glared at her and turned to look at the butler. "Continue!"

"Wait."

Elijah, who had been keeping silent, opened his mouth right before the butler landed the third lash.

"Grandfather hasn't said anything, but you've been whipping her.

"I wonder who your employer is. Is it Grandfather, or Aunt Lucille?"