Chapter 242: Haunted by Unwanted Intrusions
Ellis was momentarily speechless before managing to choke out, “Don’t tell ghost stories in the middle of the night; it’s frightening!” But Casey wasn’t entirely wrong; indeed, she felt as if unwanted forces were clinging to her. The list of these nuisances included Victoria, Easton, and Morty! It seemed that in her past life, she had deep enmity with these three, so much so that in this life they still haunted her.
Ellis had been sent by her mother for some time now, and Casey had grown accustomed to her care, with no intention of replacing her regardless of whether she stayed or left. He turned and went upstairs back to his lab.
As Casey left, Ellis followed close behind. When he checked the footage earlier, she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. Although Morty wasn’t seen outside, she hurried off all the same, still worried he might reappear. Fortunately, Morty did not show up this time, and she managed to leave Petal Estates without incident.
Little did she know, Morty was staying at home, replaying their recent encounters, analyzing what he might have done or said to offend her. He believed that items from his home were inappropriate gifts for Ellis; giving them would simply take away from what she already possessed without adding any value. With that in mind, Easton entered the Elite Pavilion.
Surrounded by dazzling merchandise that made his head spin, he felt momentarily indecisive. Ultimately, relying on his understanding of Ellis’s tastes, he purchased several items he knew she would like. In this mall, every brand offered home delivery; he filled in her details as the recipient so that the items would be sent directly by the brands.
Just as he was about to leave, his assistant called with news of Ellis’s recent status. Finally, the assistant said, “Ms. Harper is not staying at Serenity Estate for now; she went to stay at a good friend’s place a few days ago.” Easton thought to himself, She’d moved again? His brows furrowed. “Send me the address.”
After the call was abruptly ended by his boss, Taylor immediately sent over the address. After checking it several times, Easton didn’t instruct the brand staff to change the recipient details; instead, he made further purchases. He couldn’t explain the strange pleasure he derived from shopping, a pleasure fueled by the image of Ellis receiving the gifts.
A few days later, when the weekend finally came, Ellis lay in bed, unwilling to step out. When she began receiving consecutive calls from people claiming to be staff from Memo Clothing, urging her to come to the community gate to sign for deliveries, she felt as if she were suffering from PTSD.
Previously, someone hired by Victoria had disguised themselves as a courier to trick her downstairs, leaving her with a heavy blow, a swollen face for days, and nearly injured by a knife. Now, similar calls filled her mind with thoughts of Victoria’s incessant meddling. Determined, she blocked the numbers one by one, vowing not to be tricked again.
Yet, the next day, similar calls still came in by the dozen. Ellis’s head throbbed as she slumped on the sofa. Seeing her distress, Maya asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Just the thought of being beaten up at any moment makes me uneasy,” said Ellis, gazing at the ceiling, as if she were witnessing her own demise, and couldn’t help but resent her own fragility. Easton could plunge her life into chaos, and Victoria could make her miserable too!
“What has Victoria done now?” Maya asked, immediately locked on the culprit.
“I… I haven’t even made any purchases, yet these days I keep getting calls from people impersonating luxury brand staff,” Ellis thought, Just hearing them makes me furious! Ellis longed to give Victoria a few slaps.
At her current income level, how could she possibly afford to maintain the spending of “Mrs. Hudson” and buy all those ostentatious luxury items that are nothing more than flash for ordinary people? Unlike Ellis, Maya wasn’t as jumpy and speculated, “Could it be that your foster mother bought them for you again?” Previously, Emma had indeed sent her some clothes.
Ellis closed her eyes in frustration. “I didn’t go along with her blind date arrangements. I happened to meet someone on a blind date, added him on WhatsApp, and deleted him after a few days. How can she still have the time to arrange things? Unbelievable.”
Ellis thought to herself, Troubles just kept piling up! It seems I needed to find a way to change my unlucky fate, maybe by staying in Stonebridge with positive energy for a while, to turn around my current misfortune!
While they were talking, Ellis’s phone rang. It was from a local unknown number. Without thinking, she assumed it was yet another call from Victoria. Her finger hovered over the screen, about to hit decline, when Maya snatched the phone.
“What are you doing?” Ellis asked, confusedly blinking.
“I’m going to confront the bad guy for you!”
Last time when trouble found Ellis, Maya wasn’t there; this time she wanted to see the culprit for herself and gather evidence to get Victoria thrown in jail for a few days, so that Ellis wouldn’t have to suffer in despair.
Upon answering, Maya cleared her throat deliberately, “May I ask who is calling?”
“Hello, Ms. Harper! I’m a staff member from Memo Clothing at Elite Pavilion. I’m contacting you because Mr. Hudson has purchased items for you. We will deliver them to your doorstep; may I ask when it would be convenient for you?”