Chapter 33

Outside the ward, Eleanor absentmindedly tapped her toe on the floor, deep in thought. Sebastian noticed the unconscious little movement and glanced at her profile. She was completely focused on samulnori. Even though the conversation inside was about her, she showed no reaction at all, as if it had nothing to do with her.

Sebastian suddenly felt the urge for a cigarette, but Eleanor instinctively grabbed his shirt before he could leave.

“Don’t go. Keep listening. They’re getting to the good part.”

Inside the ward, something flickered in Brenda’s eyes.

“Twas mailed to you? By who?”

Maurice shook his head. “I don’t know. Back then, you didn’t need real names to send a package. I looked into it, but there was nothing to trace.”

Brenda’s eyes darted. “Oh, it must’ve been a prank. But if it was just a fake document, why did you keep it all these years?”

“It wasn’t a prank!” Maurice’s voice was tight with tension.

“When I first received it, I went straight to Jonstone General Hospital to verify it. The hospital’s system did have Eleanor’s hospitalization records. But later, when I realized I should keep the evidence and went back, it was as if the entire hospital had collectively agreed to forget. Everyone there said there was no such thing, and the records vanished from their system. I even used all the connections I could to investigate.”

“Did you find anything?”

“There was nothing at all. It was as if only he alone had a memory that no one else shared.”

Maurice clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “I saw it with my own eyes. There’s no way I’m wrong! Eleanor had a child. She must’ve used her connections to erase all traces of it! I’ve never stopped looking all these years. Once I find out who the father is, I want to see how she talks her way out of this!”

Brenda silently memorized every word of this conversation. However, on the surface, she remained the kind and innocent woman Maurice knew.

“Maybe there’s some misunderstanding,” she said softly. “Elle doesn’t seem like the reckless type.”

Maurice’s expression twisted with disgust. “She’s nothing but a shameless whore. Stop defending her.”

Brenda suppressed the smirk threatening to creep onto her lips and instead placed a hand on his shoulder gently. “Alright, Mo, let’s not talk about it anymore. Get some rest.”

Outside the ward, Eleanor exchanged a glance with Sebastian, and the two walked away together. She had only come to see Maurice make a fool of himself, but she’d unexpectedly uncovered a truth. So, that was how Maurice got his hands on the document.

As they stepped outside the hospital, the night breeze made Eleanor shiver. She crossed her arms, staring at the shadow at her feet, lost in thought. She was wondering at what point Maurice had lost his grip on reality. It was, the more convincing it would be. If Maurice had made it up, his story wouldn’t be this messy.

Eleanor didn’t think he was lying because liars would try to make their stories as logical as possible. They believed the more coherent a lie was, the more believable it would be. But this story had no logic. It was absurd and nonsensical. And the more unreasonable it seemed, the more it felt like the truth. Mae genuinely believed.

In what situation would a person be convinced they’d personally witnessed something that never actually happened? Only sure who had lost his mind. Medically speaking, this was called delusional disorder.

Brenda had spent all this time playing mind games with Maurice, but she would’ve been better off taking him to a psychiatrist.

Eleanor let out a sigh of exasperation. Suddenly, she felt a weight on her shoulders, and a warmth wrapped around her body. She turned her head, seeing Sebastian draping his suit jacket over her.

“Don’t stand around. You dislocated your shoulder,” she reminded him.